ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades Help with terminology

I just discovered that a Swedish manfacturer have their catalogue in what is supposed t be English. In reality it's in Swenglish.

All technical terms have been translated directly from Swedish. Can you guess what they mean by a "crown connection", "step connection", "neutral clips" and "ignition wire"?

I intend to drop them a line, but would like to know the correct terminology first?

What do you call the wire going from a switch to the lamp? Switch return wire?

What do you call a wire going between 2-way switches? Traveler?

Is "intermediate switch" the proper British term for a 4-way switch?

What do you call a switch with two buttons?

What do you call a terminal on a socket outlet or switch that isn't connected to anything? (You just use it as a connector)

Some of the instruction manuals from the Far East take some beating for their "unique" use of English. Some of their translations are quite hilarious!

Ignition wire makes me think of the H.T. leads used in a car. Staying with the automotive train of thought, I wonder if they're using crown connection to mean some sort of master lead or main connection. The main H.T. from a car's coil to the distributor is often called the "King lead" in English, and I believe that some languages use the same word for King/Queen/Crown.

Switch return, or switch loop, or switched feed. There doesn't seem to be any consensus on a single term.

Correct. British usage more commonly uses the spelling traveller, but either is acceptable.

Yes.

Do you mean a single switch operated by separate on and an off buttons, or two switches on a single plate each with its own toggle or rocker?

These aren't really found on British devices. Spare terminal would be as good a term as any. If it's any help, in electronics work spare pins on a tube base or integrated circuit are often labeled NC, meaning No Connection. (Unfortunately, the N.C., n.c. n/c etc. marking on a relay refers to the normally closed contact.)


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 08-25-2003).]

C-H,
I'll try to help you, these are the terms British electricians would normally use:

1) Switch wire = wire from switch to lamp.

2)Strappers / strapping wires or pass wires = wires between 2 way switches. Traveller is US terminology that is not used in the UK.

3) Intermediate switch = 4-way switch in US terminology.

4) 2 Gang switch = a switch with 2 rockers.

5) Looping terminal = a spare terminal for use as a connector.

Hope this is of help.

It's not?

I've always known them as travelers, although I've seen the strapper term as well.

What say our other British members: Do you know these wires as travelers or not?

Strappers here

I thought it would be hard to understand:

By ignition wire they meant switch wire, by step connection a 2-way switch and by neutral clips a looping terminal.

Here is another problem: What do you call a single socket in a multiple socket device? The direct translation "outlet well" doesn't seem quite right

And what do you call duplex sockets where you can control the sockets individually, like on American receptacles. And what do you call that little piece of metal that bonds the terminals togheter when you don't want to switch the individual sockets separately? The Swedish terms translates into "separate well ignition"

Somewhat reminds me of a far east radio manual that was even qoted in one of our major newspapers because it was that funny. It siad something like "For listening to FM band radio set table on fire..."
In German the sentence structure was even worse, but I don' remember it closely enough to be able to translate it back to an equally bad English, but it definitely was something with setting something on fire...

That certainly gives new meaning to "Hot Hits!"

Sockets here are termed 1-gang or 2-gang, but commonly called singles and twins.

The standard 2-gang BS1363 outlets have only one set of terminals for both outlets, so it's not possible to wire them in an American-style split-duplex configuration. To achieve that you'd need to go for either two single-gang sockets mounted next to each other, or adopt one of the modular systems where you can clip in whatever combination of individual devices you require.