DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hopefully someone can help!! I am trying to add a new light and switch to the new landing of my loft conversion. The current hall lighting has three lights and three switches. The lights have red and black wires in them, and the intermediate switch has yellow, red and brown cables in it. How to I connect the new light and new switch to this current circuit?

Pictures better than words
Look on projects pages under;
Electrical, wiring a ceiling rose: https://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/ceilingrose.htm
Give you a good idea where to start, if need help from there. Get back to forum.
KB

Looked at the ceiling rose diagram below and I am halfway to solving! The new hall light is at the end of the lighting circuit, ie there are no lights next in line, so I have only one live and neutral in and none going out. The new light comes on with all other switches in the circuit but does not switch off with the new switch. I have a cable from the new light to the switch but not sure how to connect it into the switch to make it work right - can anyone help?

Your switch wires new colours brown and blue, if your using a ceiling rose your 2 browns (feed Live and cable to switch) connect at loop in terminals, if not a ceiling rose in to connetion block together with noting else.

Then your supply neutral to neutral on rose or terminal on fitting.(blue flex side)
and your blue cable from switch(this is not a neutral) to Live terminal in rose or on fitting.(brown flex side) Sleeve or flag this cable with brown insulator or tape to indentify it.
and all earths to earth terminals.
KB

Your switch wires new colours brown and blue, if your using a ceiling rose your 2 browns (feed Live and cable to switch) connect at loop in terminals, if not a ceiling rose in to connetion block together with noting else.

Then your supply neutral to neutral on rose or terminal on fitting.(blue flex side)
and your blue cable from switch(this is not a neutral) to Live terminal in rose or on fitting.(brown flex side) Sleeve or flag this cable with brown insulator or tape to indentify it.
and all earths to earth terminals.
KB

I have followed your info, but now have a slightly different problem!!
Just to clarify - I have three existing lights and three existing switches, I want to add another light and another switch (that will all work together). What I have done so far is installed a new cable from one of the lights (to give me live & neutral) and taken this to the new light position. I then have another cable from the new light position to the new switch (2 way switch). I have looped the brown wires together in the ceiling at the light, the black cable from the existing light is connected to the new light fitting, the black cable coming from the switch is connected to the new light fitting. IN the 2 way switch, the brown cbale is in the common and the black cable in the 2 way connector. All four lights switch on and off from the three existing switches, but the new switch only switches the new light on and off - HELP!! Presume I have a cable missing somewhere!

if it is switched from the ceiling rose you should have a live coming in and a live going out to the switch. if you only have one it sounds like the switching is done elswhere, possibly behind the switch itself or in the roof void.
Andy

So lets get this right, you didn't want to have all four lights to be operated by four different switches but wanted the original three lights to work seperate as before and the new switch and light to operate all four lights at the same time on and off?
please confirm.
KB

ok, I think you want to switch all 4 lights together on original switches plus from a 4th switch position?
If so then it is not straight forward.
use the cable you have between the new light and existing one to connect across same terms. as flex in original light, this will bring all 4 lights on with 3 original switches.
you understand you have 2way with intermediate switching already, to add another switch to this must be another intermediate switch not a 2way switch. the connections for this will require 2X2core (pluss earth) cables cutting into the cable between existing switches, possibly at one of the existing switches.
If my understanding is correct so far you have a lot of work to do!!
please confirm set up,
regards SPARX