How to connect a pass-through switch

Recommendation points

• The device and principle of operation of the pass-through switch
• Connecting a pass-through switch
• Checking the operation of the circuit
• Two-key pass-through switches
• Lighting control from three or more locations

The article discusses the principle of operation of a pass-through and a rocker switch, provides connection diagrams for switches designed to control lighting from two, three or more locations. Tips for the correct installation work related to the connection of the feed-through switches are given.

The idea behind the creation of a pass-through switch is not new, the first circuits appeared in the houses of radio amateurs back in the 60s, and it gained particular popularity in the 90s, when the first imported switches appeared on the market, “sharpened” under the control of a lamp from different places.

The device and principle of operation of the pass-through switch

The simplest representative of the family of pass-through switches is its one-key version.

Outwardly, it is no different from a conventional switch, except for the internal circuit, which is usually indicated on the back of the case..

The principle of operation of the pass-through switch is simple: when you move the switch button, the internal movable contact opens one circuit and automatically closes the second (the so-called changeover contact). In the figure, terminal “2” is a common contact, terminals “3” and “6” are a changeover.

The schematic diagram of the pass-through switch looks like this:

Using this effect, you can create the simplest circuit breaker circuit, in which one luminaire will be controlled from two different places at once:

1,2 – pass-through switches; 3 – to the lamp body

Connecting a pass-through switch

Installation is carried out with a three-core cable. To simplify installation work, its cores should be factory-color-coded. The section of the selected wire must withstand the load connected through it. Since the power of the switch contacts is limited to 10-16 A, copper flexible cable with a wire cross-section of 1 to 1.5 mm is most often used for installation.².

How to connect a pass-through switch:

1. On the pass-through switch, you need to find a common terminal (in the diagram it is indicated by the number “1”).
2. On the first switch, located closest to the junction box, we bring the “phase” and connect it to the common terminal “1”. For installation, we use the brightest wire (usually red or orange, white is used in the explanatory picture).
3. We land the two remaining wires on the output terminals of the pass-through switch (according to the scheme, these are terminals “2” and “3”), remember the correspondence of the color of the used core and the marking on the terminal block of the pass-through switch.
4. On the second switch, we connect the cable in the same way as the first (we strictly observe the color coding of the wires and the corresponding switch terminals).
5. In the junction box, we connect the brightest wire (in the explanatory figure it is white), which came from the second pass-through switch with the lamp phase.
6. The other two wires, in accordance with the color coding, are connected with a wire of the same color that came from the first switch (for example, green with green, blue with blue, etc.), in the explanatory picture, green and red wires are connected.
7. We immediately connect the neutral and ground wires in the junction box with a cable of the same purpose that goes to the lamp.
8. We tighten the twists, if necessary, tinker, insulate the bare sections of the wires with high quality.

You can also use the following connection:

1 – branch box; 2 – to the luminaire body; 3, 4 – socket boxes

The assembly of the pass-through switch is performed in the following sequence:

1. We disassemble the switch.

2. We connect the wires to the pass-through switch, according to the diagram.

3. Insert the switch into the back box and fix it in it.

4. We close the switch with protective and decorative covers.

Important! Using the control, make sure which wire is “phase” in the junction box. Disconnect the power supply before carrying out installation work. Do not strand copper and aluminum wires together.

Checking the operation of the circuit

Ensure that each switch can both turn on and off the lamp, regardless of the position of the other switch..

Each switching of the pass-through switch should cause the electric lamps to turn off or on, if this does not happen, it is necessary to find and eliminate an error in the installation.

Two-key pass-through switches

These pass-through switches physically consist of two single pass-through switches assembled in one housing.

1 – two-key pass-through switch; 2 – pass-through switches

A double pass-through switch allows you to control multiple lamps at once. To do this, you need to collect the following scheme:

1, 2 – two-key pass-through switch; 3 – to the lamp body

For switching, you can use both three-core wires laid in parallel and six-core wires, the main thing is not to make a mistake when connecting.

The assembled circuit allows you to independently turn on and off two lamps or two lamps from two different locations.

For example, let’s turn on the lamp number 1 by changing the position of the first rocker switch.

Similarly, you can turn on the second lamp.

Disconnection can be performed using either the first or second switch.

Lighting control from three or more locations

In some cases, it is not enough to be able to control the lighting from two places. To effectively control the lighting of a three-story staircase, at least three control points are required. In this case, together with classic pass-through switches, an additional type of switch is used – a cross.

A cross switch is installed in the break of the connection between two pass-through switches, this allows you to create another lighting control point.

1, 3 – pass-through switches; 2 – cross switch; 4 – to the lamp body

Additional sequential installation of cross switches can increase the number of locations from which the lighting is controlled.

As you can see from the diagram, switching any of the switches will turn on or off the lighting..

Assembling the lamp control circuit from three different locations can be done as follows:

1 – pass-through switch; 2 – cross switch; 3, 5 – socket boxes for walk-through switches; 4 – socket for a cross switch; 6 – branch box; 7 – to the lamp body

Installation is carried out similarly to the above option with a single pass-through switch; installation requires a two and three-wire cable.

As can be seen from the material considered, with the help of pass-through switches, it is possible to organize the control of one lamp from two different places. The use of a cross switch allows the number of control points to be increased to three or more.