hi
i bought a light dimmer but i dont understand how to connect

in my wall where its going to be i got 2 black cabels and 1 red 1

on my light dimmer i got 3 places for cabled with .. well its on the pic
what should i put where??

ty

On the old switch, the connectors will be labelled L (Live), N (Neutral) and G (Ground, which should be obvious).

Just connect the wires to the same connectors on the new switch.

Really, the wires should be different colours, but sometimes they aren't (for various reasons), so the best way is just to put the old L wire in the new L connector etc etc...

And please make sure you turn the electricity off (or take out the lighting fuse) before you stick your mitts in there.

lol
thanks
but on the old connector there are no letters or so,
only a red and black 1 where on 1 side and another black 1 on the other side

so should i put

l black
then red then black again?

C'mon Tristan, there's no time left! Make a decision or the light dimmer will explode! Hurry up, which wire to connect first?
(sorry for OT)

lol
it aint that bad (yet)
i dont wanna connect the wrong wires by trying out cuz i dont wanna get elektroshocked
it would be rather a shocking experience

Can you take a picture of the wiring?

At the moment Red could be live, neutral or earth, and either black could be L, N or E too.

Can you take a picture of the old switch too, and indicate which wires went where?

Fitting them by trial and error is unlikely to give you a shock (unless you put live on the earth connector and it's a metal switch or something), but could blow the electrics in your house! Don't try it!

Well, white/beige is usually the neutral, and green is usually the ground, right? That's what the code is in the US.... (But, do you guys in the UK use 240V?)

Two blacks and a red... weird.

Quote from tristancliffe :

Can you take a picture of the wiring?

At the moment Red could be live, neutral or earth, and either black could be L, N or E too.

Can you take a picture of the old switch too, and indicate which wires went where?

Fitting them by trial and error is unlikely to give you a shock (unless you put live on the earth connector and it's a metal switch or something), but could blow the electrics in your house! Don't try it!

cant find camera,

but on the wall
on the top of the hole is 1 black cable
and on the bottom from left to right is black and red

It's almost certain that the top one is Earth, and should be on the E connector (or the one with the earth symbol).

I'd say then that the red one is live and the black one is neutral in that case.

Yup, Europe uses 240V (actually, I think it's technically 250V, but I can't remember if that's true), and have the following colour convention: Red or Brown = Live, Black or Blue = Neutral, Green/Yellow = Earth. The difficulty arises when someone has two blacks, one red, no idea which is which, and an unmarked old switch.

so with the pic i first posted
in wich order should i connect

Quote from wheel4hummer :

Well, white/beige is usually the neutral, and green is usually the ground, right? That's what the code is in the US.... (But, do you guys in the UK use 240V?)

Two blacks and a red... weird.

Remember, coloured wires are only mandatory since about 5 years... Before that, it was up to the electrician if he'd use coloured wires...

No idea, because the picture doesn't bear any resemblance to the back of a dimmer switch!

Just a though, maybe it isn't earthed at all (it should be really, with a green/yellow wire at least going to the back plate)... And maybe the other black wire goes on to the next switch... But then, why wouldn't you have a second live going off with the second black...

Quite simply, I don't really know without seeing your wiring, the old switch and the new switch.

Do you have a friendly neighbour who is more than 18 years old (above which I think most people should be able to cope with basic household switch replacement)? Get him/her to come round, give you a slap, and do it for you. In the mean time, but the old switch back together (you do remember which wire went where don't you?) and think about it a bit more.

that should be the best, ill connect the old 1 until i find a camera or maybe ill ask my dad and hope he will not be angry for me buying a light dimmer

thanks for the great help and for answering another 1 of my nooby threads

The image on the left is for 1 way switching, and the image on the right is for 2 way switching. Firstly, is there another switch in the room that turns on the same light as the switch you are replacing? If yes, then you need to use the 2 way switching method, in this case its likely that the red wire is the common (L) and the 2 black wires are the rockers (~). If not then its the 1 way method you need, so its likely that you have a live loop in and out (thats 2 of the wires) then a switched live out to the light, the switched live out can go in either of the (~) connections, it will do the same job.
Basically, from the number of wires you have behind your switch it, there shouldn't be a neutral wire.
It would be handy to get a photo. Are any of the wires in your existing switch together in the same connection?

Quote from wheel4hummer :

Well, white/beige is usually the neutral, and green is usually the ground, right? That's what the code is in the US.... (But, do you guys in the UK use 240V?)

Two blacks and a red... weird.

European electrics is different from UK. We have the safest ever here (srly), which is why the EU is trying to get the rest of Europe to follow suit. We have Blue, Brown, and Green/Yellow in the UK.

Don't you need a registered electrician to install these things? Here you can't touch your own plumbing without being registered.

Quote from Davo :

Don't you need a registered electrician to install these things? Here you can't touch your own plumbing without being registered.

Technically you do. But people do it anyway to save some cash.

well its recomend u get an elektrician...
ok, i have 2 light switches for 1 light.
i'm only replacing 1

so then i should do red/black/black?

I am an electrician, and by law at the moment, you need an electrician here in the UK to do work in your kitchen, bathroom and outside. So technically you can do what you like outside of those areas, although it should be law to have an electrician for everything, the dodgy things i see.....

Oh and DAVO, we cannot touch Gas plumbing here by law, we need a CORGI registered plumber for that, anything else you can do yourself.


EDIT:

Quote :

well its recomend u get an elektrician...
ok, i have 2 light switches for 1 light.
i'm only replacing 1

so then i should do red/black/black?

If this is the case, then the wire that was on its own at one end needs to go in the (L) connection, and the two that were at the other end need to go into the (~) connections, doesn't matter which way round.

Quote from GFresh :

I am an electrician, and by law at the moment, you need an electrician here in the UK to do work in your kitchen, bathroom and outside. So technically you can do what you like outside of those areas, although it should be law to have an electrician for everything, the dodgy things i see.....

Oh and DAVO, we cannot touch Gas plumbing here by law, we need a CORGI registered plumber for that, anything else you can do yourself.


EDIT:




If this is the case, then the wire that was on its own at one end needs to go in the (L) connection, and the two that were at the other end need to go into the (~) connections, doesn't matter which way round.

illl do it this afternoon, the note says its recommended u consult an elektrician, but in your own house u can fix things but cant put all wires on a new house unless ur an elektrician

Kiss me: What sort of light fitting are you putting the dimmer on?

3 wires: 2 black, 1 red:

The two black wires are a looped live(or looped feed)(or some electricians like to keep lives away from the switch, in that case they are looped neutrals), the red was used to identify which wire is going to the fitting(light)

Join the two black wires together ant connect them into 'feed in' or 'live in'
Connect the red wire into the 'Live out' connector.

Watch it! turn off the all 10 amp breakers(or if its a DZ board remove the 10 amp neozed fuse) at fuse board-if you not sure which breakers are for the lighting circuit turn off the whole fuse board TAKE OUT THE BULB ITS SAFER, if turning off the whole board is out of the question get ur dad to connect it or seening as youre an inquisative little devil and you'll probably do it yourself WATCH THE BLACK WIRES...try not to touch them.

IMPORTANT!!!:If you will connect it live turn off any flourescent lighting on that circuit or this will be the end of kiss me

cant i turn off the main power from the house?

Quote from kiss me :

cant i turn off the main power from the house?

If you wish yes, thats what I said ( your house alarm will start ringing)

Go to the hardware shop and buy an electrical tester screwdriver and test the black wires for power(dont buy an automotive 12v tester).

If you are not going to buy a tester use a pliers or long nose pliers to handle the cables...

IMPORTANT!!!! If the dimmer is metal watch that you dont touch the wires off the body of the dimmer as you hold it.Just be careful...take your time...get some stickey tape and go around that circuit up stairs/down stairs which ever circuit you are working on and tape all switches in the [OFF] position so noone comes over and turns on a light as you work on it.
REMOVE THE BULB ITS SAFER!!!

ill shut the main power off pop those lights out and put the old switch back in... will be the best

Quote from kiss me :

ill shut the main power off pop those lights out and put the old switch back in... will be the best

? ok, you might be better off if you are not sure.