A pass-through switch is a device that can be used to control one light source from different places. These devices are installed in long corridors, as well as in passages and on stairs. Recently, they have increasingly begun to be used in bedrooms: one switch at the entrance to the room, and the second near the bed. Their convenience lies in the fact that in order to turn off the light in the corridor or room, there is no need to return. They are also used in offices: in this case, sitting down at the table and turning on the table lamp, you can turn off the top lamp without leaving your workplace. In this article we will talk about how to make a pass-through switch from an ordinary one yourself.
Features of the pass-through switch
Unlike a conventional double switch, a pass-through switch has three contacts. These devices are connected to each other via a three-core cable, which can run openly from the outside, or can be hidden inside the wall in a grooved groove.
The connection is made in such a way that the neutral wire goes to the light source, and the phase goes into the electrical circuit open to the switch. The neutral cable goes through the power distribution box to the lamp, the phase cable goes to the input.
Two cables are connected to the output, and the electrical circuit is alternately closed using a jumper. These wires are connected to the second switch, and one of them goes further to the lamp. Thus, electricity is transferred from the first line to the second.
Such a device as a triple pass-through switch is available for free sale today, but its cost is quite high. And if you don’t want to overpay a lot of money, you can make a pass-through switch with your own hands. This does not require any special tools or any special professional skills.
Externally, a pass-through switch is indistinguishable from a regular one, and may have one or more switch keys. The difference between them is internal structure. At home, main switches with one key are usually used. However, it is more correct to call a transition device a switch, since it is designed to switch electrical circuits. If the room is large, you may need a device with several keys.
Rework: procedure
Redesigning a conventional walk-through switch involves adding a third contact. For this operation, it is advisable for us to have two switches made by the same manufacturer: one and two keys.
They should not differ in size from each other. When purchasing a two-key device, you need to pay attention to whether it is possible to swap the terminals in such a way that the closing and opening of each circuit occurs independently of the other. Thus, one of the positions of the switch key will correspond to the inclusion of the first circuit, the other - to the second.
Now let’s move on directly to the actual work of remaking the device:
- We loosen the clamps of the suitable cables, as well as the screws of the socket box spacers - this is necessary in order to pull the switch out of its socket in the wall. Naturally, the electricity must be turned off. It is also advisable to determine the location of the phase using a probe and make corresponding marks on the plastic insulation of the wire. This will make reinstallation of the device as easy as possible.
- Having removed the switch, turn it over to the reverse side, unbend the body clamps and remove the electrical part. Using a regular screwdriver, this can be done in two to three minutes. Then, using a thick slotted screwdriver, remove the spring pushers located in the frame. You won't be able to do this with a thin screwdriver. When removing the pushers, be careful and take your time so as not to break or bend the elements.
- There are two teeth at the ends of the dismantled part of the switch - they need to be pryed off using a slotted screwdriver.
- Let's move on to the main stage of the procedure. On the ceramic base of the device there are three groups of contacts: general, individual and movable (rocker arms). One of the rocker contacts must be rotated 180 degrees, after which one contact pad belonging to the general group must be cut off (there is no need to isolate it after this). After this, the previously removed part of the product is installed in place.
- The key is then removed from the single switch and installed on the converted two-key device. If you don’t have a single switch, you can glue two buttons together. The easiest way to do this is with a special gun. Now, when the contacts of one circuit are closed, the other will hang in the air.
As can be seen from the above, the procedure is quite simple and will not take much of your time.
Disadvantages of pass-through switches
It should be noted that these devices, due to their specific nature, have minor disadvantages:
- It is impossible to determine whether a device is turned off or on based on the location of its keys.
- You cannot turn the lamp on or off from different places at the same time.
These minor drawbacks do not affect the operation of the device in any way and are unlikely to influence the decision to install them or self-production, but you need to be prepared that some confusion may arise at first after installing the switch.
The process of converting a conventional switch into a walk-through one is clearly shown in the video:
If you don’t want to disassemble the switch, then the next video shows how to connect directly. It is not as effective as the first one, but as an option in case of emergency it can be useful:
Conclusion
A pass-through switch, either purchased in a store or made independently, is a very convenient device. Turning on and off lighting fixture from different places avoids the need to return from one end of the room to the other just to click a key.
In this material, we looked in detail at how you can remake regular switch at the entrance. With some skill, you will not only save your money, but also make a fully functional and neat switch yourself, practically in no way inferior to a factory one. It can be used in the same way as a factory product. And to brag about having such homemade device Not everyone can live in their home, so this will be an additional reason for you to be proud of yourself.
First of all, before choosing and purchasing, you need to decide what it is - a pass-through switch, what it is needed for, and how it differs from the usual one, two and three-key switches.
A single-key pass-through switch is necessary to control one circuit or lighting line from several points located in different parts of the room or the entire house. That is, with one switch you turn on the lighting when entering a room or corridor, and with another, but at a different point, you turn off the same lighting.
Very often this is used in bedrooms. I went into the bedroom and turned on the light near the door. I lay down on the bed and turned off the light at the headboard or near the bedside table.
In two-story mansions, he turned on the light bulb on the first floor, climbed the stairs to the second and turned it off there. 
Selection, design and differences of pass-through switches
Before assembling such a control scheme, here is what you should pay special attention to:
1 To connect a pass-through light switch you need three-wire cable - VVGng-Ls 3*1.5 or NYM 3*1.5mm2
2 Do not try to assemble a similar circuit using ordinary switches. The main difference between regular and pass-through ones is the number of contacts. Simple single-key ones have two terminals for connecting wires (input and output), while pass-through ones have three! 
In simple terms, the lighting circuit can be either closed or open, there is no third option.
It is more correct to call a pass-through not a switch, but a switch.
Since it switches the circuit from one working contact to another.
By appearance, from the front they can be absolutely identical. Only the pass key can have an icon of vertical triangles. However, do not confuse them with reversible or crossover ones (more about them below). These triangles point in a horizontal direction. 
But with reverse side The difference is immediately visible:
- the pass-through has 1 terminal on top and 2 on the bottom
- a regular one has 1 on top and 1 on the bottom
Due to this parameter, many people confuse them with two-key ones. However, two-key ones are also not suitable here, although they also have three terminals. 
The significant difference is in the operation of the contacts. When one contact is closed, pass-through switches automatically close the other, but two-key switches do not have such a function. 
Moreover, there is no intermediate position when both circuits are open at the gateway.
Connecting a pass-through switch
First of all, you need to correctly connect the switch itself in the socket box. Remove the key and the overhead frames. 
When disassembled, you can easily see the three contact terminals. 
The most important thing is to find the common one. On high-quality products, a diagram should be drawn on the reverse side. If you understand them, you can easily navigate through it. 
If you have a budget model, or any electrical circuits are a bit of a mystery to you, then an ordinary Chinese tester in circuit continuity mode, or an indicator screwdriver with a battery, will come to the rescue.
Using the tester's probes, alternately touch all the contacts and look for the one on which the tester will “squeak” or show “0” at any position of the ON or OFF key. It's even easier to do this with an indicator screwdriver. 
After you have found the common terminal, you need to connect the phase from the power cable to it. Connect the remaining two wires to the remaining terminals.
Moreover, which one goes where does not make a significant difference. The switch is assembled and secured in the socket box. 
Do the same operation with the second switch:
- look for the common terminal
- connect the phase conductor to it, which will go to the light bulb
- connect two other wires to the remaining ones
Connection diagram for the pass-through switch wires in the distribution box
Scheme without grounding conductor
Now the most important thing is to correctly assemble the circuit in the junction box. Four 3-core cables should go into it:
- power cable from lighting circuit breaker
- cable to switch No. 1
- cable to switch No. 2
- cable for lamp or chandelier
When connecting wires, it is most convenient to orient them by color. If you use a three-core VVG cable, then it has two most common color markings:
- white (gray) - phase
- blue - zero
- yellow green - earth
or second option:
- White gray)
- brown
- black
To choose a more correct phasing in the second case, follow the tips from the article "" 
Connect the neutral conductor from the cable of the input machine and the neutral going to the lamp at one point using the terminals of the car. 
Similar to the neutral wires, you combine the “ground” from the input cable with the “ground” of the outgoing cable for lighting. 
This wire is connected to the lamp body. 
The phase from the input cable must be connected to the phase of the outgoing wire to the common terminal of the pass-through switch No. 1. 
And connect the common wire from pass-through switch No. 2 with a separate wago clamp to the phase conductor of the lighting cable. 
Having completed all these connections, all that remains is to connect the secondary (outgoing) conductors from switch No. 1 and No. 2 to each other. And it doesn’t matter at all how you connect them. 
You can even mix up the colors. But it’s better to stick to the colors so as not to get confused in the future.
The basic connection rules in this diagram that you need to remember:
- the phase from the machine must go to the common conductor of the first switch
- and the same phase should go from the common conductor of the second switch to the light bulb
- the remaining two auxiliary conductors are connected to each other in the junction box
- zero and ground are supplied directly to the light bulbs without switches
Changeover switches - lighting control circuit from 3 places
But what if you want to control one lighting from three or more points. That is, there will be 3, 4, etc. switches in the circuit. It would seem that you need to take another pass-through switch and that’s it.
However, a switch with three terminals will no longer work here. Since there will be four connected wires in the junction box.
Here a changeover switch, or as it is also called a cross, cross, or intermediate switch, will come to your aid. His key difference is that it has four exits - two from below and two from above. 
And it is installed precisely in the gap between two passageways. Find in the junction box two secondary (not main) wires from the first and second pass-through switch.
You disconnect them and connect a changeover between them. Connect the wires that come from the first to the input (follow the arrows), and those that go to the second to the output terminals. 
Always check the diagram on the switches! It often happens that their entrance and exit are on the same side (top and bottom). For example, the connection diagram for a Legrand Valena changeover switch: 
Naturally, there is no need to stuff the changeover itself into the junction box. It is enough to lead the ends of a 4-core cable from it there. Meanwhile, you place the switch itself in any convenient place - near the bed, in the middle of a long corridor, etc. You can turn the light on and off from anywhere. 
The most important advantage of this scheme is that it can be changed indefinitely and added as much as you like. changeover switches. That is, there will always be two passing ones (at the beginning and the end), and in the interval between them there will be 4, 5 or at least 10 crossover ones. 
Connection errors
Many are at the stage of searching and connecting a common terminal in pass-through switch make a mistake. Without checking the circuit, they naively believe that the common terminal is the one with only one contact.
They assemble a circuit in this way, and then for some reason the switches do not work correctly (they depend on each other).
Remember that on different switches the common contact can be anywhere!
And it is best to call it, what is called “live”, with a tester or an indicator screwdriver. 
Most often, this problem is encountered when installing or replacing pass-through switches from different companies. If everything worked before, but after replacing one circuit the circuit stopped working, it means the wires were mixed up.
But there may also be an option that the new switch is not pass-through at all. Also remember that the lighting inside the product cannot in any way affect the switching principle itself.
Another common mistake is incorrectly connecting crossovers. When both wires are placed from pass-through No. 1 to the upper contacts, and from No. 2 to the lower ones. Meanwhile, the cross switch has a completely different circuit and switching mechanism. And you need to connect the wires crosswise. 
Flaws
1 The first of the disadvantages of pass-through switches is the lack of a specific ON/OFF key position, which is found in conventional ones.
If your light bulb burns out and needs to be replaced, with such a scheme it is not immediately possible to understand whether the light is on or off.
It will be unpleasant when, when replacing, the lamp may simply explode in front of your eyes. In this case, the simplest and reliable way turn off the automatic lighting in the panel.
2 The second disadvantage is a large number of connections in junction boxes.
And the more light points you have, the greater the number of them will be in the distribution boxes. Connecting the cable directly according to diagrams without junction boxes reduces the number of connections, but can significantly increase either the cable consumption or the number of its cores.
If your wiring goes under the ceiling, you will have to lower the wire from there to each switch, and then lift it back up. The best option here, the application of pulse relays.
The pass-through switch significantly expands the user's ability to control lighting devices. The design and connection diagram of the pass-through switch allows you to control one lighting device or a group of lamps from several places. It is widely used in buildings, separate rooms and structures for various purposes with large areas.
Using pass-through switches in the house
By having walk-through switches at different ends of a stadium, concert hall or other large venue, you can turn on all the lighting at the entrance. If you need to exit the structure on the opposite side, you do not need to return to the switch that turned on the light - there is the same pass-through switch at the other exit. Electrical circuits with pass-through switches allow you to control lighting from several different places.
It is very convenient to use such electrical circuits in underground passages and tunnels; circuits with walk-through switches are increasingly used in private houses and on flights of stairs in the entrances of multi-storey buildings.
Design and operating principle
The pass-through switch is no different in appearance from conventional products. The significant difference is in the design of the contact group, which is hidden inside the housing. A simple switch closes and opens an electrical circuit on a single wire. The connection diagram for a pass-through switch, when the position of the keys changes, opens one circuit and immediately closes another. The principle of switching the contacts of the circuit ensures that the switches operate in pairs to control the same light source. By technical solution It would be correct to call such an element in the circuit not a pass-through switch, but a switch. Professional terminology has already been formed, and changes can only create more confusion, so everything remains as it is.
When the contacts of the pass-through switch are switched, one section of the lighting circuit opens and another section closes. The connection diagram of the pass-through switch is changed so that any of the switches is ready to turn the light on or off. A pass-through switch can only be used in conjunction with another. In practice, it is possible to connect a pass-through switch to the circuit so that it works as a simple one, but then the meaning of all the elements of its design is lost.
Kinds
Like regular switches, pass-through switches are divided depending on the type of wiring: for external wiring, for hidden wiring.
According to the design of the contact terminals: terminals with screw clamps, spring clamp terminals.
By number of keys:
- single-key;
- two-key;
- three-key.
They have everything like conventional switches, the difference is in the design and operation of the contact group. The principle of a single-key pass-through switch is to switch the input contact to one of two output contacts. , like three-key switches, in their housing they contain 2 or 3 contact group designs of a single-key switch.
Connecting a pass-through switch is simple; you can do everything yourself. The number of contacts, keys, and switch sizes change, but the operating principle remains the same.
Scheme of the structure of one-, two-, and three-key switches
- a single-key switch has one input terminal and two output terminals;
- two-key switch - two input terminals and four output terminals;
- three-key switch - three input terminals and six output terminals.
Lighting control from 2 places
One lighting device or a group of lamps can be controlled from two places: these can be sconces in the corridor or lamp posts along garden path. You will need a regular circuit for connecting a pass-through switch, more precisely with two pass-through single-key switches, because they only work in pairs. Using this example, it is easiest to understand how pass-through switches work. The figure below shows how to diagram.
Connection diagram for pass-through switches
The phase from the 220 V network is connected to the input terminal of one of the pass-through switches, its output terminals are connected to the output of the second. The free input terminal of the second switch remains; it is connected to the lighting fixture. The second contact of the lighting device is connected to the neutral wire of the network. The diagram shows that the lamp is in the off state; when the position of the group of contacts of any switch changes, current is supplied to it. The next switch on one of the two switches breaks the circuit and the lamp goes out.
Closer to real conditions, the installation diagram is shown in a picture of the connection of cables and wires in. By PUE requirements(Rules for Electrical Installations) in in this case a cable with three copper cores is used:
- red – phase;
- blue – 0;
- yellow-green – ground wire.
Connecting cables and wires in the junction box
The circuit is divided into four circuit sections:
- cable from the 220 V power supply: from the circuit breaker in the distribution board to the box;
- cable from one pass-through switch to the switch box;
- cable from another pass-through switch to the junction box;
- cable from the lighting fixture to the junction box.
There are four cables in the box.
Requirements for the color of wires according to their functional purpose are fully met only in two areas. From the distribution board and lamp to the box, when disconnecting the contacts of pass-through switches, they are partially carried out. It is allowed to use wires of any color. If you are confused, check in dialing mode or another measuring instrument. The phase (red) wire must be connected to the input contacts of the switches.
To control two lighting groups, a two-key pass-through switch connection diagram is used. If a person understands how to connect, he will figure out how to connect a triple switch.
Connection diagram for a two-key pass-through switch
Lighting control from 3 places
To control lighting from three places, you will need a cross-through switch. You can install it in any place convenient for use. In the circuit, a crossover switch is connected between conventional pass-through switches. They can be used on flights of stairs, for lighting courtyards and other objects, at the request of the customer.
It’s easy to make a cross switch with your own hands; to do this, you need to slightly modify the two-key pass-through switch. Two jumpers are placed on the output contacts, and the two keys are combined into one; you can simply glue one to the other. It is necessary to glue it so that the mounting holes on the keys coincide with the pins on the switch. The gap between the keys can be compensated with a cardboard spacer, to which plastic strips must be glued on both sides.
There are ready-made products in stores; you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, just buy and deliver.
Lighting control circuit from 3 places
Diagrams A1 and A2 (below) show different variants connections, but the functional purpose remains the same - the principle of pairwise transfer of contacts is observed.
Cross switch connection options
In cases where the lighting element is a large chandelier with two groups of light bulbs or just two rows of sconces along a long corridor, two-key pass-through and cross switches must be used. The circuit is a little more complicated, but it is clear that the same principle of switching contacts works. When the light source is turned off by one switch, the contacts close the circuits of the other switches.
The circuit is in such a state that when any key of this group of lamps is pressed, current flows to the contacts of the lamps. Based on these circuits, it is possible to control lighting from four or more places by inserting additional cross switches.
Connection diagram for four switches
Usage example
For a situation where you need to walk through a dark yard to the house, a circuit with pass-through switches in two places is ideal. In a private home it is easy to implement this project with your own hands. In the hallway next to the distribution board you need to install a distribution box and one pass-through switch. The second one needs to be placed on the inside of the fence near the gate; lamp posts installed along the path can be used as lighting fixtures. Large electrical supply stores have many options with original decorative finishes.
The connection should be made according to the diagram described above. It is recommended to lay cables from the street switch and between poles underground in plastic pipes. There is no need to bury it deeply; 30-40 cm will be enough to protect against mechanical damage. There is no point in taking into account the depth of freezing in each region; this is not a water supply system; copper wires will not freeze.
How to connect. Video
You can learn how to connect a pass-through switch according to all the rules from this video.
Having studied the principles of operation of a circuit with two single-key switches and assembling it with your own hands, you can, without outside help, begin installing more complex circuits with two-key switches in three places or three-key switches in two places, if necessary.
Pass-through switches allow you to control lighting from two or more different places at once. In some situations, this is not just an additional convenience, but also an urgent necessity.
You are invited to familiarize yourself with the operating features of pass-through switches, the main options for their connection and the installation instructions themselves.
Most often, such switches are used in the following places:
- on the stairs. You can install switches on the 1st and 2nd floors. We turn on the lights at the bottom, go up the stairs, and turn them off at the top. For houses with a height of more than two floors, additional switches can be added to the circuit;
- in the bedrooms. We install a switch at the entrance to the room, and another one or even two near the bed. We entered the bedroom, turned on the light, got ready for bed, lay down and turned off the lighting with a device installed near the bed;
- in the corridors. We install a switch at the beginning and at the end of the corridor. We go in, turn on the light, reach the end, turn it off.
The list can be continued for a very long time, because for almost every situation there is its own option for using a pass-through switch system.
Switch installation diagrams
There are several options for connecting the devices in question. We bring to your attention the most popular and successful of them.
The system is assembled from two single-type pass-through switches.
Each of these devices has one contact at the input and a pair of contacts at the output.
The “zero” wire is connected from the power source through the distribution box to the lighting fixture. The phase cable, also passing through the box, is connected to the common contact of the first switch. The output contacts of this switch are connected via a box to the output contacts of the next device.
Finally, the wire from the common contact of the 2nd switch is connected to the lighting fixture via a junction box.
There is an option that allows you to control different groups of lighting fixtures from two places. For example, we need to organize the ability to control lighting in a room directly from the room itself and from the adjacent corridor. There is a chandelier with 5 lights. We can install a pass-through switch system to turn on and off two groups of light bulbs in our chandelier.
The diagram shows the option of dividing the light bulbs into 2 groups. One has 3, the other has 2. The number of lighting fixtures in groups can change at the discretion of the owner.
To set up such a system, we also use 2 pass-through switches, but they must be of a double type, and not single, as in the previous version.
The double switch design has 2 contacts at the input and 4 at the output. Otherwise, the connection procedure remains similar to the previous method, only the number of cables and controlled lighting fixtures changes.
This connection method differs from previous options only in that a cross switch is added to the circuit. This device has 2 contacts at the input and a similar number of contacts at the output.
You have become familiar with the most popular installation schemes for pass-through switches. However, the number of such devices does not necessarily have to be limited to two or three. If necessary, the circuit can be expanded to include the required number of devices. The principle of operation remains the same for all cases: at the beginning and at the end of the chain, a single pass-through switch with three contacts, and cross devices with four contacts are used as intermediate elements.
We install switches to control lighting from three different places
If there are usually no problems with setting up a system to control lighting from two different places, because the circuit has simplest form, then installing three switches can cause certain difficulties for an untrained installer.
We will look at how to install a system of two pass-through and one crossover switches. By analogy, you can assemble a circuit from a larger number of devices.
Before starting any further work, turn off the power supply.
To do this, find the corresponding switch in the in-house electrical panel or in the panel on the site (for apartment owners). Additionally, make sure that there is no voltage in the switch wires using a special indicator screwdriver. Also perform a similar check at the installation locations of the devices.
Set for work
- Flathead and Phillips screwdrivers.
- Wire stripping tool. Can be replaced with a regular knife.
- Side cutters or pliers.
- Level.
- Indicator screwdriver.
- Hammer.
- Roulette.
To install switches, we must first prepare grooves in the wall for laying electrical cables, energize the wires and extend them to the locations of the installed devices.
For gating concrete walls It is most convenient to use a hammer drill. If the partitions are made of limestone, it is better to make the indentations using a chisel, because In such material, the punch will leave a groove that is too wide and deep, which will make fixing the wire difficult and will require more cement or plaster consumption in the future.
It is not recommended to use a hammer drill for chipping brick walls - it can split the masonry. In such a situation, the only safe solution is to lay the cables in pre-adapted joints between the masonry elements.
Wooden walls are not grooved - the wires are laid in special protective boxes. Most often, the cable is pulled under the baseboard and brought out directly under the switch installation site.
First step. We begin the work by connecting the wires to the electrical panel. There should not be any difficulties at this stage - modern devices allow you to start up to 8 or more wires at once.
Important point! First we need to determine the optimal cable cross-section. Domestic power grids can hardly be called stable. The current strength in them constantly fluctuates, and in moments of overload it even increases to dangerous values. To avoid problems with wiring, we use copper wires with a cross-section of 2.5 mm 2.
Second step. Select a convenient height for installing switches. At this point, we focus entirely on our preferences.
Third step. Having decided on the installation height of the switches, we proceed to gating. The width and depth of the grooves are 1.5 times larger than the diameter of the wire.
Important point! The wires are connected to the switches from below, so we install the groove 5-10 cm below the installation points of the switches. This requirement is relevant from a purely practical point of view, because in such conditions, working with cables is easier and more convenient.
Fourth step. We lay the wires in grooves. We fix the wiring elements with small nails. We drive nails into the wall so that they support the cable and prevent it from falling out. Before attaching the wires, we need to insert them into the subswitch (installation box). We will consider this point in the main section of the instructions. We will plaster the grooves after installing all the switches, making sure that the system is working.
| Nom. current, A | Cable cross-section, mm2 | Permissible cable current, A | Cable outer diameter, mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 2x1.5 | 20 | 13 |
| 16 | 3x1.5 | 18 | 13,6 |
| 40 | 2x2.5 | 27 | 14,6 |
| 40 | 3x4 | 32 | 17,6 |
| 63 | 1x10 | 75 | 13,2 |
| 63 | 2x10 | 60 | 21,6 |
| 63 | 3x16 | 70 | 24,9 |
| 100, 160 | 1x16 | 100 | 14,2 |
| 100, 160 | 2x25 | 100 | 27 |
| 100, 160 | 3x25 | 118 | 31,2 |
Fifth step. We make holes for installing switches according to the size of the devices used.
Let's move on to the main stage of work.
Installing switches
First step. We run the wires from the junction box into the subswitch. We cut the cables so that approximately 100 mm of their length remains in the installation box. Side cutters or pliers will help us with this. We remove approximately 1-1.5 cm of insulation from the ends of the wires.
Second step. Install the pass-through switch. We connect the phase cable (in our example it is white) to the terminal marked in the form of the letter L. We connect the remaining two cables to the terminals marked with arrows.
In your case, the color of the cables may vary. Don't know how to lay and connect the wires in the junction box? Then do the following. Turn off the electricity and find the phase. An indicator screwdriver will help you. A phase is a live cable. It is this that you connect to the terminal with the letter L, and the remaining wires are randomly connected to the terminals marked with arrows.
Third step. We install the cross switch. 4 wires are connected to it. We have a pair of cables, each of which has blue and white cores.
Let's understand the order of terminal markings on the switch. At the top we see a pair of arrows pointing “inside” the device, while at the bottom they are pointing “away” from it.
We connect the first pair of cables from the previously installed pass-through switch to the terminals at the top. We connect the remaining two cables to the terminals below.
To find live cables, we turn on the electricity and find the phases one by one. First, we determine the first one by changing the position of the key of the first pass-through switch. We find the next phase on the crossover switch cables. Next, we just have to connect the remaining wires to the terminals below.
Fourth step. Let's start connecting the last switch. We need to find the cables in it through which the voltage from the crossover switch flows. Our cables have blue and yellow. We connect them to the terminals marked with arrows. The white cable remains. We connect it to the terminal marked with the letter L.
We already know the procedure for identifying live cables. In the case of the second switch, we need to connect a wire that will not have voltage to the L terminal.
Fifth step. Carefully insert the device mechanisms into the mounting boxes. We carefully bend the wires to the base. We secure the devices. Fasteners in the mounting box or “claws” for clamping mechanisms will help us with this.
Sixth step.
A lighting device, which is located, say, in the bedroom, can be turned on with a regular switch located in the same room. But situations arise when one lamp needs to be controlled simultaneously from different rooms. In such a circuit, an ordinary switch without modification is unlikely to help, so they use another type - a pass-through type, which is also called a switch based on its functionality.
At the same time, it is not entirely necessary to go buy such a device. This is where an ordinary switch comes in handy, which every home handyman can remake at the entrance.
If you went into your office, turned on the light, and then sat down at your desk, turned on table lamp, then you can turn off the overhead light without getting up from the table.
In private houses combined with outbuildings, it is also very convenient to install a pass-through switch: before leaving the house in utility room turned on the light, and when leaving this room through the door leading to the street, you can turn off the light without returning back to the house. And several such switches can be installed for one light source.
On personal plot for lamps installed in gazebos, near paths, it is convenient to have at least two switches, one for turning on and off in the house, the second directly near the lighting fixture. From two independent points, current is transferred from one circuit to another. It is very convenient and there is no need to waste time returning to the original position.
The remodeling process is accessible to everyone!
From the outside, a pass-through switch is the same as a regular one; it can have one, two or more keys. Moreover, a regular switch can be converted into a walk-through one. The difference between a regular and a pass-through switch depends only on the “filling”, i.e. connection diagrams. It is necessary to switch current from one circuit to another, so it is more correct to call it a switch. Most often, a single-key switch is used in everyday life. Large rooms with multiple light sources require a switch with multiple keys.
The pass-through switch should have three contacts - instead of two, as in a conventional one. A three-core wire must be laid between the switches, which can be hidden in the wall, but for this you need it, or use external wiring.
Switches are always connected so that the phase always goes to the switch, and not to the lamp. The phase always goes into the circuit break, and the zero is always connected to the light source.
Through wire 0 goes to the lamp, phase goes to the switch - to the input, two wires go to the output - the jumper closes the circuit alternately, then with one or the other cable. These two wires go to another switch, and one cable comes out of it to the lamp. Current is transferred from one line to another.
Motion detectors are also widely used for the same purposes. The latter of these can also be done at home.
To remake an ordinary switch at a walk-through, you need two switches from the same company and necessarily the same size: one-key and two-key.
You need to buy a two-key switch whose terminals can be swapped so that the two circuits close/open independently of each other.
Thus, in one position one circuit will be turned on, in another - another.
They are most often used for remodeling. Since it is difficult to find a pass-through switch for external wiring.
Place one key on the front panel (of the same size as the two-key one) instead of two, and the pass-through switch is ready!
Why do you need to remake a pass-through switch from a regular one in the video clip?
