Minty Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 Hello all, need to change kids light switch. I disconnected power from fuse board, and put a meter to connections and was negative. Then changed switch, turned on power, working fine. My question is: when I put the mater back on, it did not stay on a certain voltage, it went from 190 and down, then back to 190. is this right? Or doing something wrong? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGIFA Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 possible faults 1 loose connection 2 Dodgy test leads/probes 3 Dodgy multimeter 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minty Posted January 25, 2021 Author Share Posted January 25, 2021 Ok. meter is brand new, I’ll test on another socket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minty Posted January 25, 2021 Author Share Posted January 25, 2021 (edited) I took of switch completely, and tested and got a better reading. I thought I could connect the probes and touch the Screws to get a reading. My first time use i forgot to take pictures of before and after readings to show. I couldn’t hold the meter and take a picture. just wanted to check I had meter on correct settings. Edited January 25, 2021 by Minty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveywavey Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 Hi minty if you are in the uk your meter should be on the 600volt seting uk voltage is 230/240vac what wires you testing across at the light switch if its a twin&earth cable both insulated wires will be live when the switch is turned on ( live in and live out) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minty Posted January 25, 2021 Author Share Posted January 25, 2021 Yes in uk, yes twin and earth,and did not have switch on when tested. also as you can see I was on 200v as thought for 240v. I use to use one of them light screwdrivers for testing, and was told not reliable, so thought so it the right way with a meter. Thankyou 👍🏻👍🏻 will change to 600v and correct above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minty Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 I changed to 600v and got a good result on a mains socket, touching the live and neutral screws. Then testing again when mains was off 👍🏻 Nice one Daveywavey, I thought I might of had a brand new faulty meter. 👍🏻 Also did try again on switch, but could not get a reading touching screws when on, or trying where cable comes in. I disconnected the light switch, and got a reading with the bare cables. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveywavey Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 Thanks for the post minty its made me dig out my test gear was a sparky for 40 odd years I still use a neon screwdriver for fault finding not the safest tool but very handy if used with care Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minty Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 Nice one 👍🏻 it’s just a few diy jobs in the house to swap sockets over and switches. I thought instead of doing it with neon screwdriver, I would do it the best and safest way with the meter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HackmanSlim Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Now I would drop my usual bad attempt at humour here (have you tried turning it off and on again) but I think I might be pushing my luck a bit too much. Glad you got your issue sorted, and cheers to Davey for the solutions. I am actually down for replacing my voltmeter soon, and I must say, I really do like the look of the one you have !! How much damage would that incurr if one was to buy one of those ? Slim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minty Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 hello slim, only £9.99 from screwfix Screwfix Link 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HackmanSlim Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Kin ell, they've dropped in price since I last checked (maybe 20 years ago) Cheers Minty, i'll get an order put through Slim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGIFA Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 On 2/3/2021 at 10:36 PM, HackmanSlim said: Kin ell, they've dropped in price since I last checked (maybe 20 years ago) Cheers Minty, i'll get an order put through Slim I have gone through 2 of them lol there ok for a spot of DIY just triple check your settings before you probe or you will let the smoke out lol. I was lucky enough to be gifted a fluke 79III by a friend when I blew my Screwfix one up setting up his nest thermostat lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minty Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 Ok, lol. i believe screwfix is good on returns 😁 I will dig out my receipt and put in box, ready just in case 😩. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HackmanSlim Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 hehe okies My old man used to have one of those flukes, really accurate, and he would rave about it all the time. Sadly I don't know what he done with it before he left this planet. Would love to know where it is, oh well I'll grab one from screwfix Cheers lads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.