I have read numerous boards about problems with getting the Aux 45610 to link with the master 45609. I am having this problem as well and have had no luck so far. I have a newer home with all of the standard 3 way wiring and neutrals in every box. I have even ordered and tried a replacement set of switch with no luck.
I have two questions. First is when measuring the volts coming out the of Master switch’s Traveler to the Aux both have read 120 volts. Does this mean that both of Master switches I received are bad? I thought that there were supposed to send low voltage signals? The seconds question is will these switches work this out a ground wire? I understand the extreme importance of grounding switches however know of my switch boxes have ground wires.
Unless you are buying used switches or some other shady source, it is highly unlikely that two sets of these switches is bad. It is very common for people to get the wiring wrong, though why I don’t know.
The switches will operate without grounds. But, they should never be installed without grounds. It is very unusual for there to be no ground wire. I’ll bet that there is a ground bundle, but that it is hidden in the back of the gang box and may even be painted over.
First wire the 45609 and get it working as a stand alone. Then proceed to connecting the remote switch.
The black wire in the traveler cable should be capped off at both ends.
There are only two wires, besides ground that go to the 45610 remote. A neutral(white) and a traveler(red). The red traveler should not be connected to anything else besides the two switches. The white neutral should be connected to the two switches and the neutral bundle.
Z-Waver, thank you for you response. This is exactly how I have connected both units and they still did not work. I even tried connecting the 45610 directly into the master with a short traveler and still not signal was sent. I have decide to go a different route with Aeon DSC26103 Micros Switches since it appears both of my previous units were bad.
In my house my three way outlets are wired so that the hot line is led to one switch, and the load line (lights) are led to the other switch.
If yours is wired the same way, it is imperative to know which outlet has the hot line, and which outlet has the load line. Careful use of a voltage meter can determine which is which. I installed the master switch in the hot outlet.
I use the black traveler to connect the load line at the second outlet to the load output of the master switch, and made sure the switch (and lights) fully worked. Then it was an easy thing to just connect the slave switch to the neutral wire in the second outlet, and to the red traveller which is connected back to the slave connection on the master switch.
BTW - Some older GE/Jasco switches had the slave switch connected differently. Check the instruction to verify you do not have one of these older switches.
Despite your certainty, I’m still confident that you have not wired the switches correctly.
@aa6vh has a very good point. One should always positively identify the line and the load. A diagram of his explanation is below.
I also checked the voltage on these switches. Unsurprisingly, the traveler carries 120 volts, but this is NOT a high current line or load bearing wire.
I agree with aa6vh and Z-Waver - likely you don’t have them wired correctly. I have installed a lot of the GE/Jasco’s in both 3-way and 4-way configurations, and have never encountered a bad one. And I especially agree about testing the wires - don’t assume the colors do what you think they do. In my case there are no red wires, and extra white wires function as the travellers.
This is the same problem I am having. It seems though that there is a simple test… I should be able to temporarily remove the aux switch, place it right by the primary switch, and wire them directly to each other (traveler to traveler, neutral to neutral). I am confidence the line/load wires have been correctly identified because the primary switch is able to turn on/off the light without a problem. If the aux switch is not defective, directly wiring them to each other should let me verify that pressing the aux switch turns on/off the light. Am I right?
Thank you to everyone who replied on my post. I just want to update everyone. My wiring was done correctly as Z-Waver diagrammed and it turns out that I had received two bad sets of switches from Amazon. I had an electrician help me verify my wiring and he found that both master units 45609 were bad. I gave amazon one last chance with a 3rd replacement sent and it finally worked. It does appear that there may be a large number of faulty units out there. I have been purchasing them in the sets (GE 45614) so I can’t speak for purchasing them individually.
It seems that there may be a problem here. Amazon currently has a warning up for the 45614:
[b]! Item Under Review[/b]
While this item is available from other marketplace sellers on this page, it is not currently offered by Amazon.com because customers have told us there may be something wrong with our inventory of the item, the way we are shipping it, or the way it’s described here. (Thanks for the tip!)
We’re working to fix the problem as quickly as possible.
Not sure why folks are ordering these from Amazon, from my own research Lowe’s has them dirt cheap and you can pick them up locally or have them delivered. The firmware is up to date to ensure they work properly with all the other Iris/Z-wave branded devices they sell. And of course, hassle free returns and exchanges. Just my 2-cents.
I can confirm that the issue is with a bad switch. I was having the same problem and read this thread. Luckily, I have a box full of them ad I’m doing my whole house. This thread saved me a ton of time.
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