Old wiring, new 3 gang smart wall switch

[Ben John Griffin]

Hello,

I'm trying to install my new smart switch, however when I disconnected my old switch I was confused. Firstly the colours of the wires, I was expecting to see live, earth and neutral, but was instead greeted with black, red and copper. Secondly I realised I was sent a unit with 3 switches, not 2 as per my old one. Thirdly, my old switch has common ports and my new one just has neutral ( for which I cannot find a white wire) an "L" and L1 to L3. Is it going to be possible to connect this new switch in place of me old one? Any help would be greatly appreciated, PFA pictures.

 

[SparkyChick]

Hi Ben,

Welcome to the forums.

Anything's possible But in this case you're going to need a neutral connection at the switch from the looks of it.

The best advice I can give you (I'm assuming you are a DIYer), is to engage the services of a local electrician and have them install a new cable.

 

[Ben John Griffin]

I am indeed a DIYer (noob), thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I was thinking I might have to get a pro in for this. Thanks again.

 

[SparkyChick]

It sounds much worse than it could potentially be. How long it takes (and thus costs) depends largely on how readily a new cable could be put in place.

If the top of the switch drop is readily accessible, and the cable route from there to one of the light fittings it controls is straightforward and the cable drops in a conduit, then it may not be a huge job.

For me, if you were prepared to locate the cable run and top of the switch drop (i.e. lift carpets, floor boards etc.) and then worry about sorting them afterwards, I'd be thinking a couple of hours, but that's based purely on the picture of that switch and an educated guess. Since it's a change to the fixed wiring, there are a number of things that would need to be checked as well, such as the earthing and bonding. It may also be argued that under the 18th edition of the wiring regulations that came into force on 1st January 2019, an RCD is required (you may already have one protecting the lights).

When it comes to locating a spark, try and get a recommendation from friends, family, colleagues.

 

[littlespark]

….. or purchase a Smart switch that doesn't require a neutral to operate. There are ones out there

 

[ackbarthestar]

Looks like a 2-ganged 1-way pair of switches fed by the red live feed.
So will your smart switch be controlling both lamps?

 

[telectrix]

Looks like a 2-ganged 1-way pair of switches fed by the red live feed.
So will your smart switch be controlling both lamps?

think he's give up by now. thread is from january.

 

[ackbarthestar]

It just seemed to pop up in my in-box .... so I thought he must have been desperate ...