Replacing scatty landing switches
- Thread starter rekrabwuh
- Start date
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They won't under normal conditions. It's fault conditions you want to worry about.
If it's earthed, there's a path to earth for the fault current. If there is no earth cable, you are that path to earth!
If it's earthed, there's a path to earth for the fault current. If there is no earth cable, you are that path to earth!
If the switches have no earth, it's very likely that the light fittings don't either - so any metal lights must also be replaced.
All of it will work without the earth, but when some fault occurs, the switch could become live, and anyone touching the switch will die.
All of it will work without the earth, but when some fault occurs, the switch could become live, and anyone touching the switch will die.
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Those BG switches are terrible for cables falling out of tight terminals. Make sure you give the cables a REALLY good tug to check they're tight.
No you can't earth them without rewiring.
No you can't earth them without rewiring.
You could theoretically install a separate earth wire to each switch and light position, but it would be just as easy to replace the whole cable, which is already 50+ years old.
I've been tugging them hard all day (ha!). I will scoot round tomorrow and recheck them and tape up any exposed wire. I was pretty careful with them though.
I have replaced at least 2 light fittings (including one in a room that I am changing a switch in) and both were 100% earthed.
I have replaced at least 2 light fittings (including one in a room that I am changing a switch in) and both were 100% earthed.
You're out of your depth. You don't know what you're doing. Your mistakes could have serious consequences. Consider employing a professional.
I hope you're joking but I fear you aren't.
Looking at the pics there's no earth in there, if you meter from live to the switch plate or backbox and get no volts (or less than 230 volts) then there is no earth, replace with plastic. By the way, you shouldn't have exposed cores where the wire goes into the terminals.
Unless it didn't work before then you can't have done, can you?
Yes, and I could have spent the last 40 years driving cars with no airbags and not wearing a seatbelt, and I would still be alive. But I won't do those things the next time I get in a car, because if something goes wrong the lack of them could cost me my life.
Taping up any exposed wires isn't good enough.
It's worth pointing out the back boxes are metal.
This was quite normal in those days to have an unearthed metal back box. Nylon fixing lugs were supplied to fix the plastic switch plate to. This way the fixing screws had little chance of becoming live.
It's worth noting it appears your new switches are plastic with a clip on metal cover. Though it could be argued the plastic surround of the new switch does double insulate it, the very presence of that earth terminal tells us it MUST be earthed.
My advice to you is get the lighting circuit re-wired, or buy plastic fittings.
No one is going to tell you otherwise.
Incidently, I know how to wire your switches correctly (assuming you want both switches to control the same lights) but I want to see some new plastic switches first. Also recommend you get a simple multimeter to do some very basic tests on that wiring first. The reason being some of those wires were disconnected and coiled up, which may suggest a faulty wire.
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