Troubleshooting broken connections on 3 gang light switch

[shmoggon]

Hi, I have a 3 gang light switch outside my bathroom, 2 of the switches don't seem to working, 1 which I broke when investigating the other.

I was trying to see the current wiring setup of the bathroom fan, that's hasn't worked since I moved into the property.

Upon removing the socket to look at the wiring, when I re-attached it again, the bathroom light stopped working. I noticed there were two connections that were loose but wasn't sure where they should be placed.

I have a yellow cable and a red cable that are loose within the socket, I don't suppose anyone knows where they should match up?

The red cable looks really short, would I be okay with using a Wago and a short link (red) cable to get it where it needs to be?

I also noticed there was a metal wire not attached to anything within A L2, but not sure if that has any relevance. Both the bathroom and fan are not working, the hall light works fine. The yellow and blue are in C L1 and C L2 respectively

Note that in the 2nd photo, it looks upside down to what I have drawn on a stock image I have found, but I can confirm that in my diagram, it is TOP at the top, its just that the common is reversed in my model

 

[shmoggon]

It should be noted that the Hall can also be controlled using another light switch, all switches appear to turn the light on/off fine

 

[Taylortwocities]

You are going to have to tell us which wires are together in separate cables! I suppose that you have two cables with 2 cores plus earth (red and blue) and one cable with 3 cores plus earth. Red yellow and blue.

Please identify and we may have a chance to resolve the puzzle!

 

[shmoggon]

The yellow is a 3 core plus earth

 

[shmoggon]

The other red is much more tricky, I really am struggling to find what cable it is attached two.

1 appears to be in a cable alongside a green and black
2 appears to be in a cable alongside another green and black
3 I can't even see that being alongside anything else, I think it could be solitary (this was the one I was referring to in my original post)
4 I've noticed that the 4th red, another unconnected cable, is just within its grey sleeving, which appears to be another 3 core and earth not doing anything at all

 

[terryplumb]

Regarding 4 ,which you think is a 3 core and earth, how is the yellow,the blue,and the earth conductor from that cable terminated ,or connected to ?

 

[shmoggon]

For that one, thats the cable where the blue is connected to C1, yellow connected to C2. The red not connected to anything and is barely visible from its grey sleeving.

For the yellow that's hanging loose. It's blue cable is in a connector with 3 black cables. The red in b com

 

[terryplumb]

If I have correctly understood ,you have one red and one yellow that appear to have come adrift from the switches,(the copper wire appears to have snapped off the red one), is the piece that's snapped off still clamped within one of the switches terminals , possibly the bathroom switch ?

 

[shmoggon]

So I put the loose red into A L1 and the bathroom light now works, so I guess that was switched live. It was previously in A L2 I think where the copper broke off, but I think its because in my investigation I've rotated the light switch 180 so top was correctly facing, but the bathroom and hall switches have reversed also, and I can see why they might have done that in retrospect. Happy as it is now tho.

So it really is now a case of connecting the loose yellow?

The colours are really poorly documented, there's no sleeving on them to indicate switched live which is quite disappointing, this has made marrying up with what I've seen on YouTube videos really difficult.

I'm thinking the yellow might also be a switched live, that could go into B L1 or B L2 for the fan as a "fan isolation switch", but I'm also of the impression that there must be a connection from the bathroom light to the extractor fan so that it comes on when the light does (so in my head I think there's 2 missing cables, rather than just the 1, but absolutely, only 1 is free and available in there).

The fan was definitely working at some point, but from the wiring, I've no clue how its even was previously powered. If it's got live in B COM and the connection became loose in B L1 or L2, I'd have thought it would be on all the time

 

[shmoggon]

I've put the loose yellow, into B L1 and tested when its off and on, has done nothing. Can't hear the fan come on or anything, but I think the fan is faulty anyway, which was what I suspected prior to seeing the loose cable

 

[Taylortwocities]

What happens if you put the yellow in the com with the red? That will bypass the switch altogether.
But just changing the fan just because you “think” it’s faulty is just one way of wasting your money. A proper test with a volt meter is needed.

PS if a switch operates upside down, just move the wire ftom L1 to L2.

 

[shmoggon]

Absolutely nothing when its in B COM too.

Would this work as a test, get a lamp, take the plug off it.

Get a couple wagos: connect the red off the lamp to the red on the 3 core and earth in the loft once the extractor fan has been removed
Add a wago to join the blue (from 3 core and earth) on the with the neutral on the lamp
bridge the earth cables together (from lamp and 3 core and earth) and maybe put the switch live in the wago with the red, and the lamp powers on, that means the extractor fan is dead?

 

[Taylortwocities]

Go to Screwfix (other suppliers are available). Buy a multimeter (less than £10).
Then test at the fan PROPERLY!

 

[shmoggon]

Might sound a bit daft but I'm a bit unsure about working on live electrics and getting an electric shock etc. I'm a DIYer

 

[EFLImpudence]

The red lead should be in the other terminal,

and the pointer on 600.