Installing Dimmer Switch

[bra]

Hi,
I installed a dimmer switch to my bedroom light switch and it didnt work right. It kept turning the lights off in the other room. What could have caused this? (besides me not knowing what I was doing) I did follow the instructions to a T but there were no trouble shooting advices enclosed.

 

[traveller]

Other than dim, rather than simply switch off and on, a dimmer switch should not do anything that the existing light switch did not. Perhaps the power to the second room is a spur off your bedroom in which case you are switching the common feed to it.

If you are unsure, then perhaps you should enlist the help of an electrician. I have now rewired extensively but I had to call in help the first couple of times I came across something unusual.

 

[louisgodwin]

Don't feel bad. I once had a professional electrician come over to install three ceiling fans in. Two of them went up perfectly. But there was one in the master bedroom. I thought everything was okay until about an hour after the guy left. It was then that I turned the fan off and my bedroom television turned off with it along with all the electrical outlets for my living room that were shared on the common wall with the bedroom.

 

[sweet_mayhem]

Don't feel bad. I once had a professional electrician come over to install three ceiling fans in. Two of them went up perfectly. But there was one in the master bedroom. I thought everything was okay until about an hour after the guy left. It was then that I turned the fan off and my bedroom television turned off with it along with all the electrical outlets for my living room that were shared on the common wall with the bedroom.

oh that sure is awful! that kind of thing only happens to us when my father repairs our main electricity outlet.

 

[milly]

obviously there is a problem in the internal wiring somewhere. Try to get an electrician to repair. If you tried it yourself - maybe you will not be able to locate the internal fault fast enough and something else may decide to start acting weirdly !!

 

[wayne1]

Yep it sounds as if your wiring is to blame and not something you want to try and fix yourself. It sounds like the wiring to the next room is a spur from the room with the dimmer so that when you turn the dimmer down it stops the electricity going to the next room.

 

[connor1]

actron air conditioner

You will probably have to run new wires for the dimmer to work with only the light (incandescent only). Most ceiling fans have a separate switch for lights and fan speed. This might be a difficult project for someone unless they know electrical work.