Finally moved into my new construction house and started to install Cooper dimmers (RF9540N and RF9542Z). Installed the first “master” dimmer and it worked. Was very excited.
Then got brought back down to earth and am a little stumped right now. Looking for any help. Here’s what I got:
Rm1 - Wall 1
Single gang box - Master (rm 1)
red, black, white, bare
black, white, bare
the 2 whites from the gangbox connect.
the 2 bares from the gangbox connect and then connect to the actual switch.
the red and the 2 blacks connect separately from the gangbox to the actual switch.
This part was easy. Matched the diagrams from Cooper and once I installed the master, it worked and I was able to dim e.t.c.
all whites from the gangbox were connected to each other
all bares from the gangbox were connected to each other in one nut. Then in series, a bare wire was connected from slave (rm 1) to slave (rm 2a), then another bare wire connected from slave (rm 2a) to slave (rm 2b). Then another bare wire from slave (rm 2b) to the nut that had all the bares from the gangbox.
each red and black from the gangbox connected separately to each switch.
the black from the “black, white, bare” set from the gangbox was arranged very strangely and honestly, I can’t remember how it was connected to each switch.
Needless to say, no diagram looks like this and I am now stumped. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.
I’m going with my experience with the Leviton switches in a 3 way setup.
First, make sure the master is on the Load end. Meaning, it has to be at the end of the loop. There are two sides, Line (where the power first comes in) and Load (where the power goes out). Line- Light/lamp- Load. The remote goes on the Line side, the master goes on the Load. To test what is what, with the breaker ON use a electrical tester (a few bucks at a hardware store) and touch the black and ground (bare) wires. If you get a positive indication you are on the Line side… meaning the power is live before you hit the first switch. Now you know which wall is the Line and which wall is the Load you know what spot to put each switch. The master can work on any position so don’t think that just because it works you have it correct.
Now for basic wiring. The black coming in is the power (Line). You will see a red and a black coming out of a single wire. This is know as the traveler wires. Assign one (I chose Red) to be Traveler #1 and the other to be Traveler #2.
Remote: Following the diagram, the black (Line) and Traveler #1 get wired together. TRAVELER #1 NOW BECOMES THE “HOT”. The white, ground, and Traveler #2 get wired separately.
Master: This is what screwed me up. The Traveler #1 gets wired to the black lead from the switch (or the Hot side), Black (Load) gets wired to the red lead. Note that this was shown improperly in the Master switch diagram but was shown correctly in the Remote switch instructions. The white, ground, and Traveler #2 get wired as instructed.
The Traveler #1 becoming Hot and swapping position with the black wire stumped me for hours. While the switches may not be identical, the basic premise should be similar.
Thanks Rhinesel…I’ll get the tester today because you’re right, I could have master and remote/slave in the wrong positions. Truth be told, I thought I could put the master where I wanted and the remote/slave where I wanted.
That said, I’m still stumped about what to do with the 3-gang box. Using your terminology, that box has 3 sets of travelers but only ONE black “hot” wire. Regardless of master or remote/slave, I still don’t know how that’ll be wired for Cooper.
[quote=“labfm5, post:3, topic:182197”]Thanks Rhinesel…I’ll get the tester today because you’re right, I could have master and remote/slave in the wrong positions. Truth be told, I thought I could put the master where I wanted and the remote/slave where I wanted.
That said, I’m still stumped about what to do with the 3-gang box. Using your terminology, that box has 3 sets of travelers but only ONE black “hot” wire. Regardless of master or remote/slave, I still don’t know how that’ll be wired for Cooper.[/quote]
For the triple gang box, just concentrate on Rm 1, which I assume is the 3 way switch you are working with. Ignore the other two. Work with one light at a time. Since there is only one Black/White/Bare set, I’m assuming the electrician jumped the black from switch to switch bringing power to each. If I’m correct, this is most likely the “Line” side. My box had the same and I simply used a wire nut and connected individual black leads from the black wire to each of the switches (black wire connected to 3 short black pieces which connect to each individual switch). I needed logic and having a single wire jump between 3 switches confused me.
If you can take and attach some photos we may be able to help you more.
See the pic below. The set to the furthest right is for rm1. The 2nd from the right is the black/white/bare set. The 3rd from the right is for rm2a and the last one is for rm2b.
I’ll run a couple of tests between today and tomorrow.
See the pic below. The set to the furthest right is for rm1. The 2nd from the right is the black/white/bare set. The 3rd from the right is for rm2a and the last one is for rm2b.
I’ll run a couple of tests between today and tomorrow.[/quote]
Actually not bad. The first test is to find out if this is the Line or the Load side. CAREFULLY, with the breaker ON touch the tester to the black and bare of the 2nd from the right black/white/bare set. In fact, to make it safer, put some wire nuts on all the other non bare wires so you don’t accidentally hit them with the breaker on.
Positive indication (light or vibration… whatever type you bought)= Line side and this is the wall you put the remote switch.
Negative indication= Load side and this is what you wire the master switch on.
See the pic below. The set to the furthest right is for rm1. The 2nd from the right is the black/white/bare set. The 3rd from the right is for rm2a and the last one is for rm2b.
I’ll run a couple of tests between today and tomorrow.[/quote]
Actually not bad. The first test is to find out if this is the Line or the Load side. CAREFULLY, with the breaker ON touch the tester to the black and bare of the 2nd from the right black/white/bare set. In fact, to make it safer, put some wire nuts on all the other non bare wires so you don’t accidentally hit them with the breaker on.
Positive indication (light or vibration… whatever type you bought)= Line side and this is the wall you put the remote switch.
Negative indication= Load side and this is what you wire the master switch on.
Once you know this we’ll go to step two.[/quote]
If these were Evolve /linear switches, which also work by wireless association, would you also place the master on the load (leg) side and the remotes on the hot /line side and on the other positions if a 4 way setup?
If these were Evolve /linear switches, which also work by wireless association, would you also place the master on the load (leg) side and the remotes on the hot /line side and on the other positions if a 4 way setup?
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk
I can only go with what was on the instructions for my Leviton switches which are to be wired in that manor. I assume all multiway switches may operate that way but you need to check your individual wiring instructions to confirm.
I have Coopers, and the 3 way switches work together through association. They don’t need to be physically connected to each other. They just need power. The master which actually turns the load on and off obviously needs to be connected to the load and power. The accessory is just that…it doesn’t actually switch anything on and off by itself. It just needs power. If you have actual 3 way wiring in your walls, the instructions basically show you how to connect the power to your slave first, then short the wires in such a way that the power is also sent up the traveler wires to the master, where it then switches the load on and off. There is no trick in connecting them as a 3 way…just make sure both switches have power somehow, and make sure the master is connected to the wires which go to the load.
Yep. Katmai is right. I did wire it right the first time as well. I just didn’t realize that Cooper’s association for the remote/slave must be done through association in a zwave controller.
So now I’m speeding along replacing switches (whole home…75 in total!!). Got through 20 this weekend and hit up another 5 last night.
[quote=“labfm5, post:10, topic:182197”]Yep. Katmai is right. I did wire it right the first time as well. I just didn’t realize that Cooper’s association for the remote/slave must be done through association in a zwave controller.
So now I’m speeding along replacing switches (whole home…75 in total!!). Got through 20 this weekend and hit up another 5 last night.
Thanks to all who helped.[/quote]
Awesome, glad to hear! Ugh, I cringe just at the though of a cost of 75 Cooper switches!
[quote=“labfm5, post:10, topic:182197”]Yep. Katmai is right. I did wire it right the first time as well. I just didn’t realize that Cooper’s association for the remote/slave must be done through association in a zwave controller.
So now I’m speeding along replacing switches (whole home…75 in total!!). Got through 20 this weekend and hit up another 5 last night.
Thanks to all who helped.[/quote]
Wow I have about half that and I thought that was a lot! I also have a number of their other devices and I’ve been very happy with all of them.
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