light switches...what colour and what wire?

[spaced]

In a plug the Neutral is blue, earth is yell/green and live is brown. In a light switch you have a black, red and green wire (earth). Which is live and which is neutral???

[rojash]

There is no neutral in a light switch, because only the live needs to be switched. The red wire comes from the mains and is always live. The black wire goes to the lamp and is live when the switch is in the on position. The neutral is fed seaparately to the lamp.

[qapmoc]

Hi, Just a point about house wiring, never ever ever assume that a wire which you think is neutral (colour black) or in this case the switched wire (colour black) is safe to touch because its not switched on. There are some circumstances where they can easily become live if a connection somewhere else on the system is broken or opened during working.
This might sound odd, but for example in a light fitting say there are three black wires which are all neutral and correctly connected, you could touch this with no problem (it is neutral and safe), BUT if a light somewhere else in the house is on and you seperate these three wires then one of them will become live the instant that it no longer touches the others.
Deaths regularly result from this each year.

[rojash]

Good points qapmoc. When I said "is live when the switch is in the on position" I was indicating that it's also a live wire, but switched, rather than implying that it was safe to touch with the switch off.

Never work on house wiring unless the main circuit breaker or fuse is open, and if you are not sure about anything at all, get a qualified electrician.