I have a GE z-wave dimmer wired up to the ceiling light in my bathroom. The way our master bath is setup is that the sink is in an open area connected to our bedroom and the toilet and shower are in a small room off of that area separated by a door. The ceiling light in the sink area is a GE z-wave dimmer. The vent fan in the shower/toilet room is a normal single pole switch. For some reason when I turn off my ceiling vent fan about 80% of the time the z-wave light in the sink area switches off. I can turn it back on right away but it almost acts as if it gets temporarily shorted out. It doesn’t slowly dim down like it does if I turn it off at the switch, it just immediately turns off. Any idea what might be causing this and if there’s anything I can do to prevent it?
Are any of the z wave switches 3-Way switches or are the dimmers using only the hot side (no neutral connection to your wave switch).
Start by double checking your wiring but you may want to also make sure that the vent fan (you said on a single pole regular switch) isn’t (actually and incorrectly) being switched with a neutral wire.
[quote=“Bulldoglowell, post:2, topic:179501”]Are any of the z wave switches 3-Way switches or are the dimmers using only the hot side (no neutral connection to your wave switch).
Start by double checking your wiring but you may want to also make sure that the vent fan (you said on a single pole regular switch) isn’t (actually and incorrectly) being switched with a neutral wire.[/quote]
I dont’ have any z-wave 3-way switches in my house. It’s been a while since I installed the switches (both the z-wave and the fan switch), could you refresh my memory as to what I need to do to check whether the fan switch is wired to a neutral wire? If I remember correctly when I replaced the switches that were there previously I just wired the new ones up the same way the old ones had been wired. Assumed it was correct.
I would try putting a contact arc-suppressor (aka snubber) across fan’s switch. Switching off an inductive load can cause a spark across the switch which may be enough to disturb the dimmer. A suppressor with a 100nF (0.1uF) capacitor in series with a 100R resistor generally works. It must be rated for continuous use on your line voltage.
You should be able to find one in a local electronics or electrical spares store. Otherwise they are available on eBay: Example.
I agree with Rex, particularly if your fan is very old. Newer models should have that kind of protection built in.
Another (easier) thing to try would be a new “snap action” switch for the fan. This will cut down on arcing, particularly if your switch is old.
My thinking was that if you had installed a ZWave Dimmer (which the GE’s use the Neutral) you may be pulsing the neutral wire when you turn on the fan (if it was wired in that manner, by mistake). That sounds doubtful if you have Hot only ZWave dimmers.
I think you should still check all of your wiring. You can check the voltage at that switch, by putting one lead of the voltage sensor on ground and one on (each) of the switch’s contacts. If you have 120V, you are wired correctly. If you see zero (or odd nonzero even) it is likely wired to a neutral. While you are in the boxes, double check all of your connections for loose wires. The GE switches have a not-too-installer-friendly wire insert location and they are prone to installers actually putting the wire behind the contact. I suggest that you wrap the wire around the screw and tighten them down rather than use that dodgy hole for the stripped wire. This way you can physically see that there is good electrical contact.
Did all of this just start to happen, or did you just wire it up and this is the result?
[quote=“Bulldoglowell, post:5, topic:179501”]I agree with Rex, particularly if your fan is very old. Newer models should have that kind of protection built in.
Another (easier) thing to try would be a new “snap action” switch for the fan. This will cut down on arcing, particularly if your switch is old.
My thinking was that if you had installed a ZWave Dimmer (which the GE’s use the Neutral) you may be pulsing the neutral wire when you turn on the fan (if it was wired in that manner, by mistake). That sounds doubtful if you have Hot only ZWave dimmers.
I think you should still check all of your wiring. You can check the voltage at that switch, by putting one lead of the voltage sensor on ground and one on (each) of the switch’s contacts. If you have 120V, you are wired correctly. If you see zero (or odd nonzero even) it is likely wired to a neutral. While you are in the boxes, double check all of your connections for loose wires. The GE switches have a not-too-installer-friendly wire insert location and they are prone to installers actually putting the wire behind the contact. I suggest that you wrap the wire around the screw and tighten them down rather than use that dodgy hole for the stripped wire. This way you can physically see that there is good electrical contact.
Did all of this just start to happen, or did you just wire it up and this is the result?[/quote]
It’s been happening for a while. Long enough that I can’t remember for sure if it started immediately after installing the z-wave switch or sometime after.
let us know how you progress.