3-way switch update *almost* works...
#1
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One 3-way switch must be left in "on" position? [SOLVED]
Hi guys,
My wife and I just bought a house that was full of incandescent lighting. I replaced all the bulbs with LED equivalents, and where necessary, LED-compatible fixtures.
The lights over the stairs were the only existing LED lights, and they were much too bright. They were recessed units with built-in LEDs, so I couldn't replace the bulbs.
So I thought I'd add a dimmer. There was no guarantee it'd work with the older LED fixtures, but it seemed worth a try before having to replace the fixtures.
The lights are controlled by two 3-way switches, at either end of the stairs. I decided to replace the downstairs switch—the one closest to the breaker board, in case that's important—with a Lutron LED-compatible 3-way dimmer-on/off switch, model DVCL-153PR-WH.
I carefully noted the connections to the existing switch:
• One black wire – to switch's 1st brass screw
• Another black wire – to switch's 2nd brass screw
• White wire – to switch's black screw, marked "COMMON"
There was no ground screw, but one of the box's screws was connected to a ground wire, so the switch was grounded through the box.
Lutron's instructions said:
So I assumed the COMMON wire was the white one, above.
Rather than screws, the dimmer had these wires:
• Black
• Red
• Red w/white stripe
• Green
The instructions then said to connect the ground—so I connected the dimmer's green wire to the box's ground screw. The instructions continued:
So, using the wire nuts provided with the dimmer, I:
• Connected the box's white wire (the one that was connected to the old switch's COMMON screw) to the dimmer's black wire
• Connected the box's two black wires to the dimmer's red and red/white wires, respectively.
When I turned the power back on, the dimmer worked perfectly (yay!). And I found I could turn the lights on and off from either switch.
However, if I turned the lights off at the downstairs switch, flipping the upstairs switch had no effect. Only when the downstairs switch was "on" could the upstairs switch control the lights.
So I turned the breaker back off and reversed the connections to the dimmer's red and red/white wires. Since the instructions said it didn't matter which way they were connected, I figured it couldn't hurt.
This reversed the switches's functionality: Now I could control the lights from the downstairs switch only when the upstairs switch was left "on".
Any idea what I did wrong? Is it possible the wrong wire was connected to the old switch's "COMMON" screw? But then the 3-way switching wouldn't have worked, would it?
Thanks! Sorry to be so long-winded, BTW; I just didn't want to omit anything significant. Cheers, Ander
My wife and I just bought a house that was full of incandescent lighting. I replaced all the bulbs with LED equivalents, and where necessary, LED-compatible fixtures.
The lights over the stairs were the only existing LED lights, and they were much too bright. They were recessed units with built-in LEDs, so I couldn't replace the bulbs.
So I thought I'd add a dimmer. There was no guarantee it'd work with the older LED fixtures, but it seemed worth a try before having to replace the fixtures.
The lights are controlled by two 3-way switches, at either end of the stairs. I decided to replace the downstairs switch—the one closest to the breaker board, in case that's important—with a Lutron LED-compatible 3-way dimmer-on/off switch, model DVCL-153PR-WH.
I carefully noted the connections to the existing switch:
• One black wire – to switch's 1st brass screw
• Another black wire – to switch's 2nd brass screw
• White wire – to switch's black screw, marked "COMMON"
There was no ground screw, but one of the box's screws was connected to a ground wire, so the switch was grounded through the box.
Lutron's instructions said:
3-way switches have wires connected to three screws plus a ground screw. One of these wires is connected to a screw of a different color (not green) or labeled COMMON. Tag this wire to identify it when removing.
Rather than screws, the dimmer had these wires:
• Black
• Red
• Red w/white stripe
• Green
The instructions then said to connect the ground—so I connected the dimmer's green wire to the box's ground screw. The instructions continued:
• Connect the tagged wire to the black wire on the dimmer.
• Connect one of the remaining wires to the red wire on the dimmer.
• Connect the remaining wire to the red/white wire on the dimmer.
• Connect one of the remaining wires to the red wire on the dimmer.
• Connect the remaining wire to the red/white wire on the dimmer.
• Connected the box's white wire (the one that was connected to the old switch's COMMON screw) to the dimmer's black wire
• Connected the box's two black wires to the dimmer's red and red/white wires, respectively.
When I turned the power back on, the dimmer worked perfectly (yay!). And I found I could turn the lights on and off from either switch.
However, if I turned the lights off at the downstairs switch, flipping the upstairs switch had no effect. Only when the downstairs switch was "on" could the upstairs switch control the lights.
So I turned the breaker back off and reversed the connections to the dimmer's red and red/white wires. Since the instructions said it didn't matter which way they were connected, I figured it couldn't hurt.
This reversed the switches's functionality: Now I could control the lights from the downstairs switch only when the upstairs switch was left "on".
Any idea what I did wrong? Is it possible the wrong wire was connected to the old switch's "COMMON" screw? But then the 3-way switching wouldn't have worked, would it?
Thanks! Sorry to be so long-winded, BTW; I just didn't want to omit anything significant. Cheers, Ander
Last edited by ander; 08-22-16 at 10:30 PM.
#2
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Ah—it turns out Lutron has 24/7 tech support. That's impressive.
The tech advised me to try switching the COMMON wire with one of the other (non-ground) wires. I did, and it solved the problem.
My only question is, how could the original 3-way switching have worked if the wiring was the way I had it?
The tech advised me to try switching the COMMON wire with one of the other (non-ground) wires. I did, and it solved the problem.
My only question is, how could the original 3-way switching have worked if the wiring was the way I had it?
#3
The circuit is pretty straightforward. You more than likely have one of the wires switched for the common.
#7
Those diagrams are labeled in three different languages which confuses the issue. I blanked out most of the other two languages and missed that one.