If your dimmer doesn't have terminal wires, place a hook at the end of the stripped wire, wrap around the screw, and then tighten the screw. Many new dimmers no longer have terminal wires and use screw terminals that might be similar to the ones on the switch you removed instead. If the wires are flattened, nicked, or damaged, clip off this portion of the wire and strip a 3/4-inch fresh section. Straighten out any loops in the copper wires, using needle-nose pliers. The new dimmer switch will be connected to the circuit wires using wire nuts or another form of wire connector, so the circuit wires may need to be straightened. This is always at least a three-trip ordeal for me down to the basement, flip the breaker, up to test the switch, over and over again. If your switch is attached via push-in fittings on the back, you can remove them by pushing a small nail into the release slot next to each push-in screw terminal, or simply clip them off with your wire cutters and re-strip them to the proper length. If that's the case, simply unscrew them and untwist the wires. Alternatively, your old switch might be connected with wire nuts. If a ground wire is also attached, disconnect it from the green ground screw. The Spruce Home Improvement Review Boardĭetach the circuit wires by loosening the screw terminals on the side of the switch and pulling the wires free.If you are looking to control when your lights are dimmed, you may want to look at a Dimmer Timer Combination switch that will allow you to schedule when your lights are either turned on or off, or dimmed, depending upon your needs. The above steps are common with US three-way switches which are used to control the lights from two locations with two three-way switches. Some may find the above steps unnecessary complex because you may not need the neutral wire to be brought back into the switch. It is mandatory to have an earth conductor for the light fitting. This is done by using the ‘loop’ terminal and then separately joining the supply and load cables earth conductors together (possibly using a double-screwed BP connector). Connect the supply and load side neutral conductors.Gather the switched active supply to the actual light from ‘1’.Connect the active supply to the ‘C’ – Common terminal.Three-way switches are also common but can make it harder to tell if a light switch is on or off just by looking at the switch itself. It has no electrical connection to the switch and can be used, for example, for joining the neutral conductors of the cables from the supply and to the light. The loop is just a ‘spare’, unconnected terminal thrown in for convenience. With one common terminal and two switch terminals, it can be used to control two separate devices or circuits. The standard switch is a single-pole, double-throw rocker switch. If you do need to use it for some reason, you can reasonably easily break the protective plastic sleeve with a screwdriver. Generally, the terminal marked ‘2’ has a T-shaped small piece of plastic obscuring it because it is rarely needed and more times than not is used for 2-way switches. There will typically be four different terminals on the light switch, commonly marked as ‘C’, ‘1’, ‘2’ & ‘Loop’. Always ensure your mains power is turned off before fitting any dimmer switch.Never connect the dimmer switch to the Neutral lead only, which can lead to serious harm or death. ![]() If you prefer something more visual, you can watch this video on Youtube. Turn the dimmer switch on and ensure the dimming functionality works as designed by rotating the dial from left to right. ![]() Reconnect the power at the main switchboard. ![]()
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