I wanted to give an update and ask a question to those with more experience.
I installed a Intermatic CA600 dimmer switch(1 for $21 on eBay or 6 for $99) yesterday in a 3-way lighting setup. I replaced the switch connected on the panel side and left the old toggle switch on the light side and after reversing the travelers and jumpering the travler and load on the Auxilary toggle switch it worked great. I can turn the light on and off from both switches and Vera and dim the lights from the new CA600 and Vera. I guess the only advantage of buying the CA5100 Auxilary switch to replace the toggle switch is that I could dim from both locations and they would look the same? For the cost though I would rather replace all the main switches now to get control and replace the Auxilary switches later as a cosmetic upgrade.
My question is does this work for other brands as well like the GE on/off switch? I have a lot of 4-way switches and only replacing one of the 3 switches will save me a lot of money getting the whole house integrated and come back at a later date to upgrade the Auxilary switches to make them match. I would love to stick with the Intermatic switches but it seems you can’t buy the CA3000 On/Off switches anymore which I need for the switches going to ceiling fans and floresent lights.
Another’s question, has anyone used the Aeon Micro Controllers that go behind the existing light switches to work in a 3-way and 4-way setup?
[quote=“Chris H., post:1, topic:173944”]My question is does this work for other brands as well like the GE on/off switch? I have a lot of 4-way switches and only replacing one of the 3 switches will save me a lot of money getting the whole house integrated and come back at a later date to upgrade the Auxilary switches to make them match. I would love to stick with the Intermatic switches but it seems you can’t buy the CA3000 On/Off switches anymore which I need for the switches going to ceiling fans and floresent lights.[/quote]Unfortunately, retaining the ability to use “regular” 3/4-way switches is not the norm.
GE and Leviton definitely require their own “companion” switches, not regular ones. I believe Cooper switches are the same.
You would need to check the manual for the main switch/dimmer to see how it handles 3/4-way setups.
I could not get the CA5100 to dim and others have reported the same. Also, the CA5100 will fill the space of a secondary switch, but it needs an unswitched line, neutral, and ground to function. It is not electrically part of a 3-way (or more) circuit.
Regarding 4-way (or more) circuits, you should check the installation instructions carefully. These circuits require an extra wire between the CA600 and light that is not part of standard wiring.
I didn’t realize that the CA3000 was no longer available. For fluorescent lights, you might check out the threads where people are using a resistor in conjunction with dimmer switches. As I recall, only a Leviton switch had been tested though.
Edit: Looks like you can still get it from Amazon. Not cheap though - $79.
[quote=“Chris H., post:1, topic:173944”]I wanted to give an update and ask a question to those with more experience.
I installed a Intermatic CA600 dimmer switch(1 for $21 on eBay or 6 for $99) yesterday in a 3-way lighting setup. I replaced the switch connected on the panel side and left the old toggle switch on the light side and after reversing the travelers and jumpering the travler and load on the Auxilary toggle switch it worked great. I can turn the light on and off from both switches and Vera and dim the lights from the new CA600 and Vera. I guess the only advantage of buying the CA5100 Auxilary switch to replace the toggle switch is that I could dim from both locations and they would look the same? For the cost though I would rather replace all the main switches now to get control and replace the Auxilary switches later as a cosmetic upgrade.
My question is does this work for other brands as well like the GE on/off switch? I have a lot of 4-way switches and only replacing one of the 3 switches will save me a lot of money getting the whole house integrated and come back at a later date to upgrade the Auxilary switches to make them match. I would love to stick with the Intermatic switches but it seems you can’t buy the CA3000 On/Off switches anymore which I need for the switches going to ceiling fans and floresent lights.
Another’s question, has anyone used the Aeon Micro Controllers that go behind the existing light switches to work in a 3-way and 4-way setup?[/quote]
Pardon me but i am so frustrated trying to install CA3000 in a 3-way setup. i guess CA3000 and CA600 have similar features. if your load and the traveler that you jumpered are in the same circuit, can you just tied them together with a wire nut (that is what i did). i have spent many hours but no luck, the CA3000 will just turn on/off rapidly. i tried to install the CA3000 where the load is and left the toggle standard switch untouched. this standard switch has the hot wire, red and white wires.
I’ll try to explain what I did to see if it helps you, I must admit I cheated becuase my father is a licensed electrician and he walked me through via FaceTime (you have to love technology).
First I took the load switch closest to the panel. Coming in the box was a white, red, black and ground. Going out of the box was the same colors, the white from both were wired together, the black and the black from the switch were wired together, and the ground were all wired together. Next I wired the blue from the new switch to the black going out and yellow from the new switch to the red going out.
Next I went back to my toggle switch and jumpered the right side were you have the load on the bottom with the traveler above it. With this setup when the toggle was off the new switch couldn’t turn the lights back on so following my fathers instructions I switched the travelers at the top (the red and black) and turned the power back on and it worked perfect, I could control the light on both switches no matter what state the other switch was in. Very easy install and very happy with the results, I thought I would have to spend another $20-$30 on an auxiliary switch and didn’t.
Also instead of wiring the load and traveler together connect them to the switch like the diagram. I would think wiring the traveler and the load together like you are doing would bypass the feature of the switch.
I’ll try to explain what I did to see if it helps you, I must admit I cheated becuase my father is a licensed electrician and he walked me through via FaceTime (you have to love technology).
First I took the load switch closest to the panel. Coming in the box was a white, red, black and ground. Going out of the box was the same colors, the white from both were wired together, the black and the black from the switch were wired together, and the ground were all wired together. Next I wired the blue from the new switch to the black going out and yellow from the new switch to the red going out.
Next I went back to my toggle switch and jumpered the right side were you have the load on the bottom with the traveler above it. With this setup when the toggle was off the new switch couldn’t turn the lights back on so following my fathers instructions I switched the travelers at the top (the red and black) and turned the power back on and it worked perfect, I could control the light on both switches no matter what state the other switch was in. Very easy install and very happy with the results, I thought I would have to spend another $20-$30 on an auxiliary switch and didn’t.
Also instead of wiring the load and traveler together connect them to the switch like the diagram. I would think wiring the traveler and the load together like you are doing would bypass the feature of the switch.[/quote]
you installed the CA600 NOT in the box where the load is, right? i don’t think i can do that because the CA3000 needs a neutral. thanks anyway.
My CA600 is wired to the switch closest to the panel and then goes to the toggle switch which connects to the light. My house was built in 1995 and it has 4 wires at all switches (black, white, red and copper ground). I hope that helps.
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