Faced with repairs, each of us asks related questions. For example, how to disassemble the light switch so that it does not interfere with the wallpaper? With sockets, everything seems to be clear. There you can see the screw head for a flat or Phillips screwdriver. Unscrewing it, we release the cover of the outlet. With a switch a little more complicated - no screws are visible.
In case of malfunction
Even in the event of a breaker breakdown, there is no need to call expensive specialists. Even a person far from electricity can solve the problem of how to disassemble a light switch. First you need to identify the problem node. If the switch changes position with difficulty, makes unusual sounds when turned on or smells burnt, it’s immediately clear where the malfunction is.
If there are no obvious signs of damage, you should first check the position of the circuit breakers in the power panel on the stairwell. Pampering children, the vengefulness of neighbors or just a voltage drop could leave your apartment without light. Turn on the machine from your apartment and check the lighting. If it again disconnected itself, obviously, a short circuit occurred that could occur in the circuit breaker only in the rare case when it was installed directly above the current-carrying wire, and this wire was surprisingly bare and caught on the contacts of the switch. Look for other causes of the malfunction.
Check lamp and lampholder
Before disassembling the light switch in the apartment, you should check the lamp operation, its contacts and installation density. According to the experience of electricians, problems arise in lamps and lampholders much more often than in a switch, since the rated life of a device for switching off and on is always much longer than the life of consumable light elements and contacts subject to mechanical stress when replacing a lamp.
You also need to check the presence of phase current in different positions of the switch using the simplest tester (indicator). In Soviet times, there were no special differences where to install the switch - before or after the load. Recently, however, builders have been trying to install switches on a phase, lead wire. If the difference when turning on is visible on the tester, then the circuit break in the switch disappears, and you need to look for other reasons.
Tools and work area
After making sure that the problem is in the switch, you should prepare the tools and the workplace. Here you may need:
- Phillips and flat head screwdrivers;
- a knife with a plastic handle in case of accidentally touching the 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 the provision of illumination of the work site without the use of connected lighting. Roughly speaking, you need to work during the day, and in dark places additionally use a flashlight or other non-volatile light source. Dust inside the electrical box can stain fabric chairs and chairs, so move them as far as you can before disassembling the light switch.
Safety first
So, first of all, you need to de-energize the part of the circuit with which it is supposed to work. To do this, find the machines on your staircase related to your apartment. Recently, the shields have been used to sign the affiliation of differential current switches in apartments, otherwise you should warn the neighbors in the stairwell about your intentions to disconnect the current and jointly experimentally find the necessary circuit breakers. Do not turn off the electricity without notifying neighbors if you are not sure about the accessories of the machines.
A few simple manipulations
Next, you need to get to the mounting screws to remove the protective cover from the switch. First, remove the key, prying it in the middle with a thin blade of a knife. The decorative casing is usually mounted on a plastic latch or screws, remove it with a screwdriver. There will be two fixing bolts with spacer tabs on the sides of the switch. It is necessary to untwist them a little to release the switch from the socket of the box.
Next, the contact is inspected. Most often, oxidized or simply popping wires from sockets and fixtures can cause a malfunction. After tightening the wire connections properly, the switch is first checked “by weight” without being inserted into the box.
Circuit breaker replacement
Burnt contacts, fused insulation and simply the lack of reaction to your actions indicate that it is better to replace the circuit breaker. After disconnecting the wires, in no case do not leave them hanging out of the wall just like that, even for half an hour. This is the usual place on the wall where homeworkers automatically put their hand to turn on the light. Wrap bare wires with electrical tape while shopping. The situation will be a little more complicated in large rooms with different light intensities. However, the sequence of actions for how to disassemble a two-key light switch does not differ from working with a single-key. The only nuance of the multi-key switch is that you need to mark the ends of the wires in the wall if it is necessary to replace the element. You can, of course, experimentally determine the connection sequence, but it will take extra time and not too safe.
Dimmers
With simple switches, that seems to be all. And how to disassemble the switch with adjustable light brightness ? The so-called dimmers, especially mechanical ones, are included in the circuit in the same way as conventional switches. Their dismantling is carried out approximately according to the same scheme. First, the rotary handle is removed, then the decorative panel is released from the latch with a knife or a screwdriver, then the fixing tabs are loosened by unscrewing the fixing bolts on the case.
That's all. Installation is in the reverse order. So, we found out how to disassemble the two-gang light switch and its one-gang analog. Everything is quite simple, and any self-taught master will cope with this work. And if you know how to disassemble a switch with light control, then assembling everything back will not be a big problem at all. Remember that all connections and fasteners must be tightened properly so as not to again repair the circuit breaker.