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ade
05-10-07, 04:17 PM
Not car related but someone on here might be able to help!

I've got an outdoor socket on the back of my house - at the moment I have a set of outdfoor lights plugged into it (they run off a 12v transformer) and come on when it gets dark.

Thing is I dont want them on all night so wanted to install an outdoor wall mounted switch so that I could turn the power off. I dont want to replace the outdoor socket - just wanna run a switch between the socket and lights. So I reckoned it was simply cut the wire between the lights and the socket and stick the switch in the middle.

But I'll be BUGGERED if I can work out how to do it - keep blowing fuses.

Bought a weatherproof switch (it's actually 2 switches). Both switches are the same and on the back of each switch it has 2 connectors at the top and 1 at the bottom. The top 2 are as follows -

1 labelled "L" (which I'm guessing is live)
1 labelled "1"
the bottom is labelled "2".

So I thought this would work -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/danga/lights.jpg


but it doesnt (unless I've got the 2 blue ones back to front).

Anyone help???

Ade
:roll:

bosscav
05-10-07, 04:26 PM
you normally don't swich a neutral, plus you you jus goin together the neutrals in one. What you have is a 2 way switch, as in stair lights.

just goin the neutrals together, leave the main live where it is, same with both earths, and then connect the live wire to the transformer to number 2 on the switch.

simonr1
05-10-07, 04:28 PM
as above!

ade
05-10-07, 05:06 PM
like this?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/danga/lights2.jpg

Apologies for thickness but I'm down to my last fuse so wanna get it right...

bump
05-10-07, 05:09 PM
Neutrals not in the switch at all, but in a connector block inside the switch backbox.

ade
05-10-07, 05:10 PM
can you draw me a picture - thats spanish to me

lol

ade
05-10-07, 05:11 PM
oh hang on - think I've got it - just join the 2 blue ones together away from the switch and leave the rest as is.

that makes sense!

lol

ade
05-10-07, 06:26 PM
sorted - lol

bump
05-10-07, 08:09 PM
Glad you got there in the end.

I bet you couldn't have got an electrician to do it if you wanted!

Lee
05-10-07, 08:19 PM
lol, agreed, they wouldnt touch a job like that with a barge pole. Theyd insist running a new cable to a new breaker.

bump
05-10-07, 08:41 PM
Plus new C.U and redoing all the earth bonding. lol

More likely to just never turn up.