![]() Apologies for my paragraph sized explanation.Soz & Thanks. I wonder if someone could explain what an 'intermediate switch' is please & how it works.? Any help appreciated. It therefore looks like if you clicked the switch, "it would just short-circuit both conductor paths.? VERY DANGEROUS & IS OBVIOUSLY WRONG Especially if 1 is Neutral running & the other Live.As his course is more Electrician than electronics. I always called it a double pole- double throw: & it had a few various wiring possibilities.Dont quote me but i think he said ' it can only be switched on or of.'.His homework diagram on said "Intermediate switch," seems to have 2 seperate contact paths, each pole to pole, ALWAYS ON, (1 for say Neutral wire, the other Live in A.C wiring both running in parallel.). He has been asking about a 4 contacts switch they call an 'intermediate switch'. But a 2- way switch ( 3 wiring contacts 1 contact takes the conductor flow & the other two contacts, where your choice of switchin from one conductor pathway to another).It was called a single pole-double throw, in my day. The son has been learning to wire up switches to lights, resistance etc. My son has just started an Electrical Installation course.? I am a 'long-time ago' qualified electronic engineer.? lol. If you find one on a three-way circuit that is not working, just replace the switch and your problems will likely be solved. A continuity tester does not work on one of these switches. This can make you think two wires are in each other's place, but the switch simply needs to be replaced. When they do, the switch may work when the toggle is up or down, but not in both positions. These switches fail in time due to overheating. The photo shows a dimmer switch that can be used as a single-pole switch or as a three-way switch. I discovered an exception to the rule that three-way circuit problems are due to two wires transposed into each other's place. He is happy now because his three-way circuit works as it should. In this case, I did not have any meters or testers, but had to reason out the problem. The wire going into one of the switches was on a screw terminal for one of the wires going between the switches. If the switch at the bottom of the stairway was "off," he could not turn the light "on" from the top of the stairway. Then he could turn the light "off" or "on" from the top of the stairway where the bedrooms are. Since the time the home was built thirty years ago he has had to turn the switch at the bottom of the stairway "on" first. He had a three-way switch at the top and bottom of a stairway. If you have a continuity tester, you can shut "off" the circuit breaker and test the switch to determine which screw connects to what. It is not uncommon to find that one switch in a three-way circuit uses one arrangement, but the other is from a different manufacturer and uses a different pattern for the screws. But, the screws for the wires running between the switches may be on the same side of the switch, or they may be on opposite sides of the switch at the same end of the switch. All of them have two screws on one side of the switch and one screw on the other side. Not all three-way switches are the same, either. When you encounter what was supposed to be a three-way circuit, and you can turn it "on" at one of the switches, but not at the other switch, unless the first switch is already "on," the problem is usually that one of the wires going into the switch is on a terminal for one of the two wires going out of the switch. This time it flows over the second of the two wires running between the switches. Now there is again a pathway for the electricity. Don’t assume white wires are neutral and red are Travelers.Someone enters the same room near the switch at the right of the graphic. ![]() Especially the dark terminal screws on them because that’s the hint for finding line, load and neutral. Again, which wiring configuration do you have? I would ignore the 4 ways switch and concentrate on the two 3 ways switches. Why would you think the neutral is also at the other 3 ways switch box? Where is your load? It’s important to understand the wiring configuration of your circuit first before attempting to convert to smart circuit otherwise you will run into the issue you have right now. So the power source is at the first 3 ways switch box and neutral is there. I wired the smart switches according to this diagram (with the bad neutral, of course). That’s the neutral that I’m having difficulty with. Hook the 2 travelers Dimmer 4-Way Switch Lighting Load 3-Way Switch Line / Hot Green Red Black 4-Way Switch. ![]() The middle box with the 2 black wires and 2 white wires does not have a neutral in it. way), hook the common to the lamp hot (black). I also pigtailed a neutral from the 3rd box. Except only the 1st switch box had a neutral in it. The source at the 1st switch is what applies. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |