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🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Topic started by: jayman13 on January 21, 2011, 10:19:16 AM

Title: Having a problem with a 3-way switch
Post by: jayman13 on January 21, 2011, 10:19:16 AM

I tried installing a 3 way and a slave (PLW02-I).  I can't get the slave to work.  It is a light over my kitchen table that has two switches that control it.  One of the previous switches had a dimmer built into the switch.  I used that switch as the master and the other switch as the slave.  I know I should use a voltmeter to determine which one has the hot wire but shouldn't it be the one with the previous dimmer?  Just to check I switched switches and I still can't get the slave to work.  Any help would be appreciated...

Title: Re: Having a problem with a 3-way switch
Post by: dave w on January 21, 2011, 12:02:35 PM

Hot can go to slave or master for the PLW02.

http://www.x10pro.com/pro/pdf/plw02.pdf

Hot and load need to go to one of the Blue wires at each end.

Title: Re: Having a problem with a 3-way switch
Post by: jayman13 on January 21, 2011, 12:53:11 PM

Thanks, I could have sworn I tried every combination of wire configurations possible without luck.  Will try again.  One of the things that confuses me is that in the instructions it says "The One HOT Traveler wire goes to BLACK wire..." on the master switch.  How do I know which of the traveler wire is the "hot" one or does it not matter?

Title: Re: Having a problem with a 3-way switch
Post by: dave w on January 21, 2011, 01:12:25 PM

Quote from: jayman13 on January 21, 2011, 12:53:11 PM

Thanks, I could have sworn I tried every combination of wire configurations possible without luck.  Will try again.  One of the things that confuses me is that in the instructions it says "The One HOT Traveler wire goes to BLACK wire..." on the master switch.  How do I know which of the traveler wire is the "hot" one or does it not matter?

7. Install the Slave Switch first. HOT wire goes to either one of the two BLUE wires and one Traveler wire goes to the other BLUE wire, the second
Traveler wire goes to RED wire.
8. Install the Master Switch second. The One HOT Traveler wire goes to BLACK wire, the second Traveler wire goes to RED wire. The Light wire
goes to BLUE wire.

Title: Re: Having a problem with a 3-way switch
Post by: jayman13 on January 21, 2011, 02:39:30 PM

I see thanks.  It has just been confusing to me because my traveler wires are the same color so I don't know which one is the hot traveler wire (the one attached to the blue wire at the slave switch).  Also, I think the wires I'm using as the hot wire and the load wire are right (they're red as opposed to the two other wires which are black and they were single on the side of the original switches.)

Title: Re: Having a problem with a 3-way switch
Post by: jayman13 on January 22, 2011, 01:38:00 PM

Figured it out but only after reading this post, very helpful...http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=11447.0