Since I have no experience in electrical dept and now I am ready to replace the Zwave 3 way light switch module, can someone tell me which line goes to where ? so far there are 5 wires and I know Green is going to the ground only…
Thanks.
strange wiring… not EU ? edit: ok US wiring 
green=ground
red= line
black= traveler and neutral
so… you have to find out if 4 or 5 goes to the light
1=ground
2=traveler
3=load
4=traveler and neutral
5=traveler or neutral
you have to check wich of the black wire goes to the light and attach this to neutral i think… not so familiar with US wiring schematics… traveler is the one going to mains and neutral goes to the light or vice versa ? either way you have to find out which one is which in your outlet-box
You’re replacing a standard switch with a Z-Wave version, right? As always, it is key to understand your current wiring and don’t assume anything. A Z-Wave 3-way operates differently from a traditional 3-way; you’ll have to make changes to the aux switch wiring as well. I wouldn’t connect the primary Z-Wave if the old aux switch is still connected.
This wiring was done about 3 years ago so everything is still new, there were 2 switches in the house that controls this light and I am replacing one of those with the Zwave switch, I am not too sure how to find out which one goes to the light … and what’s weired to me is that there are 2 blk wire goes to 1 screw, this is what confuse me the most…
and you guys are right, I am living in US
Thanks.
well yes the US wiring is different from EU wiring.
the 2 black can be either the steering-wires from the hotel-switch or the line. as in US neutral is switched and dimmed and over here in EU the brown/green life 220v + is being switched and dimmed.
therefor you have to tell me which wire has what on it.
presumably the 2 wires are either life wire or the 2 wires for the hotel-switch between the 2 switches in the walls
green=ground red= line black= traveler and neutral
NO, that’s not right.
Red = Traveler
Black = Line/Hot and Load/Light (or traveler through other switches to Load/Light)
White = Neutral
Green = Ground
As mentioned, you’ll need to figure out where each black wire goes. Jasco wiring diagrams are very confusing. This is not easy, and you might be in over your head (i.e. need electrician). You need a neutral for both switches (sometimes not present in every box) and if your wire to the light is at the opposite end of the circuit, your black traveler will connect to it without going through the 45610 switch. I’m not an electrician, so take this for what it’s worth. I think my wiring diagram is correct, but I haven’t tested it myself.
[quote=“kwang0429, post:4, topic:170957”]This wiring was done about 3 years ago so everything is still new, there were 2 switches in the house that controls this light and I am replacing one of those with the Zwave switch, I am not too sure how to find out which one goes to the light … and what’s weired to me is that there are 2 blk wire goes to 1 screw, this is what confuse me the most…
and you guys are right, I am living in US
Thanks.[/quote]
You can’t just replace one switch in a 3-way circuit with a ZW4001/45609. You also have to replace the other switch with a 45610. You need a voltmeter or live circuit checker to figure out which black wire is line/hot. If one screw has two black wires connected to it, it may be the hot/line wire that is daisy-chaining power to another switch.
You’ll have to replace both. There are some Z-Wave switches that will work with a regular second switch, but not the GE/Jasco’s.
[...]and what's weired to me is that there are 2 blk wire goes to 1 screw, this is what confuse me the most.....You mean 4 and 5 in the picture? If this is the primary switch then this would be the incoming line/hot and may just continue on to another switch (for another light).
Edit: same answer as @kkl just posted. Enough warning.
[quote=“kkl, post:6, topic:170957”]
green=ground
red= line
black= traveler and neutral
NO, that’s not right.
Red = Traveler
Black = Line/Hot and Load/Light (or traveler through other switches to Load/Light)
White = Neutral
Green = Ground
As mentioned, you’ll need to figure out where each black wire goes. Jasco wiring diagrams are very confusing. This is not easy, and you might be in over your head (i.e. need electrician). You need a neutral for both switches (sometimes not present in every box) and if your wire to the light is at the opposite end of the circuit, your black traveler will connect to it without going through the 45610 switch. I’m not an electrician, so take this for what it’s worth. I think my wiring diagram is correct, but I haven’t tested it myself.[/quote]
looks pretty good
i was confused as it uses same colourscheme as we used to have here in holland in the old days…
like i said in US the life-wire has the same function as neutral over here.
Don’t assume things based on the color of a wire; meaning it’s a good starting point, but prove it to yourself. (Especially after seeing two wires under one screw?)
yup
just gotta find out which is which… i.e. which is switch input for switching part and which ones are output and which is the life power wire to the device… please update me on that and i can fix it
[quote=“kkl, post:6, topic:170957”]Red = Traveler
Black = Line/Hot and Load/Light (or traveler through other switches to Load/Light)
White = Neutral
Green = Ground[/quote]
You can’t go by the wire colors as the person who wired it might/might not have followed any convention. My own house has wiring where some of the 3-way switches have hot on the white wire, which by code should be neutral. You should go by how the switch is wired. On a 3-way switch (U.S. wiring) the black screw is the “common” wire (it should also say “Common” on the switch by the terminal with the black screw). This is either the line (incoming hot) or the load (outgoing switched hot to the light fixture). If it’s the line then the black (common) screw on the OTHER switch is the load. If it’s the load then the black screw on the OTHER switch is the line (hot). The two wires on the gold screws are the travelers, which pass the current back and forth to allow the 3-way operation. As mentioned earlier you only need one of these for the Z-wave switch since they don’t actually pass current but only signal the master switch to turn on or off. The ground screw should be obvious (it’s connected to the frame of the switch).
The Z-wave 3-way switch requires that both the line and the load be connected to the master switch. This can be accomplished by converting one of the travelers (since you only need one traveler for the Z-wave switch) to a load wire to feed back to the master switch.
In a typical 3-way switch there is no neutral wire connected. If you are lucky there will be a neutral bundle in one or both of the switch boxes; they SHOULD be white wires twisted together in a bundle behind the switch.
3-way switches can be tricky because electricians will use all sorts of short cuts to save 50 cents worth of wire. If you don’t understand electrical wiring I highly recommend you hire an electrician or at least enlist the help of a friend that does understand electrical wiring.
EDIT: By the way, in your picture I would suspect wires 4 & 5 are the incoming line (hot). The load would not likely have 2 wires on it unless the switch actually controls 2 different lights. But the person who wired the switch may have tapped off the hot wire to power another circuit, like the other switch in the box. That would explain why there are two wires on the black (common) screw.
very nice explanation
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Re: Zwave 3 way switch electrician question.
? Reply #11 on: March 19, 2012, 05:39:36 pm ?
Quote
Quote from: kkl on March 19, 2012, 08:15:02 am
Red = Traveler
Black = Line/Hot and Load/Light (or traveler through other switches to Load/Light)
White = Neutral
Green = Ground
You can’t go by the wire colors as the person who wired it might/might not have followed any convention. My own house has wiring where some of the 3-way switches have hot on the white wire, which by code should be neutral. You should go by how the switch is wired. On a 3-way switch (U.S. wiring) the black screw is the “common” wire (it should also say “Common” on the switch by the terminal with the black screw). This is either the line (incoming hot) or the load (outgoing switched hot to the light fixture). If it’s the line then the black (common) screw on the OTHER switch is the load. If it’s the load then the black screw on the OTHER switch is the line (hot). The two wires on the gold screws are the travelers, which pass the current back and forth to allow the 3-way operation. As mentioned earlier you only need one of these for the Z-wave switch since they don’t actually pass current but only signal the master switch to turn on or off. The ground screw should be obvious (it’s connected to the frame of the switch).
The Z-wave 3-way switch requires that both the line and the load be connected to the master switch. This can be accomplished by converting one of the travelers (since you only need one traveler for the Z-wave switch) to a load wire to feed back to the master switch.
In a typical 3-way switch there is no neutral wire connected. If you are lucky there will be a neutral bundle in one or both of the switch boxes; they SHOULD be white wires twisted together in a bundle behind the switch.
3-way switches can be tricky because electricians will use all sorts of short cuts to save 50 cents worth of wire. If you don’t understand electrical wiring I highly recommend you hire an electrician or at least enlist the help of a friend that does understand electrical wiring.
EDIT: By the way, in your picture I would suspect wires 4 & 5 are the incoming line (hot). The load would not likely have 2 wires on it unless the switch actually controls 2 different lights. But the person who wired the switch may have tapped off the hot wire to power another circuit, like the other switch in the box. That would explain why there are two wires on the black (common) screw.
? Last Edit: March 19, 2012, 05:42:35 pm by ufd108 ?
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If I understand what you’ve written correctly, and my three way switch setup doesn’t have a neutral wire in either junction box, do I need to run a neutral to the box (or boxes) in order to use the GE ZW4001?
Thank you.
A neutral wire is required for this switch and is also required for the remote 45610 switch. It shows this clearly in the instruction manual.
Most modern U.S. wiring has neutral leads. They are often bundled/wire-nutted together and stuffed into the back of the gang boxes. Double check to see if you have such a bundle.