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🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Troubleshooting Automation Problems => Topic started by: misha680 on January 30, 2009, 06:34:56 PM

Title: fluorescent light no neutral wire? (xps3?)
Post by: misha680 on January 30, 2009, 06:34:56 PM

I have installed some standard wall switches (X10) that worked fine, but am trying to replace a fluorescent light switch which I understand requires XPS3 but there is no
neutral wire (there is a set of wires that are light brownish and also a set that are not insulated but that have white paint, I tried the brownish ones but the XPS3 did not
seem to work). The switch that is there (non X10) is in fact a regular switch just like the others, so can I use a regular X10 switch? What do I do?

Thank you
Misha

Title: Re: fluorescent light no neutral wire? (xps3?)
Post by: Dan Lawrence on January 30, 2009, 08:20:32 PM

I use a X10Pro XPFM module to control a ceiling  fluorescent light.  It goes right inside the fixture where the  fluorescent tube mount. It's in AHP as an an inline fixture module.

Title: Re: fluorescent light no neutral wire? (xps3?)
Post by: Jsnlong on January 30, 2009, 08:26:46 PM

You should not use the regular X10 switch due to its dimming and softstart features.. If you need a switch I would suggest getting someone to run a neutral wire to that box for you.

Don't go by the White mean it is neutral!! There is 100 ways to wire a switch depending on who done it and where.. Do not use the ground/bare wire either you will see if you have already tried that it works but it is unsafe and can cause X10 problems along with ground fault problems.



There is other ways like maybe hard wiring a appliance module in the fluorescent fixture because there should be a neutral wire up there..
X10pro does have the XPFM also for inline stuff like that!!! But again if you don't have electrical skills Please find a someone who does.

Title: Re: fluorescent light no neutral wire? (xps3?)
Post by: misha680 on January 30, 2009, 10:10:50 PM

So just out of curiosity what are the unconnected light brown (insulation color) wires or the uninsulated wires in the light switch (I guess you are saying the uninsulated ones are ground)? Why are they in the box doing nothing?

Thanks
Misha

Title: Re: fluorescent light no neutral wire? (xps3?)
Post by: Jsnlong on January 30, 2009, 11:27:12 PM

The bare wires are the ground. The others with out  really seeing the wires I could not say for sure...But the White/brown ones ,,,are they just bundled together or are they bundle together an then a wire coming from them to the switch?

They could be the line/power wire that are jumped together to another box like a outlet.....Then again with out being there they could be neutral wires  ???.

Do you know anyone that has electrical skills or maybe its time to call a electrician