In our article we will consider the installation scheme of the pass-through switch. Such an element is used quite often in houses, especially if their area is large. But before you make the purchase of a switch and choose it, you need to decide what it is in general. And most importantly, to understand the functions and purpose, the main differences from simple elements with two or three keys.
It is worth mentioning that it is installed if you need to switch from several places at once. And to do this with simple switches is almost impossible. In the article we will look at how to properly install a double pass switch.
Where can I put walk-through switches
One-button type pass-through switches are needed to control one line or lighting circuit simultaneously from different points. Moreover, you can put switches in several places at once at home orcorridor. In other words, going into a long corridor, you turn on the lighting with one switch. After you reach the end of the corridor, turn off the lighting with the second device. And when you come back, you can do the same manipulations. For everything to work correctly, you need to strictly adhere to the wiring diagram of the pass-through switch.
Quite often, such lighting control schemes are used in bedrooms. It's not very convenient to turn off the light at the door, and then move to the bed in the dark. Therefore, they usually put walk-through switches at the door and next to the head of the bed. Often such devices are placed on the stairs of multi-storey mansions. Several switches can control the light at once.
Features of switches
What do you need to know about installing do-it-yourself switches? Immediately you need to pay attention to such points:
- You will need a cable with three cores type VVGng-LS 3x1, 5.
- Self-assembly of a walk-through from ordinary switches is impossible, so you should not even try to do it.
- The number of contacts is the most important difference between feed-through switches. Ordinary single-key devices have the simplest design - one input and the same number of outputs. Pass-through switches have three contacts for connection.
- On simple devices, the circuit either opens or closes. There can be no intermediate states. Pass-throughs are called switches rather thanswitches, as they switch two or more circuits. But you will have to adhere to the installation scheme of the pass-through switch so that everything works like a clock.
The appearance of the pass-through and simple switches is almost the same, an inexperienced eye will not see any features that give out the purpose. But on most devices, the key has a small icon in the form of vertical triangles. Do not confuse such designs with cross or, as they are also called, toggle switches. They have triangles on the keys arranged horizontally.
Inner side of switch
When installing walk-through switches with your own hands, you need to pay attention to the inside of the device. On it, you can see the whole difference in designs:
- On the feedthroughs there is one terminal at the top and two at the bottom.
- For conventional switches, the terminals are located one at a time from below.
Inexperienced electricians may confuse the checkpoint with a two-key one. But the latter will not be able to work exactly the way the checkpoint does.
After all, the difference lies in the functioning of the contact group. When one contact closes, the other one opens automatically. If we talk about two-key, then they do not provide such a function. It should also be noted that the feed-through structures do not have a state in which both contacts are open at the same time. Some of them will be closed anyway.
How to connect switcheslike?
Now we will consider the installation procedure for two-button walk-through switches, and then we will learn how to connect similar devices. First you need to properly connect the sockets. To do this, you need to remove the key and the overlay frame. When the switch is disassembled, you will see all three pins for connection. Now you need to find the contact that is shared.
Most of the products have a diagram on the reverse side. And you just need to be able to read it in order to navigate and make the correct connection. In the same case, if you purchased a cheap model that does not have a circuit, or it is available, but you do not understand anything about it, then you can use the simplest tester. Put it in dialing mode and start searching for contacts. By the way, you can also use a simple probe with a light bulb (LED) and a battery. The algorithm for searching for a common contact and connecting a switch is as follows:
- Alternately touch the probes to the contacts.
- If the tester "beeps" or shows the value "0" (in the case of using a dial indicator) at any key position, then you have found a common connector.
- To the common contact you need to connect a wire on which the phase is suitable. You can check it with an indicator screwdriver.
- The remaining two wires must be connected to the remaining contacts. It doesn't matter what order you put them together.
After that, you can assemble the switch in the socket. When mounting the second switch, perform similar operations:
- Firstyou need to find a common contact. And most importantly - do it right, so that later there will be no "surprises". If you define the common contact incorrectly, the circuit will not work.
- Connect the phase wire going to the lighting lamp to the common contact.
- Connect two wires to the switch.
Junction box
And now the most important thing in the installation of a two-gang pass-through switch of any manufacturer. Namely, the connections in the junction box. After all, how the whole system will function in the future depends on whether you do everything right.
You will need to put four wires with three cores into the box:
- Power wire coming from the circuit breaker in the distribution board.
- Cable to switch "1".
- Cable to switch "2".
- Cable to lamp or chandelier.
When connecting the wires, it is best to focus on their color. In the event that you use VVG with three cores, they will have the following markings:
- Grey or white - should be used for "phase".
- Blue wire - connection to "zero".
- Yellow-green - ground connection.
There is also this combination of colors:
- Grey or white - connects to "zero".
- Brown - with "phase".
- Black - connects to ground.
But it is worth clarifying all the connection rules in GOST. It is these documentsrules for connecting conductors are regulated.
Assembly of the junction box
You need to start the assembly with conductors to supply "zero". To do this, the core going to the lamp must be connected in a box with the wire that came from the circuit breaker. When implementing a pass-through switch circuit from two places, it is recommended to use Vago-type terminals. When you finish working with the zero circuit, proceed to the "ground". Similarly, you need to connect all the strands of wires that go to ground.
The yellow-green wire must be connected to the lamp body. And it remains to do the same work with phase wires. To do this, you need to take a phase wire from the input cable and connect it to the common terminal of the feed-through type switch “1”. After that, the common contact of the through switch "2" must be connected using the "Vago" connector with the "phase" going to the lighting lamp.
After completing all these manipulations, you need to connect all the secondary wires that extend from the switches to each other. How you connect them does not matter, you can even confuse colors. But to make everything simple and clear, it is recommended to stick to the color that was previously used.
Basic connection rules
If you wish, you can connect a pass-through switch for two light bulbs, but you will have to make a few changes to the circuit. After final assembly, you can energize the entire circuit to test the operation of the switches. It is necessary to adhere to when connecting suchrules:
- The phase wire coming from the circuit breaker must always be connected to the common terminal of the first device.
- The same phase conductor must be removed from the common contact of the second switch to the lighting lamp.
- The remaining two wires must be connected together in the junction box.
- Ground and "zero" must be applied directly, without a switch, directly to the lighting lamps.
Three-point lighting control with toggle switches
In the same case, if it is necessary to install through-pass switches from three points to control the electrical circuit, toggle switches are used. The usual ones, which we reviewed above, have only three contacts. And with their help, it will be quite problematic to implement the connection. The difference between the toggle switch and the one discussed above is that it has four contacts - two at the bottom and two at the top. The scheme turns out such that two through passages are placed at the extreme points, and between them there are crossovers.
In order to carry out the installation of walk-through switches from two points, it is enough to follow the recommendations that we indicated earlier. But to control a circuit of three or more points, you will need to connect several more devices in between. To do this, you need to find the secondary (that is, not the main) wires in the junction box, coming from the two extreme switches.
Now it remains only to disconnect these wires correctly. You better sticksuch a scheme so that there are no troubles:
- Wires coming from switch "1" must be connected to the input.
- Wires that go to switch "2" connect to the output of the switch.
A little further we'll talk about how to properly connect. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the installation diagram of the Gira two-gang push-button switch. It may differ slightly from the one we present in our article.
Of course, the toggle switch should not be mounted in the box itself, but in any other convenient place. To connect it, you must use a wire with four cores. Just insert it into the junction box and connect it correctly to the wires. Now you can control lighting from three points at once. This will be especially useful if you are installing lighting for a three-story house.
What mistakes can you make?
Of course, if you are unable to read the installation diagram of the Lezard double-gang switches, you can make a lot of mistakes. And the very first happens when looking for a common contact. By mistake, some people think that the common terminal is the one that is located separately from the other two. And it's not like that at all. Of course, on some models such a "chip" can work, but this happens quite rarely.
And if you assemble the circuit with an error, the switches will not work correctly, no matter how many times you click them. The common contact can be located anywhere, soit is important to find it, focusing on the diagram or instrument readings. Quite often, such problems arise when installing or replacing pass-through switches from different manufacturers.
We looked at the information one at a time, connected it correctly, and the second turned out to be from another manufacturer. And it was connected according to the same scheme, but it does not work. To restore functionality, you need to find a common contact and connect all the wires correctly. This step is the main one, how the whole system will work in the future directly depends on it. There is no need to focus on chance, it is better to make sure several times that the contacts are correctly defined. And in order not to forget, you can mark them with a marker. Thus, of course, so that these marks are not visible from the outside.
But it also happens that the device you are using is not a pass-through. Therefore, when buying, you need to pay attention to what type of device is a pass-through or a regular two-key one. It is also worth mentioning the incorrect connection of cross devices. Some electricians put the wires from the first switch on the contacts located at the top. And from the second switch - to the contacts below. But you need to do it a little differently - connect all the wires to the device crosswise. Only in this case the whole structure will be able to function correctly.
Disadvantages of switches
And now let's talk about what are the shortcomings in the connection diagrams of the feed-through switches from the place and directly tostructures. The main disadvantage is that there is no specific position - enabled and disabled. This creates a slight inconvenience when the lamp fails. After all, you can’t immediately understand that it burned down.
The next disadvantage is that there are a very large number of connections in the box. And the number of wires directly depends on how many switches and lighting lamps are used. Of course, you can manage and significantly reduce the complexity of switching. But you will have to completely abandon the junction boxes, as a result - an increase in cable consumption. But there is a trickier way - to simplify, put impulse relays.
In the event that when installing walk-through switches according to the scheme given in the article, you do not want to lay wires in strobes, use wireless designs. True, they will cost you quite a lot - such devices cost 4-5 times more than simple ones. But on the other hand, the installation work is simplified by about the same amount. By installing such switches, you will forget about the wires. In addition, after installing the entire lighting system, you will not have to make repairs and cover the strobes with mortar.
