How do I replace a faulty electrical ceiling switch for shower, one of the red wires is burnt at the bottom

Jac, February 2010

Might I suggest that you ask yourself why the cable has burnt, and what other damage may have been caused? It seems that your cable is drawing too much current for what it was designed to carry and is displaying the signs of heat damage. Have you recently changed the shower? if so by uprating the shower you may have forgotten that this will now draw more current (its design current). I suggest it might be worthwhile calling a qualified electrician to ascertain if the cable is damaged and is unsafe, as well as testing the insulation of the cable. The cable has burnt for a reason.

BlueinSY2, April 2010

1st isolate circuit and prove isolation
2nd disconnect the cables from the pull switch, becareful not to touch the neutral(black) and the copper(green and yellow sleeved) conductors together.
strip the cable off which is burnt back to a point where it can be made off again and cut off the damaged bit of cable.
reconnect the new pull switch as per the connections you disconnected it from
secure the pull switch back up.
turn the power back on and test.

chris gray, February 2010