I’ve greatly expanded my z-wave network thanks to the cheap Intermatic CA600s from AutomatedOutlet. I think these switches are great and have caused way fewer headaches than the GE stuff I had in some places, and the 3-way and (perhaps) 4-way support has made it much easier to set up. I’m something of a novice at multiway switch wiring, especially with the z-wave ones which need a constant source of power, so this took me a bit of head scratching to puzzle out.
In a couple of locations, though, I have a 4-way switch system. The Intermatic instructions show a method of setting these up, but I can’t quite figure it out. As a result, I have used switch covers to prevent the 4-way switch from being flipped which, in one location, is fine because we never really use that one. In the other location, however, it’s our most commonly used switch for those lights. I’m getting some grief from the CEO about it now, so I’m hoping someone can tell me the secret of keeping the CA600 powered regardless of the switch positions in the other locations.
My wiring seems pretty standard, with a hot lead coming into and load and traveler wires departing from the hot switch, running to the 4-way and then on to the far end 3-way switch. I’m just unclear about what I can do to ensure that the CA600 stays powered. Or maybe my n00b is showing and I’m thinking about it all wrong.
so I'm hoping someone can tell me the secret of keeping the CA600 powered regardless of the switch positions in the other locations.
This question doesn't make sense (to me). The CA600 is always directly wired to hot/line, so it's getting power regardless of the other switch positions. The wiring problem with these switches is usually the [i]extra wire[/i] that runs from the CA600 to the light/load. Since this isn't standard wiring, a workaround is usually required. This wiring allows the CA600 to provide power directly to the light. My understanding is that it senses when one of the standard switches is flipped to decide how/when to send power to the light.
Hint: If if you have a white/neutral wire that runs with the rest of your wiring from the CA600 to the last switch before the light, you may be able to re-purpose it as the extra wire, since the switches don’t need a neutral.
Thanks for the response, and I’m sorry if I’m not being clear. What I noticed in setting up the 3-way switches is that when power was applied to a new switch, the CA600 produces a pulsing glow from the LED, indicating that it hasn’t been added to a z-wave network yet. When I went to the other switch in the pair and flipped it, that LED was extinguished and the switch completely disabled. When I have them wired in the way that seems correct, black wire to hot, blue wire to the load (or would be the load on a two way switch) and the red wire to the remaining traveler, and I’ve jumped the distant switch’s poles, that LED stays lit regardless of the switch position.
Are you sure that you have your line/load identified correctly? Is it possible that you have a dead end 3-way circuit - line and load wires exiting the same switchbox? What do you mean “and I’ve jumped the distant switch’s poles, that LED stays lit regardless of the switch position”? Are you using more than one CA600 in a circuit? Have you replaced the first 4-way switch after the CA600 with a 3-way switch as per the instructions? Perhaps if you could draw/post a wiring diagram, it would be easier to help troubleshoot.
The instructions for a 3-way circuit, with a CA600 connecting to a distant 3-way switch, show a jumper line between the poles (common and the load wire on the same side) of the standard 3-way, which is a configuration that is working exactly as I wanted.
I took a closer look at the instructions and agree, now, that my problem must be having a 4-way switch in the middle and not a 3-way. I didn’t see that in the diagram at first, but it’s obvious now that the switch after the CA600 must be a 3-way. I’ll give that a try and report back.
My wiring diagram is attached. If anybody would take a look at it and provide some advice, I would appreciate it. There is no way my wife is going to let me cut any holes in the wall, so I have to work with the wires that are in there right now. My end goal is a dimmer (CA600) where the first 3-way switch currently sits. If someone can figure out a way to make this work, great. If not, does anyone know of a combination of switches that would work with my wiring?
I don’t have these devices, but my guess is it will not work with just a CA600, as it requires an extra wire. But (e.g.) putting CA5100’s in all the other spots might work (by re-using the red wire as a hot). Don’t know if anyone has tried using them in a 5-way like this.
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