2

enter image description hereHELP for a SmartHome / Electrical noob here

Our kitchen has 11 recessed lights - 6+4 on the main roof and 1 over the sink. The 6+1 are controlled by one 2 way switch (A). The other 4 by a 3-way setup (switches B and C). Switch (A) and (B) are in a 2 gang plate. (C) is on the other end of the kitchen.

I replaced (A) - the 2 way switch that controlled 6+1 recessed lights in the kitchen - with the 2 way HS200 V3. It turns on fine, but only controls 1 of the 7 lights now - the one above the sink. The other 6 stay turned off. Switches (B) and (C) are working fine as usual and controlling the other 4 lights.

(A) had 3 wires as shown in the img below. The "white" wire was connected to the side screw and had black tape around it, so likely "hot". How do I wire this thing? enter image description here The bulbs are all LED rated 8-11W / ~96mA. The HS200 I believe is rated 600W / 5A Incandescent and 600W / 15A LED.

13
  • 2
    Can you post a photo of the inside of the box you installed the new switch into please? Dec 29, 2020 at 0:51
  • It sounds like you got some wires mixed up because lights on a 2 way (on or off) will be wired in parallel.
    – Ed Beal
    Dec 29, 2020 at 14:43
  • You say "6+4" , then "6+1" - is one of those a typo? "2-way" and "3-way" have different meanings depending on where in the world you are located, so specifying would be helpful. Your text mentions switches, A, B & C, but you don't include those in your drawing - it would be very helpful to do so.
    – FreeMan
    Dec 29, 2020 at 18:49
  • @FreeMan I think OP means there are 10 total in the ceiling plus one above the sink; 6 of those in the ceiling, plus the sink light, are wired together, and the other 4 of them in the ceiling are wired together on the second switch. But it could be more well written for sure.
    – Joe
    Dec 29, 2020 at 18:52
  • That could be it, @Joe, and the OP could come back to clarify that.
    – FreeMan
    Dec 29, 2020 at 18:53

1 Answer 1

1

This won't answer the reason why it worked-sort-of, nor exactly how you're wired - I'll leave that to the real electricians - but, I don't think you can use the HS200.

The HS200 requires a neutral for itself. Because it's a smart switch, and not just an expensive detachable piece of metal, it actually consumes current; so it can't just have a hot wire passing through it.

TPLink's page on installing the switch covers this in some (poorly written) detail.

If the black-wrapped wires (B1,W1) were solely going to the breaker, and the yellow-wrapped wires (B2,W2,copper) were solely going to the lights, then you could make it work - you'd have your neutral. But, that doesn't seem to be what you have, based on what you wrote - if that were the case then you'd not be able to turn on only the one light and not the others.

The yellow wrapped wire is irrelevant here - it is relevant to the lights it feeds, of course, but from the point of view of powering your switch, you need three wires plus ground: two wires that go back to the circuit breaker (one each, hot and neutral), and a third (hot) wire that goes to the light (with the light also having one go back to the breaker's neutral).

Consult an electrician, who can install a neutral wire for you to the switch, and fix the wiring of the current switches as needed.

You also could consider a smart switch that doesn't require a neutral, though I would bring an electrician in to make sure your wiring isn't wrong in other ways; but see for example this article about smart switches which do not require neutral, which also does have a nice bit explaining what your setup probably is like (disregarding the yellow-wrapped wires, which seems like they're just piggybacking on the black-wrapped ones).

2
  • Thanks! I got it to "work" for now by doing the following - Kasa Black to B1. Other Kasa Black to B2/W1 wingnutted together. Kasa Green to Copper. Kasa Neutral to W2. All lights come on. Connected to wifi etc. But I will call an electrician as you recommend to take a look at the whole thing.
    – Prashant B
    Dec 29, 2020 at 23:05
  • 1
    Yeah, it sounds like the original installer jury-rigged /2 cables to work in a rather not-so-Code-compliant way here instead of using a /4, so major cleanup is called for... Dec 29, 2020 at 23:09

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.