Connection of 3 arm chandeliers. Various ways to connect a chandelier to a switch. Connection with ground wire
Chandeliers are an integral part of the interior. It's not only about beauty and aesthetics, but also about the excellent opportunity to illuminate the room well. However, not everyone can connect a chandelier correctly. If lamps with one lamp or two wires do not cause difficulties, then the presence of three can baffle even experienced electricians.
Purpose of wires on the ceiling
There are a huge number of shapes and variations of lamps. Starting from the usual ones, with ordinary incandescent lamps, to multi-color diode ones. The breadth and originality of human thoughts knows no bounds. But what will even the most luxurious chandelier cost if it is connected incorrectly?
In an apartment or private house there may be 2,3, or 4 wires. There are standards by which their purpose is determined:
- Black, brown or gray is usually a phase. May be marked with the letter "L".
- Blue, cyan or shades thereof indicate that this is a neutral wire. It has the letter designation “N”.
- Green, yellow or yellow-green is “ground” or, as they also say, a protective zero. Denoted as "PE".
Colors may not meet the accepted standard. For example, in some countries the designation has a different meaning if the wiring was done by an unqualified person, or if the cable of the required color was not available during installation.
To determine the purpose of the wires without reference to color, you will need the following tools:
- multimeter;
- indicator screwdriver;
- stripper or knife for removing insulation;
- pliers;
- insulating tape;
- terminal block;
- insulating tubes or cambrics.
If three wires come out of the ceiling, and the switch has two buttons, then two wires will be “phase” and one “zero”" Using a multimeter will not be difficult to determine their purpose. You can do this with an indicator screwdriver by touching the exposed wires with it. In this case, the switches must be in the “on” position.
To determine where is “phase” and where is “zero” using a multimeter tester, you need to set the device to the “volts” position and select any two wires. If numbers appear on the display (≈220 V), then one of them is “zero” and one is “phase”. Next, without removing one of the probes from the wire, we move the second probe to the other. If the value appears again, the “phases” were moved, and the “zero” was constantly pressed.
If the readings appear on the device, both wires are “phases”. You can verify this by moving one of the probes to the adjacent cable - a reading of ≈220 V should appear.
In a situation where only two wires come out of the ceiling, and the switch has one key, it means one of them is “zero”, the other is “phase”" It is easy to determine the “phase” using an indicator screwdriver.
Wires on the chandelier
Depending on the type of chandelier, the number of wires in it will be different. This suggests that it can be connected in different ways. The most common question is how to connect a chandelier with 3 wires; it requires a more detailed consideration.
If the lamp has only two wires, the “phase” must be connected to one wire, the “zero” to the other. The switch in this case must be single-key.
If the lighting device has three arms or more, there will be several outputs. Then the question arises of how to connect a chandelier with 3 wires or more.
Unlike the wires in the ceiling, the lamp always has there is a color and letter designation. If a grounding wire (yellow, green or yellow-green) comes out of the ceiling, then a similar one on the lamp is connected to it. Next, the connection of a chandelier with three wires is carried out according to the following scheme: we connect the “ground” to the “ground” on the ceiling, the “phase” to the “phase” wire, the “zero” to the “zero”.
Connecting a chandelier with four wires or more
There are two wires coming out of each chandelier arm, usually a single blue and a brown (black). Although it is possible that the colors may be different. For reasons of economy and convenience, multi-lane lighting devices are connected to two-key switches.
If controlled by a double switch, all luminaire wires are required divide into three groups. One group is “zero”, and two are “phases”. All “phases” must be assembled together, after which the remaining wires are divided into two groups. Please ensure that cables of a different color do not fall into any of the three groups. You need to understand that one part of the light bulbs will light from one group, and another part from the other.
The connection diagram for a chandelier with a double switch is quite simple. The resulting three groups need connect to the three wires in the ceiling. The main thing here is to remember where the “phases” are and where the “zero” is. The “phases” are respectively connected to the “phases” found on the ceiling, the remaining “zero” group is connected to the “zero” on the ceiling.
What should we do if we have a multi-arm chandelier, and only two wires come out of the ceiling? It is necessary not to divide the “phases” into groups, but combine them into one. In this case, the remote control will be single-key, and all the lights will light up together when turned on, without the possibility of dividing into two groups. In this case, it will not be possible to connect the chandelier to a double switch, or only one of the two keys will work.
Thus, the question of how to connect a chandelier to a two-key switch can be resolved independently without the help of specialists. Main, always remember safety precautions. All work must be carried out with switches and circuit breakers turned off. You can work under voltage only when it is necessary to determine “phase” and “zero”. At the same time, touching exposed wires is strictly prohibited.
From this article you will learn what cross-section of wires is needed to connect to a chandelier, how to ring and determine the phases on the ceiling: we are looking for a grounding wire, we are looking for phases and zero, the designation of the chandelier wires.
How to connect a chandelier in a simple way, rules for connecting wires, connecting a 2,3,4,5, 6 chandelier to a single and double switch and many other questions.
Design features of the chandelier
Chandeliers are most often used as lighting devices in residential premises - multi-lamp lamps designed for installation on the ceiling.
A chandelier is a structure that connects several lighting elements - light bulbs - to provide good lighting in the room.
If you use a regular light bulb in a room, then to ensure proper lighting you will need to install a powerful lighting element, and even then, if the room is large, it will not be enough.
But such light is not always needed, so the best option is to use several lamps.
But in the case of using ordinary light bulbs, each of them will have to run its own wire or branch from the junction box.
But if you install a chandelier, the design of which involves installing several light bulbs, then the complexity of the connection will be the same as for one or more light bulbs.
But at the same time, all lighting elements included in the design will be powered, and from one wire.
And all because the wiring branching occurs at the entrance to the chandelier, and not in the junction box.
Well, don’t discount the aesthetic side of the issue. A lonely light bulb hanging on the ceiling looks dull, or maybe a beautiful chandelier.
To get good lighting in a room with a perfect combination of lighting fixtures with the interior, it is not enough just to purchase a suitable chandelier, you also need to hang it and connect it correctly.
What is taken into account before carrying out work?
Let's immediately identify a few key points that should be taken into account:
And one more thing - it’s one thing to simply remove the old lighting device and connect a new one in its place, and quite another thing to completely create a lighting power line, including from the distribution board, installation of switches, junction boxes and lighting devices, and then connecting them into one network.
We will not delve into the specifics of independently installing the power supply branch of a chandelier, since we are more interested only in how to connect the lighting elements, although some points regarding wiring will be touched upon.
Helpful information
Let us immediately point out some features that can help:
- Breaking the circuit with a switch is carried out only through the phase line, and the neutral conductor and grounding conductor (if any) go directly to the consumer;
- For each branch, a separate phase wire is laid at the output of their switch (It is separated in the switch itself. A single-key switch has one phase conductor at the output, a two-key switch has two, a three-key switch has three). This affects the wire used leading from the switch;
- On the terminal blocks of the chandeliers you can find the designation of the terminals, which makes the connection easier (the marking “L” indicates that the terminal is phase, “N” is neutral, “PE” is grounding).
Now directly, how to connect the chandelier to the switch.
Let's assume that the line is made in advance, the switch is in place, and 2 or 3 wires stick out from the ceiling (with the third wire being “ground”).
In general, the connection diagram is the simplest - “one-key switch - 1 lighting fixture.”
If the chandelier is armless (with 1 lamp), then the connection method does not differ at all from powering a simple light bulb.
It also greatly simplifies connecting a chandelier to one or more light bulbs.
Single-key switch – 1 chandelier
Before starting work, you should determine which wire is which. It would be good if modern wiring with color differences between the cores was used. At the initial stage, only “land” is of interest.
If the electricians did not mess anything up, the ground wire will have a yellow-green braid.
But you will have to figure out the phase and zero yourself and for this you will only need an indicator screwdriver, but all precautions should be taken, since the test is done in live wiring.
Therefore, before applying voltage, you should make sure that the ends of the wires are separated in different directions and do not touch each other.
And only after this can voltage be applied (you also need to turn the switch to the “on” position).
After we touch the ends of the wiring with the tip of the indicator screwdriver, the indicator light that comes on when touched will indicate that the core is phase, which means the second one is zero.
If there are three wires at the output, and it is not clear which of them is zero and ground, you can use a test light to determine it (we connect a two-core wire to a regular 220 lamp through a socket). Then we identify the phase with an indicator screwdriver.
If the lamp lights up after applying voltage, then the second wire will be zero (if it doesn’t light up, the “ground” is connected to the control). For reliability, the wires should be swapped.
After determining where each wire is, all that remains is to connect them to the corresponding terminals of the chandelier terminal block, and then secure it to the ceiling hook. In general, everything is as simple as shelling pears.
The diagram for connecting the chandelier to two terminals is as follows:
If the circuit is three-wire, then the connection is made like this:
Now let’s assume that the chandelier is a two-arm chandelier and you need to connect it to a single-key switch.
Each horn is a branch and two wires must come from it (phase and zero), but the “ground” is connected to the body, so it does not go to the branches.
Let's assume there are blue and brown wires coming from each horn.
To connect the chandelier, you need to separate the wires of the horns by color and twist them together (the blue ones are separate from the brown ones).
Then we connect them to the power line, and it does not matter what color the wires will be phase and neutral.
For example, we connect the brown wires through the block to the phase conductor, and the blue wire to the zero.
Then we isolate everything and check its functionality. Here we note that with such a connection, no matter how many bulbs there are in the chandelier, they will all light up when turned on.
It happens that the third wire in a chandelier or wiring is superfluous (ground is not provided in the lighting fixture or power line).
In the case of a chandelier, we simply ignore this output (this will not affect the performance in any way), but the grounding conductor of the wiring will need to be insulated.
In general, this is a general diagram for connecting a chandelier and it is identical for everyone, but there are some nuances that will be indicated below.
A little about wiring connections. To do this, you can use either terminal blocks or conventional twisting followed by insulation with protective caps.
Each connection method has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Terminals are more convenient for installation, but it is not always possible to install it.
The twist is more compact in size, but it is not always possible to twist the wires well.
Two-button switch - chandelier
Now let's talk about how to connect a chandelier to a two-key switch.
Since the number of lamps and their division into groups can be very different, we will consider several options:
One switch – several chandeliers
Now let's look at how to connect several chandeliers to one switch. Here you will also have to consider the features of the power line.
For example, let’s take a single-key switch that will power three chandeliers at once.
The lighting line diagram with this switch is as follows: phase and zero go from the switchboard to the distribution box.
A wire goes into it from the phase conductor to the switch, and returns to it again.
As a result, in the box we have a zero and a phase (with a switch included in the circuit), to which we can connect the wiring leading to the consumer.
Therefore, in order to connect three chandeliers to this switch at once, it is enough to throw one common line and insert the phase and neutral wires of the lighting devices into it.
Moreover, it is better to connect each chandelier to a common line in distribution boxes (they additionally need to be installed). And then in the chandelier itself, divide it into horns (branches).
Connecting a chandelier with additional equipment
Now about connecting the chandelier in which the fan is mounted. This lighting device does not require anything special to connect, since the fan is the same consumer as a regular light bulb (that is, the circuit is the same as that of a two-arm chandelier).
It should be connected to a two-key switch so that you can turn off the light or fan if necessary.
Also, when connecting such a chandelier, you should read the instructions, which should indicate which of the wires going to power the fan is phase and which is neutral, and use this information when connecting.
The same applies to chandeliers that have remote control using a remote control.
Inside such a device there will be a special executive unit with a controller that receives signals from the remote control.
So, this unit requires power, and it works on the same principle as a light bulb.
But in chandeliers with LED lamps, the lighting elements operate from a 12V network with direct current. And for this purpose, the design of the lighting device contains a step-down transformer, which has phase and neutral terminals.
Connecting this chandelier is as easy as connecting a regular light bulb.
Sometimes there is a need to install a combination switch to power the chandelier, combined with an outlet.
And here the whole peculiarity lies precisely in connecting the switch itself, and not the lighting device.
Since there is an outlet, in order for it to function, both phase and zero must be supplied to it.
And if only a phase conductor was routed to a conventional switch, then a neutral conductor will also have to be routed to the combined one. The connection diagram for such a switch is presented below.
There are times when the part of the supply wiring protruding from the ceiling is not enough to connect the chandelier. In this case, you can simply increase them.
To do this, you can take two pieces of copper wire with a cross-section of at least 1.5 mm. sq. and connect them to the line terminals using twisting. Then the connection points should be properly insulated.
Popular with readers: disadvantages and advantages of the device.
Safety precautions
When connecting a chandelier, do not forget about safety precautions. All work should be carried out only with de-energized wiring. Moreover, simply disconnecting the line at the switch is not enough; it must be de-energized at the distribution board.
You need to be very careful about the distribution of wiring before connecting.
5 / 5 ( 1 voice )
Chandeliers are most often used as lighting devices in residential premises - multi-lamp lamps designed for installation on the ceiling.
A chandelier is a structure that connects several lighting elements - light bulbs - to provide good lighting in the room.
If you use a regular light bulb in a room, then to ensure proper lighting you will need to install a powerful lighting element, and even then, if the room is large, it will not be enough.
But such light is not always needed, so the best option is to use several lamps.
But in the case of using ordinary light bulbs, each of them will have to run its own wire or branch from the junction box.
But if you install a chandelier, the design of which involves installing several light bulbs, then the complexity of the connection will be the same as for one or more light bulbs.
But at the same time, all lighting elements included in the design will be powered, and from one wire.
And all because the wiring branching occurs at the entrance to the chandelier, and not in the junction box.
Well, don’t discount the aesthetic side of the issue. A lonely light bulb hanging on the ceiling looks dull, or maybe a beautiful chandelier.
To get good lighting in a room with a perfect combination of lighting fixtures with the interior, it is not enough just to purchase a suitable chandelier, you also need to hang it and connect it correctly.
Analysis of lighting fixture contacts
When installing a lighting kit on a ceiling surface, wires are found both on the ceiling itself and in the device. If the wiring of the room is already laid, then there may be two, 3 or 4 wiring on the ceiling plane. Regardless of their number, one will be “zero”, the rest will be phase. Sometimes there is a ground wire.
But this is rare and such a conductor is found either in newly built houses, or after major renovation work, during which the electrical wiring was completely changed. According to existing standards, grounding is colored yellow-green. It connects to exactly the same conductor on the chandelier. If the lighting kit does not have a ground connection, the ceiling wire should be well insulated and left unused. It is impossible not to isolate it - it may short out.
After the grounding has been found, you need to deal with the remaining conductors and determine where the neutral and phase elements are. As a rule, all wiring is painted black, therefore, to recognize which is which, it is better to ring them.
Calling can be done in two ways:
- Indicator screwdriver - in this special device the red light will light up as soon as voltage is detected. To work with it, first of all, you should set the switch key and the button on the input switchboard to the “on” position. Now you can ring the conductors very carefully. Having determined where the “phase” is located, you need to highlight them with color. After ringing, the keys must be switched to the “off” position. If possible, all manipulations to connect the chandelier should be carried out with the machine on the panel turned off;
- Tester (multimeter) - here the switch is set to the “volts” position, then a scale with an indicator greater than 220V is selected. Using the existing probes, carefully, holding the handles, you need to touch the pairs of conductors. If there are two “phases” in a pair, the tester indicator will not change in any way. If a similar pair is found, then the third wire is most likely neutral. Next, the selected pair must be connected to the “zero” using a probe, at the same time 220 V should appear on the indicator. In accordance with the international classification, the neutral conductor is designated by the letter N, and the phase conductors by L.
If there are three conductors on the ceiling panel, and the switch has 2 keys, then there are two phase wires for each key, and one common neutral conductor.
Connecting a chandelier with a pair of conductors is as easy as shelling pears: one needs to be connected to “phase”, the second to “zero”. At the same time, it doesn’t matter where and which one hits.
In a situation where there are two “phases” on the ceiling panel, and the switch has a pair of keys, then there are several options:
- Both phase conductors are twisted, and one from the chandelier is connected to them. In this option, the device will be turned off using two keys at once, but either of them will turn on;
- The wire is connected to one of the phase wires on the ceiling, and the second is insulated. Then only one switch key will be able to work, while the second will remain idle.
In the case of three-lamp and other multi-arm chandeliers, we have more than two wires. If among them is yellow-green, that is, grounding, then if there is the same on the ceiling, you need to connect them together. Three wires have lights with one working bulb.
Since all contacts are identified and marked, all neutral conductors coming out of a separate cartridge are initially combined in the center. In this case, the “phases” remain divided into 2 groups in the form of 1 2. Where there are contacts 2, they must be twisted into a single pair. When the power is turned off, the contacts of the device itself are connected to the ceiling ones.
The standard situation for connecting a chandelier to a double switch with 4 shades is the presence of the lamp itself, a two-key switch and three contacts coming out of the ceiling. Sometimes, especially in new buildings, there is a fourth contact in the form of a ground, which is used if the lighting fixture has one.
There are two options for connecting such a device:
- the first, when the contact connection diagram looks like 1 3, that is, either one or three lamps can light up;
- the second has a circuit in the form of 2 2, when the light bulbs light up in pairs. This method is energy-consuming and is most often used when 1 lamp is not enough to fully illuminate a space, but three is too much.
When you press a pair of keys at once, all four horns on the chandelier will light up.
To connect a 4-arm chandelier to a double switch, you need to connect the phase contact coming from the network through the distribution panel to the wire that goes to the switch. Then you can connect it to the input contact, where it is always located. The second conductor, which is connected to the key conductor, is led to the distribution box, where it is connected to a contact that is connected to the installation area of the device. Here the contacts of the device and the network need to be connected to each other. The contacts on the adjacent key are connected using the same scheme.
The difference between these two keys comes down to the different number of “phase” wires connected to the network cores.
The wiring diagram for a device with five light bulbs is quite complicated. This is due to the large number of conductors, each of which must be dealt with. When operating on a two-key switch, lamps help save energy by operating in the appropriate mode.
Before starting work, you should determine the common wire coming out of the device. This will be the zero contact, which is marked with colored electrical tape. This must be done so as not to confuse it with other veins in the future. There is a similar contact on the ceiling surface, and it is also marked with electrical tape of the appropriate color.
Those contacts that, after checking with an indicator screwdriver, showed voltage, are called phase contacts. They are coming out of the ceiling hole, and in each horn.
When all the wires have been found and marked, the five-arm chandelier is hung on a hook and the contacts begin to be connected. First, the neutral and then the phase conductors are combined. You can distribute light bulbs on the switch keys according to the scheme 2 3 or 1 4. The first option is optimal, in which one button turns on two lamps, and the second turns on the remaining three. Also, all light bulbs can work simultaneously.
The intensity of light fluxes in a room depends on the specific type and power rating of the light bulbs used in the lamp.
If you plan to connect a multi-lamp six-arm lamp, then the wiring must be suitable accordingly. In this case, the two-key switch model can provide only three operating modes:
- two burning lamps;
- four lamps;
- all 6 working bulbs.
Most devices with 6 bulbs have the electrical part already assembled correctly. If not, then the average person will find 12 contacts in the lamp (2 for each horn). Six neutral wires should be combined in one terminal. The remaining six phase contacts are combined into two terminals in groups (2 4).
On the ceiling, all contacts are also called to highlight “zero” and “phases”. Next, it is determined which conductor corresponds to which key. To do this, one key is switched to the “off” mode and the presence of electricity is checked. If the indicator shows no current, then the conductor corresponding to the switched off key is selected.
After all preparations, contacts from the chandelier are connected to each switch key. The zero ceiling conductor is connected to the “zero” in the terminal box of the chandelier, the phase conductors are combined with groups of phase contacts of the device.
What is taken into account before carrying out work?
Let's immediately identify a few key points that should be taken into account:
And one more thing - it’s one thing to simply remove the old lighting fixture and connect a new one in its place, and quite another thing to completely create a lighting power line, including laying wiring from the distribution board, installing switches, junction boxes and lighting fixtures, and then connecting them into one network.
We will not delve into the specifics of independently installing the power supply branch of a chandelier, since we are more interested only in how to connect the lighting elements, although some points regarding wiring will be touched upon.
Helpful information
Let us immediately point out some features that can help:
- Breaking the circuit with a switch is carried out only through the phase line, and the neutral conductor and grounding conductor (if any) go directly to the consumer;
- For each branch, a separate phase wire is laid at the output of their switch (It is separated in the switch itself. A single-key switch has one phase conductor at the output, a two-key switch has two, a three-key switch has three). This affects the wire used leading from the switch;
- On the terminal blocks of the chandeliers you can find the designation of the terminals, which makes the connection easier (the marking “L” indicates that the terminal is phase, “N” is neutral, “PE” is grounding).
Hello, dear readers and guests of the Electrician's Notes website.
The other day I was replacing an old chandelier with a new five-armed one.
The house was a panel house, so I want to pay special attention to this, because... There is a small nuance there that I encountered once again. But first things first.
First you need to take care of your personal electrical safety. We turn it off to the required circuit breaker, on the power wires near the chandelier or single-pole indicator, and only after that we get to work.
You will say that to do this job it is enough to turn off both switch keys. I answer, what if someone initially connected it incorrectly and the switch switches not phases, but zeros? Moreover, according to the customer, the two-key switch was faulty. But I will tell you about this at the end of the article.
We bite off the wires and remove the old chandelier. The photo shows that there is one on the supply wires, but on the wires going directly to the chandelier: two yellow wires are phases from different switch keys, and the blue wire is zero. Now we will not remember the markings, because... it will still need to be rechecked.
To install the mounting plate for a new chandelier, you need to remove the decorative plug and hook. We slightly hollow it out, it falls out along with the hook holder (by the way, it is also plastic).
And now we have this view on the ceiling (at the beginning of the article I talked about the nuance). This is not the first panel house where I have encountered similar “technological” holes. When installing a new chandelier, you must definitely hide this horror. 
But there is a problem here. It lies in the fact that if you drill holes for the mounting plate from the edge of the slab, then it (the edge) may break off (crumple) when drilling with a hammer drill. So I had to shift the installation of the chandelier a little in order to drill the holes not at the edge of the slab, but a little further. In this case, you need to take into account that the base of the chandelier completely covers this hole. If you can’t completely close it, you can carefully plaster it.
Dealing with wires coming out of the ceiling
Electrical wiring in panel houses is laid either in special channels (voids) or in the joints between the plates. Most often, the ceiling slab (floor slab) has channels running parallel to each other at a certain distance. In my case, the wires lie directly on the surface of the ceiling slab. It all depends on the series of the panel house.
The electrical wiring is aluminum and made with three-core wire APPV (3x2.5).
And now we need to deal with the wires coming out of the ceiling, namely, find two phase (L1, L2) and one neutral (N). There are several ways to do this. I'll show you the simplest one.
Make sure that the bare ends of the wires do not touch each other; to do this, carefully move them apart.
- phase from the first switch key (L1)
- phase from the second switch key (L2)
- zero (N)
We turn on the disconnected circuit breaker in the apartment or floor panel. Then we turn on the first key of the switch and using a single-pole indicator or voltage indicator “Contact-55EM” we find the phase (L1) that is connected to the first key of the switch. You can find out how to use these devices using the following links:
Then turn off the first key and turn on the second. Similarly, we are looking for the phase (L2), which is connected to the second key.
Don’t forget to first make sure that your pointer is working properly by checking it on live parts that are known to be live.
Thus, we found two phases - L1 and L2. We have a third wire left - this is zero N.
How to connect a chandelier via a two-key switch
Here is a wiring diagram for a chandelier consisting of five lamps.
- phase L1 (orange)
- phase L2 (yellow)
- zero N (blue)
Dealing with chandelier wires
First of all, we need to understand the diagram of the chandelier itself, i.e. those wires that come out of its base.
In my example, each chandelier bulb has its own wires coming out. A total of 10 wires are brought out from the base of the chandelier: 5 phase (brown) and 5 neutral (blue). This can be clearly seen in the photo below.
The advantage of such a chandelier is that you can create a combination of light bulbs as you wish, for example, you can connect just one light bulb to the first group, and the rest of the lamps to the second group.
We agreed with the customer that the first group of lamps would include two light bulbs, and the second group would include the remaining three.
I will make all wire connections using two- and three-wire wires. By the way, the new 221 series was recently released - it is more convenient and compact.
So, we take two brown wires, preferably not located next to the lamps, and connect them to each other. This will be our first twist and we will call it L1. Then we take the three remaining brown wires and also twist them together. This will be the second twist, which we will assign the designation L2. This is what should happen.
We insert the first (L1) and second (L2) twists into the corresponding Vago terminals.
We twist the five blue wires together in any order (2+3) and connect them to the Vago three-wire terminal. This will be our zero terminal (N).
The following happened.
All that remains is to connect the power wires to the Vago terminals in accordance with the accepted markings.
You will now say that the Wago 222 series are designed for connecting only copper wires. I know, but I deliberately use them for connections and aluminum wires due to the fact that the terminal's current-carrying busbar is tinned, not copper. This means that there is no direct aluminum-copper contact.
Well, I like the terminals in this series.
The only thing is that they do not contain a quartz-based paste with technical petroleum jelly, which would protect the compound from oxidation, destroying the formed oxide film on aluminum. But this is not a problem, you can purchase Wago “Alu-Plus” paste separately and spray it directly into the terminal block.
Carefully lay the wires at the base of the chandelier (there is not much space there) and install it on the bracket. Tighten the decorative nuts. The chandelier is installed.
We insert warm white CFL lamps with a power of 25 (W) with an E14 base into the chandelier.
At the beginning of the article, I said that the customer had a faulty two-key switch. In his words, “when he lightly touched the switch, he turned the lamps on and off several times in a row.”
I removed the old switch and the reason for its malfunction was obvious.
The latch securing it to the switch body has broken off on the contact switch. In the photo below there is a broken latch on the left, and a whole one on the right.
The switch came off in the place with the cover, but should be removed separately.
This malfunction was the result of the “chaotic” operation of the two-key switch. The switch was not secured (fixed) to the case on the right side, the pressure on the contacts was weakened, and sometimes there was no pressure at all. When the right key was turned on, the moving part of the contact was not pressed against the stationary part - the contact disappeared and burned out.
Instead of the old switch, I installed a new one with a ceramic base from Powerman (China).
Lately I’ve often come across this brand, for example, recently, and it was also “Powerman”.
Now you can check the operation of the new chandelier. Works fine!
P.S. I hope that after reading this article you will not have any questions about how to connect a chandelier with a two-key switch. Well, if any arise, feel free to ask through the comment form or feedback. Thank you for your attention.
Nowadays it’s rare to see a light bulb hanging alone from the ceiling. Everyone wants to live in a beautiful environment and, in an effort to decorate their home, purchase multi-arm chic chandeliers. But here's the problem - you have to pay more for electricity!
But this only happens to those owners who choose such chandeliers incorrectly or connect them to a single-key switch, and in this case all the lamps turn on at once.
A competent and thrifty owner will make the right choice and connect the chandelier to two-key switch so that you can turn on one lamp or several or all at once, if the occasion requires it.
Choosing a chandelier.
If only two wires come out of the chandelier you have chosen, then such a chandelier is usually connected to a single-key switch. Although you can remake it yourself for a two-key one.
If three wires come out of the chandelier, then this is what you need.
There is also a third option - this is when many wires come out of the chandelier, connected in pairs. This is also your option.
What is the difference between the second and third options?
In the third option, each pair of wires is connected to a separate lamp, which gives you the opportunity to create lamp combinations yourself. In the second option, the choice is small - usually either one lamp or several or all at once are turned on, depending on what circuit the chandelier manufacturer has assembled.
The second condition for the possibility of connecting a chandelier to a two-key switch is the presence of three wires suitable both for the switch and coming out of the ceiling. There are also cases when a cable with four wires goes to the place where the chandelier is suspended. One of them is usually yellow-green (this is grounding) and such cables are laid in newly built houses. It happens that chandeliers also have a wire of the same color - these wires must be connected to each other. If there is no fourth wire in the chandelier, then simply insulate it in the supply cable with electrical tape.
If suddenly in your house it turns out that only two wires go to the place where the chandelier is suspended ("phase" and "zero"), but you still want to connect the chandelier to a two-key switch, then this is also possible, but then you will have to do it yourself in some way connect another wire there or replace the existing wiring with a three-core cable.
So, we checked the wiring, decided on the choice of chandelier - it’s time to start installation.
To work you will need:
3-core cable;
regular screwdriver;
indicator screwdriver;
pliers or side cutters;
insulating tape;
Installation and connection.
To begin, use an indicator screwdriver to identify and mark the phase wire suitable for the switch. To do this, we touch the bare ends of the wires one by one. The light in the indicator lights up - therefore, this is a phase and this wire must be connected to the corresponding contact of the switch. A three-key switch will always have three contacts - one common, to which the phase is connected, and two others, from which the voltage will be transmitted directly to the chandelier through the mounting box.
Now we need to move on to determining the phase wire on the ceiling. To do this, turn on both keys of the switch, alternately touch the exposed ends of the wires with an indicator screwdriver: the indicator lights up - it means phase, if it doesn’t light up, then “zero”. If installed correctly, there should be two phases and one zero.
Mark in some way where the phases are and where the “zero” is and you can proceed directly to connecting the chandelier.
All the wires of the same color coming out of the chandelier are collected into one bundle and connected to the “zero”, and you can group the remaining wires together as you wish, depending on the connection scheme you have chosen, and connect these groups to the phase wires.
Insulate all twisted areas with electrical tape. If desired, they can be pre-soldered for more reliable contact.
To avoid some connection errors, watch this video.
VERY IMPORTANT ADDENDUM!!!
When installing wiring NECESSARILY turn off the voltage.
It can be turned on in compliance with all precautions against electric shock only when identifying the phase wires and during the final check of the installation.