Thanks for the advice. I’m slowly widdling away at adding switches to our home. Got my first 3 way switch in mail the other day and bout to drop it in. Thanks for the advice and your findings. Really appreciated.
A “Standard” On/Off will not work with the Master Dimmer. You CAN use the Master 3-Way Dimmer without an Aux at all… i.e. as a basic standard dimmer.
But you cannot use it with anything other than the Aux Dimmer devices it’s generally paired with.
-J
I could not get the auxiliary switch to work in any of my GE 3way installs. I ended up using a Leviton scene controller on one end of the 3way switches and setting up the first scene on the switch to turn the light connected to the GE 3way switch on/off. And then I setup other useful scenes on the other scene switches on the Leviton. But these switches are costly.
I am right in the middle of installing a GE three way switch kit right now. I must say that so far information on here has been extremely helpful.
However I think I’m in a bit of a situation on my set up because where I am trying to wire the main switch in there is only one black wire. I believe that is the common wire which is supplying power to the circuit. In that box I also have a red wire and a white wire. I believe the Red wire to be the traveler and the white to be neutral.
In the second box where I am attempting to install the auxiliary I have two black wires and one Red wire. However in that box I have no neutral. I don’t understand how I can have neutral in one box but not the other. So I took the other switches out of the box and I do see there is a bundle of white wires twisted together in the back of the box. I believe these are the neutral wires as well but there are nonrunning to any of the switches in the box. I remember somebody once telling me that I could not just untwist one of those neutral wires and use it, I had to connect all of the neutral wires together.
Do I have the install backwards? Should the main switch be in box number two? If that is the case what am I going to do with the single black wire coming into box number one?
I’ve tried both switches in both boxes a few times already and I have not been able to get anywhere with this. I always either have an extra wire or not enough wires. Maybe this GE setup is incompatible with my wiring?
[quote=“DaveH28, post:24, topic:173261”]However I think I’m in a bit of a situation on my set up because where I am trying to wire the main switch in there is only one black wire. I believe that is the common wire which is supplying power to the circuit. In that box I also have a red wire and a white wire. I believe the Red wire to be the traveler and the white to be neutral.
In the second box where I am attempting to install the auxiliary I have two black wires and one Red wire. However in that box I have no neutral. I don’t understand how I can have neutral in one box but not the other. So I took the other switches out of the box and I do see there is a bundle of white wires twisted together in the back of the box. I believe these are the neutral wires as well but there are nonrunning to any of the switches in the box. I remember somebody once telling me that I could not just untwist one of those neutral wires and use it, I had to connect all of the neutral wires together.[/quote]
In the first box you only have one bundle of wires? Where is the power coming in at? In a lot of situations the power from the breaker comes to the light or central location and then breaks off to each switch which would mean you will probably have 1 bundle of wires with 4 wires. Black, White, Red, and (Green or Bare). I had to run additional wiring for all of my 3 ways and in one instance I didn’t have access to run additional wires so I changed this from a 3-way to a single.
Here’s what I need to know.
[ol][li]Where power from breaker comes in at?[/li]
[li]How many bundles of wires in each box?[/li]
[li]How many wires in each bundle?[/li][/ol]
May need to ask additional questions once I understand how wires are ran. If you can draw any of it out on a diagram will be helpful.
[quote=“Caffreyboy, post:17, topic:173261”]My 3 way switch is wired as in this diagram, and I have the GE ZW4001 and ZW2002 Aux switch
Am I able to use this switch, as it has 4 terminals, while both my 3 ways only have 3 terminals.[/quote]
That is the idea wiring setup. You’ll have an easy drop in replacement.
[ol][li]Where power comes in that will be your main switch. Wire it up per the diagram in your instructions. [/li]
[li]The red wire will need to be wired together at the light. Red wire needs to travel from main switch to the auxilary switch.[/li]
[li]At the light, wire all white wires together and black wire from main switch to the black on the light.[/li]
[li]The black wire to the auxilary switch won’t be used. Nut it off and tuck in back in the box. [/li]
[li]At the auxilary switch the black wire won’t be used, nut it off and tuck in back of box. Wire red to traveler and wire the white to switch.[/li]
[li]Should be ready![/li][/ol]
Aaronsquire-
I took everything back apart today in the hopes that I would be able to figure it out. This set up still makes no sense to me. I think I figured out that what I had considered box 2 may be the main.
Box one has three wires coming into the switch: a white a red and a black. When I probed the wires the Red wire has 120 V and the black wire has approximately 70 V on my meter. In both cases I use the white wire neutral as the ground for the other probe on my meter.
Box 2 also has three wires coming in. Two blacks and one red. There is a bundle of neutrals tied together in this box but none of them connected to the existing switch. I ran a new wire from the neutral on the three-way switch (the 45609) into this bundle of white wires. Then I tried all sorts of combinations to hook up the blacks and the Reds but I cannot get the switch to light up. The red in this box has power coming into it as well. When I was trying to hook up this 45609 switch I left the wires in the other box (box 1) disconnected. I was hoping if I could make the switch work as a two Way first it would be easier to install the auxiliary switch after. But maybe there something in the set up where both switches must be connected in order for the lights to work?
I will attach some pictures in the hopes that it will get me some answers. Thanks for the help…
Box one
Box two
Crude Diagram
The switch can work independently so you were not wrong in trying that setup. Then you can wire as many aux switches as you want. All aux switches do is sending voltage across the traveler wire which tells the main switch to turn on or off. I printed off your pictures and will hopefully get back to you later this evening. Sorry for the delay but I think we can work with this.
DaveH28 -
How many bundles of wires are in the back of box #2? From your previous post sounds like at least 2 so there is a good chance we’ll be able to get three way to work. I also need to know how many wires are in each bundle. On your wiring diagram, show bundles, # wires in each bundle, and which one is coming from the main breaker. If you can figure out where each bundles is coming and going to where it’ll make it a lot easier. First step is to determine which bundle is brining the power from the breaker box. So until you open up all the boxes you won’t know.
If there are three bundles of wires in box #2.
This is going to be an easy drop in replacement more than likely.
Turn off power.
Unhook all the wires and keep seperate.
Turn Power On
Figure out which bundle is coming from breaker box. Only one bundle should be hot.
My guess is there are two bundles with white, black, and ground. One of those bundles comes from breaker and the other goes to the light. I’m also guessing 1 bundle with red, black, white, and ground which goes to the other light switch. Figure out which bundle comes from or goes where and number of wires in each bundle.
If there are only two bundles of wires in box #2:
I need to know how many wires in each bundle.
You will need to open up the light mounting box and see what you have.
Turn off power.
Unhook all the wires in box #2 and light box keeping wires seperate.
Turn Power On
Figure out which bundle is coming from breaker box and is your power source.
There are a lot of assumptions here though. I’m assuming there is no additional wiring in these boxes other than just for the light itself. I’ve seen some boxes being used to bring leg off power and go to a wall outlet. So if you can trace all wires you’ll be better off.
Sigh… Even after reading this forum I have spent numerous hours today fooling with this crazy setup. At this point, I have the master box working and the Aux box will turn the power on, but will not power off. Honestly, I am thinking I have a bad aux box. I mean how on earth could it complete the circuit and then not phone to break it? Obviously, the Aux box is doing something because if the lights are off it will turn them on, but never off.
Thoughts? I think I am going to switch it at Lowes tomorrow. I had a REALLY hard time connecting these boxes so perhaps I ruined the aux box in the process.
Can’t say this enough on the GE Zwave 3 way switches. Disconnect EVERYTHING on both switches and use a multimeter to conclusively verify Line, Load, Neutral, Traveler. Once you do this, it is much easier. Usually Neutral is white, ground is green or copper, and traveler is colored (non-green) such as red.
Label the wires then start at the remote side. There should not be an exposed line in this box. Connect ground, neutral, then traveler. Wire together inbound and outbound load wire. basically it should go back to the master switch. THe remote does nothing inline with the load.
Then on the master switch local line side, connect ground, neutral, load, traveler, line.
The traveler on the GE use their own low voltage signal and is not 120V like a normal 3 Way. Plug in the remote to a hot 120V connection where the master switch was not disconnected and you will blow the remote in a subdued flash by the traveler lead under the plastic cover.
Howdy,
I read the previous post on the GE 3 way switches but could not find a solution that worked.
I am pulling my hair out over this 3 way switch ( I can’t afford to lose any more!) I can get the master switch work but the traveler terminal is always hot, 120volts while the load terminal switches normally.
Master switch GE ZW4001
Aux switch GE ZW2002
For now I am going to cram it all back in the wall and try again later GRRRRR!
Thanks,
Andy
[quote=“andy2205, post:32, topic:173261”]Howdy,
I read the previous post on the GE 3 way switches but could not find a solution that worked.
I am pulling my hair out over this 3 way switch ( I can’t afford to lose any more!) I can get the master switch work but the traveler terminal is always hot, 120volts while the load terminal switches normally.
Master switch GE ZW4001
Aux switch GE ZW2002
For now I am going to cram it all back in the wall and try again later GRRRRR!
Thanks,
Andy[/quote]
Full voltage on the traveler and always hot is the condition of my properly working setup as well.
http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/topic,21786.msg151797.html#msg151797
I’ve done a lot of wiring in the past (though I’m not an electrician), but this GE/Jasco 3-way was difficult to understand. Once I did though, I installed quite a few successfully. This video helped:
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vguVa58PGI]GE Z-Wave - 3 way switch Kit - YouTube.
The guy is Italian and speaking English, so it’s kind of tedious to follow. But I can’t even order food in an Italian restaurant, much less explain how to wire a 3-way Z-wave switch in Italian, so my hat’s off to him.
BTW - ALWAYS ground these Z-wave switches - 3-way, off/on, dimmer, whatever- even though the old switches you replaced weren’t grounded. The metal faceplate on the Z-wave switch gets isolated (when mounted in plastic electrical boxes) and builds a static charge in the 60 hz/50 hz magnetic field - a static charge that can discharge across the z-wave electronics of the switch and ruin it.
Melsman
Just curious on this post…if you can install multiple auxiliary switches as I have lights that are controlled via multiple (3-4) switches in a couple areas. If so, and with the standard 2 switch install, nothing will work until all the switches are installed? And lastly, what is the best way to test the wires to see which ones do what for this installation. Thanks in advance!
Hi,
If you have previous experience with standard multiple switches you can’t wire the z wave switches the same way.
For it to work you need a principal switch which has the z wave radio and relay, all the other switches work as a binary signal to this main switch. And can be added as you want.
The additional switches aren’t z wave capable!
I think their is a diagram in this post for you to see an example.
In my house I have color coded the wires so it wasn’t that difficult to identify.
Thanks for the info. I’m curious if you get the initial switch installed if you can ‘test’ it before moving on to the Aux switches, or if everything needs to be wired correctly for any of the switches to work.
As for the wiring, I am not the original owner so I have no idea how well the wiring was done and what colors they used for what, so didn’t know if anyone had any suggestions for testing the wires to label them and ensure a seamless installation. Thanks again.
Actually I believe that standard z wave GE and evolve switches have 3 way operation. You should check the manual on any estore.
That being said you should have no problem installing the official switch testing it and then connecting the aux switches.
I remember that when I installed mine I had it working all right and had to figure the aux switches because they didn’t work.
One other thing I noted with the GE/Jasco 3 ways… When they say to “tap” the switch to pair, they mean quickly and lightly tap the switch. I was using the same firm press I’d use to turn the switch on and off and that would not work.
[quote=“sumbarino, post:38, topic:173261”]Actually I believe that standard z wave GE and evolve switches have 3 way operation. You should check the manual on any estore.
That being said you should have no problem installing the official switch testing it and then connecting the aux switches.
I remember that when I installed mine I had it working all right and had to figure the aux switches because they didn’t work.[/quote]
That works but you need keep in mind the wiring in your home. You need to have the hot and the load at the switch location in order to make it work
There is no electrical wiring " standard" for 3 ways , Today there are more code requirements that will tend to make all installations the same but it just won’t be that way out in the field.