Jeffrey Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Hello,Newb trying to wire a C4 switch on one end and a 2 button keypad on the other end of a 3 way switched light. I think I am ok on the switch side, but I am confused a bit with the 2 button keypad side. I have a black, red, white, and ground on both sides. So which side do I need to add the keypad and what do I do with the red since the keypad only has white and black wire. Don't I need to use the red to complete the loop?Thanks for your help,Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henniae Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Is the mains and the load in the same box with the dimmer? If it is just use the white and black to provide hot and neutral to the keypad. And of course the ground. Cap the red. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 Thanks for your reply Alan! By load do you mean the hot wire coming from the panel? I need to get a voltage meter to find out which box has this wire. I believe the dimmer has to go into the box that has the hot wire coming from the panel, right? Can you explain to me what you mean by 'mains'? Sorry for my naivity.Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henniae Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 no problemMains is the power coming from the breakerLoad is the light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikon Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 Thanks for your reply Alan! By load do you mean the hot wire coming from the panel? I need to get a voltage meter to find out which box has this wire. I believe the dimmer has to go into the box that has the hot wire coming from the panel, right? Can you explain to me what you mean by 'mains'? Sorry for my naivity.JeffDon't bother with a volt meter just get one of the AC voltage detectors from home depot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henniae Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 It would be helpful for us to know what wires were in each box? Is it setup like this?Box 1 wire 1 - white, black and red wire 2 - white and black (mains i.e. the power from the breaker)Box 2 wire 1 - white, black and red wire 2 - white and black (load i.e. the light)or is it like thisBox 1 wire 1 - white, black and red wire 2 - white and black (mains i.e. the power from the breaker) wire 3 - white and black (load i.e. the light)Box 2 wire 1 - white, black and redthese are the most common was to wire a 3-way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indigomd777 Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Ok, I'm trying to wire a 3-way Control4 dimmer. I have installed many 3-way dimmers in the past without blinking, but this one has me (and my contractor, I might add) vexed. So, I have a dimmer and a 2-button keypad wired according to the sample configuration for a two-location scenario-power source at wall box. My wiring situation is the first scernario listed above by henniae. I put the dimmer in the box with the load and jumped the hot wire over to it. That is the only difference from the sample. The dimmer works great, but the 2-button keypad doesn't do a thing. The LED lights are on for the keypad, but nobody's home (i.e., cannot turn on or off lights and certainly cannot dim). I have the black keypad wire attached to the "red" traveler wire. Of course, the ground and neutral are attached appropriately. And I have the "red" traveler attached to the blue wire of the dimmer in the other box. The load is attached to the red wire of the dimmer and the neutral and ground are fine. I checked that the "red" wire was definitely the traveler wire before I started. Still, I doubted myself and switched them and still had the same result. So, should I attach a hot wire to the black keypad wire instead and cap off the "red" traveler as recently suggested? I don't want to blow out my new keypad. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 The two button keypad has to be bound in programming to that dimmer by your dealer. Since the two-button doesn't control a load, and can be programmed to do different things - if you want it to control a switch/dimmer in a three way you have to tell it which one to turn on/off in composer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indigomd777 Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Thanks! I was told by my installer that the switches would function normally prior to being programmed. Guess they left that little bit of info out. :/ I'll never get those 2 hours of my life back, but I have renewed faith in my wiring skills.Though, seems like the installation guides should be better. They are not terribly clear and had to rely on my own knowledge to wire even the single pole switch.Love this forum so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Thanks! I was told by my installer that the switches would function normally prior to being programmed.The switches and dimmers do. The keypads do not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Though, seems like the installation guides should be better. They are not terribly clear and had to rely on my own knowledge to wire even the single pole switch.I've had that thought too, but realize that it's a "dealer installed" system, which means these guys are installing them day in and day out. I'd imagine most of those diagrams go straight in the garbage bin.Love this forum so far!I'm glad...I like it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 Hello,I thought I did my homework when trying to install a 3 way switch utilizing a dimmer and a 6 button, but I am running into problems. I used a multimeter to identify my hot, but my multimeter doesn't do continuity testing (cheapo model). When I connected everything, the dimmer lit up both top and bottom a solid green and it would not control the light. The 6 button had nothing lit. I tried this once prior and got the same result with no power going to the keypad. With the power on, the multimeter shows I have power at the keypad, just nothing is happening. I must have something wrong. Any help would be great. I need to learn this! The box is, I believe, wired as follows:Box 1wire 1 - white, black and redwire 2 - white and black (mains i.e. the power from the breaker)wire 3 - white and black (load i.e. the light)Box 2wire 1 - white, black and redSee Pictures attached.Thanks,Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulstevens Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Unfortunately the wire colors in a junction box are often not helpful, especially in 3-way circuits. You really have to find out what wire is which - which is hot, which is neutral, which is the traveller, and which is the load, by whatever means you have at your disposal. One example in my case, hot was in one box (Box A) and the load was in the other (Box . I used the traveller to get hot to Box B with the load. (meaning, I tied the traveller to the hot wire in Box A.) I put the dimmer in Box B - wired dimmer hot to box hot (which is the traveller since it is tied to hot in Box A), dimmer neutral to box neutral, dimmer load to box load. This works right away without programming.Then I put the kepyad in BoxA and bound it to the the dimmer through composer. The keypad needs programming to work. It will control nothing until it is properly bound and programmed through composer.I hope this helps a little. Search around - there is good stuff on the forum already covering this in excellent detail. The absolute key, though, is properly identifying the wires in your boxes. You have to do that carefully. You cannot rely on wire colors alone. You have to figure out exactly which wire is which. Only then can you begin to install dimmers and switches and expect them to function correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 I would really recommend you get an electrician on-site to help you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 ^I second that. Critical as it may sound, anybody asking the kind of questions you see here should not be flirting with the potential dangers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 That's no fun. I just need to understand it, and I will be able to do it. This is the most complicated thing I'm going to do with C4, doing a 3 way switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 That's no fun. I just need to understand it, and I will be able to do it. This is the most complicated thing I'm going to do with C4, doing a 3 way switch.I'm not trying to be a fun killer, or saying that you can't do it, but you must understand that it is the safety of you, your family, and your home that can be put at risk by improperly installing electrical equipment. Just my .02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 That's no fun. I just need to understand it, and I will be able to do it. This is the most complicated thing I'm going to do with C4, doing a 3 way switch.And you see, this is why we say what we do. It is not complicated to those formally trained to work with electricity. It's not about learning something on the internet and turning around and "getting a job done". Pro sparkys instinctly work with a degree of safety and a ton of practical experience behind them with every wire they strip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 That's no fun. I just need to understand it, and I will be able to do it. This is the most complicated thing I'm going to do with C4, doing a 3 way switch.Read the post from paulstevens. He's dead on here. It sounds like your power source is in one box, and the switched leg is in the other. You will need to get the power and switched leg into the same box. It's easy to do because you've got plenty of wires there, but it does require you knowing what you're doing. There are a lot of posts on here about people killing dimmers/switches/keypads by wiring them up wrong.If you insist on figuring it out on your own, give the post from paulstevens another read. If you really want to know how to do this, call an electrician and ask him lots of questions while he's there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xc420 Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Hello,I thought I did my homework when trying to install a 3 way switch utilizing a dimmer and a 6 button, but I am running into problems. I used a multimeter to identify my hot, but my multimeter doesn't do continuity testing (cheapo model). When I connected everything, the dimmer lit up both top and bottom a solid green and it would not control the light. The 6 button had nothing lit. I tried this once prior and got the same result with no power going to the keypad. With the power on, the multimeter shows I have power at the keypad, just nothing is happening. I must have something wrong. Any help would be great. I need to learn this! The box is, I believe, wired as follows:Box 1wire 1 - white, black and redwire 2 - white and black (mains i.e. the power from the breaker)wire 3 - white and black (load i.e. the light)Box 2wire 1 - white, black and redSee Pictures attached.Thanks,JeffAre you saying that when you took the switch out of box 2 that red, white and black was connected to the switch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 Hello' date='I thought I did my homework when trying to install a 3 way switch utilizing a dimmer and a 6 button, but I am running into problems. I used a multimeter to identify my hot, but my multimeter doesn't do continuity testing (cheapo model). When I connected everything, the dimmer lit up both top and bottom a solid green and it would not control the light. The 6 button had nothing lit. I tried this once prior and got the same result with no power going to the keypad. With the power on, the multimeter shows I have power at the keypad, just nothing is happening. I must have something wrong. Any help would be great. I need to learn this! The box is, I believe, wired as follows:Box 1wire 1 - white, black and redwire 2 - white and black (mains i.e. the power from the breaker)wire 3 - white and black (load i.e. the light)Box 2wire 1 - white, black and redSee Pictures attached.Thanks,Jeff[/quote']Are you saying that when you took the switch out of box 2 that red, white and black was connected to the switch?Yes that is how it was connected in box 2. Thanks,Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xc420 Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Do you know which wire was hooked up to common (usually black screw) from the switch that you took out in box 2 ? It is probably tied together with the load wire in box 1. All they did was send switch legs to box 2 so you can control the lights from that location and the common is tied to the load in box 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 Do you know which wire was hooked up to common (usually black screw) from the switch that you took out in box 2 ? It is probably tied together with the load wire in box 1. All they did was send switch legs to box 2 so you can control the lights from that location and the common is tied to the load in box 1.Red is connected to the common in box 2. Thanks,Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xc420 Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 what was the red wire connected to in box 1 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 what was the red wire connected to in box 1 ?Red was not connected to the common in box 1.They have all the blacks combined (hot wire is one of these) then pig tail it to the common wire. The 3rd wire in box 1 is the black wire coming from the traveler wire. All the whites were bundled together.I think I see the circuit in my head as it is currently wired, I just don't know how to translate that into a control 4 wiring set up. Thanks for your help!Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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