There are two methods of making 2 way switching connection one is 2 wire control and another is 3 wire control.
2 way light switch diagram uk.
For simplicity the earth wire is not shown in the above diagram.
So now that you have a basic concept of wiring a 2 way switch let s look at the following 2 way switch diagrams to see which type of circuit scenario you have.
2 gang 2 way light switch wiring diagram uk.
Two way switching is the most common requirement for many household and commercial lighting solutions.
Two way switching with the old wiring colours.
2 way light switch 3 wire system new harmonised cable colours 2 way switch 3 wire system old cable colours 2 way switch two wire control three way switching.
A two way light switch is a simple single pole changeover switch with three terminals.
The first reason this is bad is on safety grounds.
Say we are working on the light upstairs so we turn off the upstairs lighting circuit thinking we are safe wrong the live is picked up downstairs and there are still live conductors feeding the switch upstairs and if someone flipped the downstairs switch in this diagram that live feed would extend all the way to the lamp too you re fried.
To switch from two locations youll need 2 two way switches and wire them together in a particular way.
In position 2 when the switch is up or off com and l2 are connected together.
There will be a com common terminal a l1 terminal and a l2 terminal.
Two way switch can be operated from any of the switch independently means whatever be the position of other switch on off you can control the light with other switch.
In one switch position the com terminal is connected to l1.
These are typically labelled com l1 and l2 some may label the l1 and l2 positions as 1 way and 2 way.
3 way light switching new cable colours 3 way light switch old cable colours 3 way light switch using a two wire control.
Two way light switches are required for two way switching these can be identified by looking at the terminals on the back of the switch.
This should give you a good basic understanding how the 2 way switch circuit works and will help you in adding or changing a 2 way switch.
The next length of the twinearth cable will run from the light to the first two way switch.
Whether it is the switching of a light from two different places inside a domestic dwelling or switching a series of lights in a commercial environment two way lighting circuits provide a cost effective and easy solution.
The way i show allows you to fairly easily add a second two way switch to an existing light switch by simply wiring them together in a certain way.
A two way switch uk schematic diagram of old wire colours.