Can anybody make sense of this wiring ?


  #1  
Old 09-06-16, 08:23 AM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Can anybody make sense of this wiring ?

I need help on how to wire a remote switch for my ceiling lights.

Ok this is what is coming from the wall junction box: a red, a black, and a gray. With my multimeter I measure 120 V between the red and the black, 0 V between the red and the gray, and 120 V between the black and the gray. BTW, the way these two switches (pic#1) were installed, they each separately turn on one half of the room ceiling lights.
Does that make sense??

As you can see, whoever installed these switches simply wired two greens from the switches together. See pic #1. Then, pic #2, here is the remote controlled switch I got from Amazon. The blue is the antenna, but i don't know how to wire the four other wires to the three (red/black/green) in my wall junction box. Any advice?



 
  #2  
Old 09-06-16, 08:31 AM
S
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: WI/MN
Posts: 19,125
Received 1,263 Upvotes on 1,204 Posts
Seems like you have an incoming hot which is black, then red as a second potential hot going out with the gray as the neutral.
 
  #3  
Old 09-06-16, 08:43 AM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Thanks but...

Yes, but then how would I wire in the remote switch (pic#2)
 
  #4  
Old 09-06-16, 09:05 AM
C
Member
Join Date: May 2015
Location: USA
Posts: 3,168
Received 169 Upvotes on 137 Posts
Bad news. You have no neutral in your box (and apparently no ground as well, which is where the green wires should go. It's possible the box is grounded but no way to tell from the picture). The black is your hot feed and the red and gray are the switched hots to the two banks of lights. From the schematic on Amazon, the red and black (middle two wires) in the device would be connected to 120 VAC incoming power, and the other black and yellow go to the lamp. You don't have a neutral in the box and you don't have both sides of the lamp, so I think you are out of luck without running more cables.
 
  #5  
Old 09-06-16, 09:12 AM
S
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: WI/MN
Posts: 19,125
Received 1,263 Upvotes on 1,204 Posts
Ack! Paul's right and I'm not - you don't have a neutral.
 
  #6  
Old 09-06-16, 10:54 AM
PJmax's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Jersey
Posts: 64,939
Received 3,951 Upvotes on 3,544 Posts
You may not be completely out of luck.
Since you have red, black and gray there.... that would suggest your wiring is in conduit.
If that is correct.... you should be able to pull in an additional wire.
Also... with conduit.... your box is grounded via the conduit.
 
  #7  
Old 09-13-16, 12:21 PM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
wow guys, you are impressive! Thanks for all the replies.
I ended up RMA-ing the remote switch because it had 20-gauge wires (marked as such on the wires, and indeed the wires were very thin) whereas I'm pretty sure home wiring should have 12 or 14 gauge wiring, and I don't need a fire.

and yes, the wiring is run through conduit.
 
  #8  
Old 09-13-16, 12:36 PM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Hey so the issue was that one of the two switches was not working, and instead of replacing the switch I figured I would put that remote controlled switch in to replace both. So the remote switch is out, but how about using the one working switch and leaving the other as a dud?

In other words, I tried connecting the gray to the red, leaving the black intact and capping the loose wire (the one that had been connected to the gray) coming from the other switch.

It didn't work at all. Can you explain this: why cannot I put the gray and red wires together? Thx
 
  #9  
Old 09-13-16, 02:14 PM
C
Member
Join Date: May 2015
Location: USA
Posts: 3,168
Received 169 Upvotes on 137 Posts
Is it the switch with the red wire that works? And when you connected red to gray, you left also had the black wire from the switch connected?
 
  #10  
Old 09-13-16, 03:03 PM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Yes, it is the switch with the red wire that works. And yes, I left the black wire connected. I.e. it should complete a circuit when I flip the switch (actually they are push button dimmer switches).

Essentially, in the initial pic, move the gray wire from the right side over to the red wire and cap the hanging wire from the (dud) right side switch.

Why doesn't that work?

BTW, I rewired it back and the one half of the lights work again (with the left side, working switch)
 
  #11  
Old 09-13-16, 03:17 PM
PJmax's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Jersey
Posts: 64,939
Received 3,951 Upvotes on 3,544 Posts
Tying the red to gray and then switching them to black is the same exact thing as switching red to black or gray to black. Black is your constant and it's hot.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: