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Note - these remarks are from a North American perspective, but I believe switching is done the same way in Europe.
Switch terminology can be confusing but once you understand it, it is pretty simple.
When there's just one switch controlling the lights, it's simple, just a plain switch, labelled ON in the up position, OFF in the down position. ...
12
In residential interior wiring, voltage irregularities generally are only a concern when over-voltages are seen and not under-voltages. Incidentally however, when there is an under-voltage, there is usually an over-voltage on the opposite phase somewhere else to balance it out.
113V is fine. Light bulbs, except for the LEDs, are pure resistive loads and ...
10
It's a floating neutral.
But it's only the one circuit.
Find, re-strip, re-splice, and tighten down all of that circuit's neutral connections. If it goes directly through an outlet, pigtail it.
10
You can transition wiring methods at a junction box. Use the EMT wiring method up to the junction box (whole nine yards with fittings and clamps). Then use the NM wiring method beyond it. The junction box must remain accessible without screws, nails or demolition (other than the ones on the junction box lid, of course). If you don't like the aesthetics ...
answered Oct 17 at 18:47
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9
DON'T try random stuff when you get stuck
Trying to replace actual knowledge with "throw things at the wall and see what sticks" is a fatal error when dealing with electrical equipment. Why? The entire strategy is based on stopping when you find "the" combination that works. Actually, many combinations will work and also kill you. The only way to avoid ...
answered May 31 at 16:29
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8
Congratulations! You just found a Carter 3-way!
This configuration switches each "side" of the lamp between hot and neutral, as depicted in the illustration below:
(source: Wtshymanski/Wikipedia)
However, due to the switch in the neutral wire, it was possible for the shell of the lampholder to be hot even if it was switched off, leading to a shock hazard!...
8
My understanding from the description (very good by the way) is that you have two duplex receptacles that have the two upper outlets both simultaneously controlled by the three way switches. The lower outlets should be on all the time.
If that assumption is correct, then the solution is very simple. Turn off the power, unmount the receptacles, but leave ...
7
Everything you are saying depends on where the electrician checked the voltages. Dimmers will affect the voltages on the load side. So did the electrician check for voltage drop across the dimmers themselves? If there is a drop it would be there. The other thing that causes abnormal voltage drop are joints not making a solid electrical connection. So look ...
6
Short answer, most dimmers do get warm when in use. If the dimmer does not have a mechanical method of turning completely off. Then there is a good chance that you are still getting some electrical flow through the switch and that would mean the dimmer could stay warm. In other words what @Harper said.
The biggest question I would have would be if it was ...
6
This is how multiway switching works.
These are US friendly colors (regardless, colors tend to be a big mess in multiway circuits). Note the funny switch in the middle; it is different from the switches on the ends. The diagram may be a little unclear, the switch in the middle has 2 positions, either straight-thru or effectively switching the wires. ...
answered Feb 16 at 15:51
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5
Here's the headache. Cables are color-coded to distinguish wires from each other. They're not color-coded by function, which makes 3-ways super confusing. We're gonna fix that. Get a common 5-pack of colored electrical tape.
There is only one /3 cable. On both ends of that cable, tape both the red and black wires yellow. Yes, really; both wires get ...
answered Oct 2 '18 at 17:46
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5
You'll lose your mind dealing with all the red black white business. Get a 5-pack of colored electrical tape and start marking wires for their actual function. Always mark wires the same at both ends. Here is what's really happening in a 3-way.
First, the two traveler wires get marked yellow. There is no need to tell them from each other. So in ...
answered Nov 27 '18 at 2:24
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You now have them correct, the one good thing with 3 wires connecting the 3 way switches you don't have to worry about burning things down they just don't work as you found out if they are wrong. Good job of figuring it out, you would not believe how many times I have been called to do what you just figured out.
5
Yes, it's fairly easy to confuse the common terminal with the traveler terminals, becuase they are in a different position on every model of switch.
The rule of thumb is that the 2 travelers always go into the same cable, whereas the common will not, at least not at one end.
So for instance if one end all 3 wires (red white black) go into the same ...
answered Dec 5 '18 at 1:50
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5
Almost certainly the hot is one of the 3, and the single wire goes to the light this dimmer controls, while the other 2 wires feed unswitched hot to other devices. Given that your assumption is opposite, you MIGHT want to consider an electrician, or further self-education.
See Light Switch Terminals which is a very similar question (one less wire in the ...
4
Power off.
Pick any 2 of the capped wires formerly attached to the 3-way.
Nut those two together.
Leave the third wire nutted independently.
Power on.
Throw any other switch in the 3/4 way group. Does the light turn on or off?
all other 3/4-ways work correctly -- fail*. Pick a different pair and go to 1.
lights do not work in either position -- ...
answered Dec 4 '17 at 0:20
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4
Further information is obviously needed here. Maybe this can help you at least find out what the crap is going on how it is currently wired. Don't unhook anything yet because it needs to still be working for this. Here's how I would approach this "discovery phase" of your project.
First the stuff needed:
A tester or meter capable of showing whether a ...
4
If you want a solution that doesn't require running any additional wires, you might consider getting a couple of 1000:1 current transformers. Run the common leg of each switch through a transformer, and put a couple of back-to-back diodes across the secondary. If one (or both) of those diodes is an LED, it will light up whenever load current is flowing in ...
4
Your switches and lights are wired in a "three way" configuration, so you need a three way motion sensor switch.
For example: the Eaton OS306U, although there are a variety on the market and they do start around $22.
Important things to note:
You probably need a model rated for "No Neutral Required", depending on the wiring to that box by the garage.
If ...
4
I see where you took the 2 blacks that had been on the same terminal of the old switch, and joined them with a wire nut. Good instincts.
Now, as you observed, the cables coming into the box had exactly the same color scheme- 1 black 1 white 1 bare. That is how cables are made. The colors indicate nothing about the purpose/function of the wire, however ...
4
The switch likely has nothing to do with it.
Sounds like you need a new ballast. Or in the era of efficient LEDs, possibly a new fixture, if you care to upgrade.
I used to have a dying fluorescent fixture that was highly humidity sensitive - it would start reasonably on dry days, and take minutes or hours on wet days. There's an LED there now ;^) More ...
3
Many LED lights are not equipped to deal with dimmers and those that are need dimmers rated for LED loads. Since you replaced the existing bulbs with LEDs I bet you have the wrong dimmers. Further since you mentioned a seven volt drop over a short distance I bet you have really old dimmers as newer dimmers do not show a voltage drop when full on. I would ...
3
1: You have a 3 way switch which has a traveler line.
your odds of having a bad 3 way keeping the fixture from not working while possible would mean that both positions [Off and On] of the switch fail, or both switches have failed. Because when one switch is off the other line is working (either of the switches can turn the light on or off.)
2: Measure for ...
3
In and Out doesn't matter on a 4-way
A four-way (reversing) switch doesn't care about which way it "points" in the circuit -- the functionality works the same nonetheless. It's no different in spirit than swapping the terminals on a single pole switch, even.
3
Your timer is not set up for a 3-way switch; it is missing the blue wire. You need to get a timer switch that has the blue wire.
In the diagram, "GROUND" is the green wire.
3
This kind of switch does not have "ON" and "OFF" positions, just "UP" and "DOWN".
There are two and only two ways to set up the action of a circuit with two "two-way" switches:
(1) ON when switches are in different positions
UP + UP = OFF
UP + DOWN = ON
DOWN + UP = ON
DOWN + DOWN = OFF
(2) ON when switches are in same position
UP + UP = ON
UP + DOWN = ...
3
Nice drawing. Very clear and looks correct. It would be a mistake to tie the two neutral wires in box A. This would create a circuit loop and a fire risk from heating when one circuit is on and the other is off. There may also be hum if you use switches or lights that include electronic circuits such as fluorescent ballasts. It's OK to wire this up as drawn.
...
3
Correct. Once the neutrals go their separate ways, they must not reunite, because that would form a loop, giving neutral current two potential paths. That would imbalance currents in each cable, and cause eddy current heating, cable vibration (and soon, damage) and all sorts of mischief.
Another way to solve that is to use /4 or /2/2 cable, where the ...
answered May 8 '18 at 20:25
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3
Figure 1. A perverse solution requiring two neon lamps. Both neons will light when the fan is off.
How it works:
There is always one of the pair of wires between the switches at 'live' potential.
If the fan is on the other wire will be disconnected at both ends. The neon lamps will turn off as there is no neutral connection.
If the fan is off (as shown in ...
3
Yes, that's fine. From the box with the supply coming in, You can run a /4 cable between the boxes --
always-hot (e.g. Black)
neutral (must be white) - this works because all loads are on the same circuit
two travelers (red/blue, or red/white-red depending on if it's 12/4 or 12/2/2 cable).
However in this configuration, the onward power to the lamp ...
answered Nov 18 '18 at 23:43
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