3 gang switch

[TerryD]

Hi, I am a DIY enthusiast and got water in an outside 3 gang, one way switch.
I took a photo of the wiring and will, of course switch off at the board when replacing the switch.
A new switch has arrived with 1,2,3 on it with no common.
I have attached the live wires to terminal1 and neutral to terminal 3 but no lights !!
What should I be doing?

 

[littlespark]

its not a neutral

can you upload the photo you took of the old switch, and the connections of the new switch

 

[Avo Mk8]

The most common relationship between the two terminal numbering schemes (according to John Ward!) is:
New Old
1 = COM
2 = L1
3 = L2
So I would put the black (switched live) wires in 2.

But I'm not sure why your version didn't allow lights to come on (other than the switch would be "upside-down")
Did you actually see if the light came on with the light switch off?

As always, photo would be useful as per littlespark.

 

[brianmoooore]

The only way it could be connected so that the light wouldn't work at all is if 2 and 3 were used, with no connection to 1.
Regarding water getting into the switch, any completely sealed switch will always leak air into and out of it with varying atmospheric pressure and temperature, and sometimes it's almost inevitable that some moisture will enter with it. The important thing is to ensure that the moisture has a way out, and most 'outdoor switches' have a marked drain somewhere in the back box that needs to be drilled out.