installing smart switches - upstairs/downstairs

[Avo Mk8]

Can I just clarify how the basic on-off function works at the switch position with the black and red cables in choc blocks?
(put aside the r/y/b cable - don't need that, assuming it just goes between the boxes and nowhere else!)

What turns the light on and off? If you wire the two reds in the choc block across one of the original switches, does that switch the light?

Do you know if the black choc block is live, or neutral, or something else? Do you have a multimeter?

 

[sinbrad]

Can I just clarify how the basic on-off function works at the switch position with the black and red cables in choc blocks?
(put aside the r/y/b cable - don't need that, assuming it just goes between the boxes and nowhere else!)

What turns the light on and off? If you wire the two reds in the choc block across one of the original switches, does that switch the light?

Do you know if the black choc block is live, or neutral, or something else? Do you have a multimeter?

From what I can see the single red is the actual live feed coming from the fusebox, as when I use a volt tester it is the only wire that illuminates the tester.

The two red wires in the choc block are 1 for the r/y/b cable and the other red is going to the light.
I have disconnected the 1 red that goes to the light and have put that in L1 of the original switch, with the live red from fusebox to com and the light comes on when the switch is made

I will assume that the black wires are neutral

Slowly getting there

 

[sinbrad]

From what I can see the single red is the actual live feed coming from the fusebox, as when I use a volt tester it is the only wire that illuminates the tester.

The two red wires in the choc block are 1 for the r/y/b cable and the other red is going to the light.
I have disconnected the 1 red that goes to the light and have put that in L1 of the original switch, with the live red from fusebox to com and the light comes on when the switch is made

I will assume that the black wires are neutral

Slowly getting there

Well, I have now connected the wires that I have just connected to the original switch to the smart switch, Live from com to L on the smart switch and L1 from the original switch to L1 on the smart switch and the smart switch works manually and via the app.
I need to now figure out how to get the power to the 2nd switch?

 

[Avo Mk8]

Well, I have now connected the wires that I have just connected to the original switch to the smart switch, Live from com to L on the smart switch and L1 from the original switch to L1 on the smart switch and the smart switch works manually and via the app.
I need to now figure out how to get the power to the 2nd switch?

Brilliant. That's progress.
That's all you need as far as that smart switch is concerned.

What I believe you will need to do next is to use say the r/y/b cable to take permanent live (eg red) and neutral (eg blue - assuming the blacks are neutral!) to the other smart switch location.
I know the switch doesn't have a neutral connection - bear with me !

Then you connect the permanent live to second smart switch L, the smart switch capacitor to L1, and the other end of the capacitor to Neutral. That provides power to the second smart switch (I believe), and hopefully you can pair it with the first.

 

[sinbrad]

Brilliant. That's progress.
That's all you need as far as that smart switch is concerned.

What I believe you will need to do next is to use say the r/y/b cable to take permanent live (eg red) and neutral (eg blue - assuming the blacks are neutral!) to the other smart switch location.
I know the switch doesn't have a neutral connection - bear with me !

Then you connect the permanent live to second smart switch L, the smart switch capacitor to L1, and the other end of the capacitor to Neutral. That provides power to the second smart switch (I believe), and hopefully you can pair it with the first.

Ok, for the permanent live, will I take the feed from the L on the first smart switch or do I have to connect up another scotch block and then connect the two lives from that, one for current smart switch and the other for the other smart switch?

 

[littlespark]

If these smart switches cannot be "paired" together... no amount of experimenting with the cables is going to help.
They will simply act as two one way switches in parallel.
Either switch can turn the light on, but both need to be off for the light to be off.

 

[sinbrad]

If these smart switches cannot be "paired" together... no amount of experimenting with the cables is going to help.
They will simply act as two one way switches in parallel.
Either switch can turn the light on, but both need to be off for the light to be off.

The switches can be paired together, I just need to be able to power the 2nd smart switch. I don't want to be guessing at what cables I need to connect to provide power to the 2nd switch for it to work and then I can pair them together?

 

[Avo Mk8]

Ok, for the permanent live, will I take the feed from the L on the first smart switch or do I have to connect up another scotch block and then connect the two lives from that, one for current smart switch and the other for the other smart switch?

The initial way you describe above is the way I would do it.

 

[Avo Mk8]

The switches can be paired together, I just need to be able to power the 2nd smart switch. I don't want to be guessing at what cables I need to connect to provide power to the 2nd switch for it to work and then I can pair them together?

You have the right idea in my book. Having got 'L' to the second smart switch, you also need a neutral to it, to connect the other end of your virtual load to, namely the capacitor. I'm hoping your two blacks in the choc block are actually a neutral and that will work.

 

[Avo Mk8]

If these smart switches cannot be "paired" together... no amount of experimenting with the cables is going to help.
They will simply act as two one way switches in parallel.
Either switch can turn the light on, but both need to be off for the light to be off.

I agree with what you say, but the OP's objective is to power the second smart switch, not use its switch contacts in any way. It's via pairing that the functionality he needs will be obtained, and I think he got that some posts ago.