Often, troubleshooting requires disassembling or removing the light switch. The process is not laborious, with elementary knowledge and skills, it allows you to quickly cope if you strictly follow the rules. When working with electricity, special attention must be paid to personal safety rules - the electrical network in the room must be de-energized.
Tools Needed for Breaker Disassembly
To open the light switch, you need to prepare all the necessary tools and materials for work. To dismantle the switches, you will need to arm yourself with several screwdrivers - the most common and frequently used flat screwdriver.
You will need a Phillips screwdriver if the circuit breaker has Phillips screws.
Features of the disassembly procedure
There are several types of switches, each of them has its own nuances of disassembly. To successfully cope with the task at hand, you need to familiarize yourself with them.
- Triple switches are most often used in rooms with ceiling lighting, a large number of spotlights and other lighting fixtures. The peculiarity of such designs is thin keys. The dismantling process begins with removing them one by one. Most modern models are equipped with special holes for easy removal of elements.
To dismantle the dimmer, you must remove the rotary knob - The process of dismantling a dimmer - a switch equipped with an adjustable rotary handle - has no fundamental differences. It is not the key that needs to be removed, but the knob.
- The touch switch is disassembled by removing the outer panel. To do this, you can use an ordinary screwdriver or a special pickup, which is often included in the kit. During work, care must be taken, otherwise the likelihood of damage to the glass increases.
- If the design is double and the socket is paired with the switch, everything will have to be dismantled. Most often, the first outlet is removed, since there is one of the fastening bolts under it.
Loop switches have a similar design. The only difference is the number of wires, since they are connected simultaneously in several places far from each other.
Power outage
It is important to disconnect the power supply before removing the outlet or switch. The wiring is branched in the room, there are several lines. Each one is designed for lights, sockets, switches, etc.
With the help of the machine on the switchboard, the power is turned off, the voltage at its output is checked. If difficulties arise in this matter, it is better to completely de-energize the room by turning off the input automatic device.
There is a common problem to watch out for. Inexperienced electricians quite often connect the neutral wire to the machine instead of the phase one. Such a scheme will be quite workable, but the lighting wiring will always be energized. To fix the problem, you need to make changes to the wiring diagram.
Removing the key
You need to start disassembling the switch from the keys, since it is not possible to dismantle the structure with them.
The easiest way to implement is to press the key with your thumb towards the wall, with your other fingers grab the formed ledge on the sides and, with a little effort, pull the key towards you. If a person is afraid not to calculate the force and break the part, you can use any flat and hard object, for example, a knife, flat screwdriver. However, it is preferable to do everything by hand, since the likelihood of scratching or damaging the part is minimized.
Modern versions of switches are equipped with special holes on the sides of the keys. Such a structure is removed without much effort and the risk of damaging its integrity.
In a two-key or three-key switch, after removing the first one, the rest are deleted in the same way.
Removing the frame
The next step in disassembling the electrical structure is to remove the frames. They can be attached to the base in two ways - clamping or screw.
In the latter case, the frames are fixed with miniature screws, which are unscrewed with a Phillips or flathead screwdriver in a matter of seconds. In the first case, the frames are attached using special clamps; to dismantle them, you just need to bend them. To speed up the process, first remove one clamp, and then proceed to the second.
How the switch is disassembled
Before proceeding with the removal of the main mechanism, you need to find the core to which the phase is connected. To do this, voltage is applied to the switch and using the indicator it is checked for its presence on the contacts. Then the key is switched to another position and the check is repeated.
If in all cases the indicator shows the presence of voltage, the supply phase conductor is connected to it. The second core must be outgoing to the lamp. The total number of wires shouldn't be a concern, since only one is energized. After the checks, the power supply is switched off again.
The spacer lugs hold the fastening screws that rest against the side walls of the mounting box. If the screws are loosened, the entire mechanism should slide out of the wall without hindrance. If it is fixed with screws, they must first be unscrewed.
Next, be sure to unscrew the fastening screws and take them out of the recess in the wall. After that, the voltage is checked on the mechanism using a screwdriver indicator. The lead-in conductors must be secured with self-clamping terminals. To easily remove the wires from the connector, it is enough to apply force to the locking levers. First, disconnect and insulate the phase wire. Then it is reconnected to the phase contact of the new or repaired old switch.
The phase should be connected to a fixed contact, and the outgoing ones to a movable one. If all the above actions have been performed correctly, the key remains pressed down from the top in the "on" position and from the bottom - in the "off" position.
Disconnecting wires
Most switch models are equipped with a special bolt connection to which the wires are attached. When disassembling, it is usually sufficient to simply loosen the bolt and pull slightly towards you.
If the device to be dismantled needs to be replaced with a new one, all wires must be insulated and marked with different colors so as not to confuse them during installation.
Typical mistakes in work
The most common mistake is using excessive force when removing keys and bezels. This leads to deformation and the appearance of scratches and a violation of the integrity of the part. In this case, you need to purchase new switches, since they are not sold separately.
The most dangerous mistake is disregard for personal safety rules, which poses a direct threat not only to health, but also to human life.Before carrying out work, it is important to turn off the power supply on the dashboard in the room.
