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[anhnn100]

Can you guys help me on these setting?
-  I have ws13a/ws14a for fluorescent lights in living room.  I can only control the ws13a, but the ws14a does not function at all.  Using remote, I can only turn the light on, but could not turn off.
- I have ws12a/ws14a for stair, I can control from both switches, but x10 remote can turn the light on only, cannot turn off

In both cases, the red light on the ws14a does not light

Thanks

[dave w]

The red light on the WS14A does not work. Only X10 knows why.
Your problem of being able to turn ON but not OFF sounds like an electrical noise problem. Are these CFL flourescent bulbs?
http://jvde.us/x10_troubleshooting.htm

The living room sounds like the WS14A isn't wired correctly, try swaping the wires.

[anhnn100]

I did swap wires but it did not help.  Not sure why I have a red wire on the ws14a companion, but the ws13a does not have this red color.  There is a red wire here in ws13a location, but it even did not connect to the original switch.  It just connected to another red wire to go to some where else.
How many wires do I need connect to the ws14a?  Why in the manual, it has only 2 wires? ftp://ftp.x10.com/pub/manuals/ws13a-is.pdf

Thanks

[Brian H]

It depends on how the original three way switches where wired.
If the line was in one box and the load in the other. It would be wired different than having both the line and load in one switch box and the slave switch and travelers in the other.

The WS14A to the WS13A needs two wires. Line and Switch if you go by the labels in the instruction sheets.

Depending on where the line and load are in your setup. Three wires possible could be needed between them.

Can you give us some information on how the original switches where wired?

[dave w]

$0.02

X10's wiring diagram for the WS13A/WS14A is for one of the least common way of wiring a 3-way circuit in a home. It is far more common to see LINE on one of the 3-way switches and LOAD on the other 3-way switch. If that is the way your circuit is wired, I don't see how X10's diagram can possibly work...

Maybe forum members with WS13A/WS14S and LINE and LOAD lines in seperate wall boxes can tell how they got it to work, i.e did they use one of the travellers to route the LOAD line back to the master wall box.

http://www.hometoys.com/htinews/dec97/articles/kingery/kingery6.htm
http://www.hometoys.com/htinews/feb98/articles/kingery/kingery7.htm

[anhnn100]

It depends on how the original three way switches where wired.
If the line was in one box and the load in the other. It would be wired different than having both the line and load in one switch box and the slave switch and travelers in the other.

The WS14A to the WS13A needs two wires. Line and Switch if you go by the labels in the instruction sheets.

Depending on where the line and load are in your setup. Three wires possible could be needed between them.

Can you give us some information on how the original switches where wired?

I took the original switches off and now don't remember how they wired.
If I change the ws13a by a ws12a without neutral, it works.  So I assume the ws14a is ok.  If I put back the ws13a, the ws14a does not function.  To turn on/off, only use remote control or from ws13a.  In this case, it there any thing wrong with the ws13a?
With my stair, I change the bulb from 100w to 60w (Incandescent Light Bulb), it worked.  I was on but not off with the 100w bulb.  Not sure why

[Brian H]

There is a wiring error.
Now to get this corrected. You are going to have to trace out where the wiring goes. Like where the line; neutral and the load wires are.
It is possible you have the load in the slave switch box and the power where the master switch was. It is also possible you don't have a neutral wire in the switch box.

You may need to find someone confident and able. To properly and safely trace the wiring. Most likely using a test meter.

[anhnn100]

It depends on how the original three way switches where wired.
If the line was in one box and the load in the other. It would be wired different than having both the line and load in one switch box and the slave switch and travelers in the other.

The WS14A to the WS13A needs two wires. Line and Switch if you go by the labels in the instruction sheets.

Depending on where the line and load are in your setup. Three wires possible could be needed between them.

Can you give us some information on how the original switches where wired?

I just tracked the original switches where wired.
- The first box where I installed the ws14a has three wire, red, black, and white. Red wire is the load.  The white and the black wires connect to the second box where I installed the ws13a.   There is no common wire in the first box.
- The second box  has live and common wire  where I installed the ws13a with live, common, and the black and white wires from the first box are connected.
This is wrong because the ws13a must be install in the first box since it has the load wire.  However, no common wire in this box. 

So as my understanding, the fist box is the master.  However, I could not install the ws13a to the first box because it has no common wire.
I installed the ws13a to the second box where I can connect live and common. My ws14a does not function.
In this case, how can I use x10 ws13a/ws14a?
First box (first picture) and second box (second picture) are  attached

Thank you

[anhnn100]

Brian,

If live in one box and load in another box, no way to use x10 ws13a?

[Brian H]

From your pictures. The white is on each end is connected to a switch and is NOT a neutral. It is looks like a traveler.
Is there a few white wires in one of the boxes wire nutted together?

You maybe able to use a traveler to get things like line and load to the proper box.
You are going to have to verify what each wire is and not count on a certain color being what a typical connection in the users sheet says it is.

Maybe one of our electricians that frequent here; can post better information.

[anhnn100]

No neutral in the picture, but there is a neutral in the second box.  The black and wire are connected between the two switch and another black in the second picture is the live
I did connect the neutral from the second box to the ws13a, but there is no load here

[Brian H]

I will try and find a solution and post back.
With two wires between the switch positions it may not be possible as the load is in the second box.
If there where three between them then you could use one of the travelers to get the load to the other box.

If the switches where two way {can transmit an X10 signal and receive an X10 signal} then it would be easier.
I could do it with Insteon or Icon switches.

You could also use an X10Pro XPT base with a XP1 face plate. In that case the WS13A would be moved to the box with the load wire and the XPT would be in the box with the neutral and line. You would wire the Line to the XPT and the black to the second box. The Neutral would go to the XPT and the white wire to the second box.
In the second box. The Black would go to the Line of the WS13A. White to the Neutral of the WS13A. The load would go to the WS13A. Both the XPT and WS13A would be set to the same X10 address and when it is activeted it would send a signal to the WS13A to go on and off.

[anhnn100]

Pro XPT is good one to try.  I just afraid there is no room for it.  Do I need to make another box for it?

Thanks

[Brian H]

You mean you don't have enough room in the box when you completely remove the WS13A and move it to the box with the load in it?

One thing you may have to consider. The paddle on the one function faceplate. It toggles right and left not up and down. Spouse input maybe needed.

Also if you decide on the XPT. Do some web searching as I have seen vendors in the $12.99 for the base and $5.99 faceplate range. While others are much higher.

[bigjohn9944]

I'm an X10 reseller on Ebay.

Here is an article which I have used to help customers who have installed 3 way X10 configurations before identifying the existing wiring.
http://www.homeimprovementweb.com/information/how-to/three-way-switch.htm

It shows the eight most common configurations for standard 3 way wiring using conventional switches.

It's important to NOT get hung up on trying to match the X10 switch wire colors to the wires in your switch box.

You may end up not placing the master and slave in the same locations as shown in the X10 manuals.
bigjohn 9944
http://stores.ebay.com/Big-Johns-Place