How to disassemble the light switch, observing safety precautions

Faced with the repair, each of us is asked the attendant questions. For example, how to disassemble the light switch so that it does not interfere with the wallpapering? With the sockets, it seems, everything is clear. There you can see the screw head under a flat or cross screwdriver. Having unscrewed it, we release the socket cover. With a switch a bit more difficult - no screws visible.

In the event of a malfunction

Even in the event of a breaker failure, there is no need to call expensive specialists. Solve the problem of how to disassemble the light switch, even a person far from electricity can. To begin with, identify the problem node. If the switch changes its position with difficulty, it produces unusual sounds when turned on or smells burning, then it is immediately clear where the fault is.

If there are no obvious signs of damage, you should first check the position of the circuit breakers in the power shield on the staircase. Pampering of children, the vengeance of neighbors or simply a voltage drop could leave your apartment without light. Turn on the machine from your apartment and check the operation of the lighting. If it turns itself off again, it is obvious that a short-circuit occurred that can occur in the switch only in the rare case when it is installed directly above the current-carrying wire, and this wire is strangely stripped and hooked on the switch contacts. Look for other causes of the malfunction.

Checking the lamp and cartridge

Before you disassemble the light switch in the apartment, you should check the operation of the light bulb, its contacts and the density of the installation. According to the experience of electricians, problems occur in lamps and lamp cartridges much more often than in a switch, since the rated life of the tripping and closing device is always significantly longer than the lifetime of the consumable light elements and contacts exposed to mechanical influences when the lamp is replaced.

It is also necessary to check the presence of phase current in different switch positions using a simple tester (indicator). In Soviet times, there was no particular difference in which to build the switch - before the load or after. However, in recent years, builders are trying to install switches for phase, leading the wire. If the difference at power-up is visible on the tester, then the circuit breakage in the switch disappears, and it is necessary to look for other reasons.

Tools and work area

After making sure that the problem is in the switch, you should prepare tools and a working place. Here you may need:

• Cross and flat screwdrivers;
• Knife with a plastic handle in case of accidental contact of wires with a blade;
• Pliers with insulated handles;
• Indicator or tester to determine the presence of voltage;
• insulating tape.

Preparation of the workplace begins with providing the illumination of the work area without the use of connected lighting. Roughly speaking, you need to work during the day, and in dark places you can also use a flashlight or another non-volatile light source. Dust inside the electrical box can contaminate the fabric chairs and chairs, so move them far away before disassembling the light switch.

Safety first

So, first of all, it is necessary to de-energize the part of the circuit with which it is supposed to work. To do this, you need to find on the staircase of automata related to your apartment. Recently, the shields sign the ownership of the switches of the differential current in the apartments, otherwise you should warn neighbors in the staircase of your intentions to turn off the current and by joint efforts to find the right switches by an experienced way. Do not turn off the power without notifying the neighbors if you are not sure of the accessories of the machines.

A few simple manipulations

Then you need to get to the fastening screws to remove the protective cover from the switch. First remove the key, poddevaya it in the middle of a thin blade of the knife. Decorative casing is usually fixed on a plastic latch or screws, remove it with a screwdriver. On the sides of the switch there will be two fixing bolts with spreader legs. It is necessary to untwist them a little to release the switch from the socket of the box.

Then the contacts are inspected. Most often, oxidized or simply jumped wires from nests and mountings can cause a malfunction. Tightening the wire connections properly, the switch is first checked "by weight" without inserting it into the box.

Replacement of the switch

Burned contacts, melted insulation and just a lack of reaction to your actions suggest that the switch is better to replace. Unplugging the wires, do not leave them to hang out just like that from the wall even for half an hour. It is a familiar place on the wall where the home mechanically put their hand to turn on the light. Wrap the bare wires with tape for the duration of the trip to the store. The situation in large rooms with different intensity of lighting will be a little more complicated. However, the sequence of actions of how to disassemble a two-key light switch is the same as working with a single- key switch . The only nuance of the multi-key switch is that you need to mark the ends of the wires in the wall in case you need to replace the element. You can, of course, experimentally determine the connection sequence, but this will take extra time and not too securely.

Dimmers

With simple switches, it seems, everything. And how to disassemble the switch with the brightness adjustment? So-called dimmers, especially mechanical ones, are included in the circuit in the same way as conventional switches. They are dismantled approximately in the same way. First remove the rotary knob, then release the decorative panel from the latch with a knife or screwdriver, then loosen the fastening tabs by untwisting the fixing bolts on the body.

That's all. Installation is in the reverse order. So, we found out how to disassemble the two-key light switch and its one-key analog. Everything is simple enough, and any self-taught master will cope with this work. And if you know how to disassemble a switch with light adjustment, then to collect everything back at all will not be a big problem. Remember that all the connections and fastenings must be tightened properly, so that you do not have to repair the switch once again.