GE 45613 Z-Wave Technology 3-Way Dimmer Switch Kit
by GE
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Product Details
Manufacturer: GEModel: 45613
Color: White
Product features:
- Designed for rooms, halls or staircases with light switches at both ends of the area; includes both primary dimmer and auxiliary switches
- LED light on primary dimmer shows switch location in a dark room
- For use with incandescent lighting only
- Requires in-wall installation; requires neutral and traveler wires
- Easily create your own lighting control system
Tools and Hardware Reviews of GE 45613 Z-Wave Technology 3-Way Dimmer Switch Kit
Customer Review: Installation Tips and Solution to Dimmer Issues
Summary: 3 Stars
I absolutely love these switches and their capability to be controlled via remote. Thou I also had NUMEROUS problems with the installation of these switches. As I ran into issues since I was replacing a "traditional" 3-way circuit with dimming capabilities. By "traditional" I mean that my lights were wired in the most common configuration which consists of four wires at each switch; one ground, 2 travelers (one acting as a "hot"), and either a line-in or load-out; while the neutral is located elsewhere in the circuit. (In other words it was exactly like the image labeled "Typical 3-way circuit" on page 5 of the manual included with these GE switches.)
In my case the neutral wire was easily accessible in one of the gang-boxes. So given the neutral wire's location, this is the box in which I was required to install the primary switch (the one with five wires). Thou in order be have a neutral wire available to connect with the primary switch I had to add an additional wire to point where the neutral wires bypassed the original switches, and I used this "new" neutral wire to connect with the neutral wire on the primary switch.
From this point I had to determine the flow of electricity from the auxiliary switch through the primary switch and onto the lights, also known as the "load" (I would highly recommend drawing out the circuit so you don't get confused and can easily reference it if you need to). After figuring out the configuration of the circuit I attached the line-in (also known as the "hot" or common wire and usually black) to the black wire of the auxiliary switch. At this point I was left with the two traveler wires from the previous configuration; in my case one was red and the other was white with black sharpie/tape (which indicated that it was NOT being used as a neutral).
Knowing that the primary switch would require a "hot" wire in the other location, I decided to use the white/taped wire in a similar manner to which it was previously utilized. So at the point where the line-in wire and the black wire, from the auxiliary switch, would be connected using one twist connector I also attached the white/taped wire by screwing all three wires into on connector (this would allow the white/taped wire to serve as a "hot" wire running the primary switch, as the current is able to bypass the auxiliary switch).
Given my decision to use the white/taped wire as a "hot", I was left with the red wire to serve as the single "Traveler" wire (though this could have been reversed as long as I knew which wire was which when connecting the primary switch). So I connected the yellow wire from my auxiliary switch to the red wire using a twist connector. And of course I attached the green wire to a ground wire; thou this should always be the first connection made during installation.
In the second location, where the primary switch HAD to be installed; I found the red "Traveler" wire and white/taped (hot) wire coming from the auxiliary switch in addition to the newly created "neutral" wire and the black/load/hot wire running out and to the lights. So I started by connecting the green wire from the primary switch to the ground wire. I then connected the white wire to the neutral wire, which I had previously created. Next I connected the tiny yellow wire to the red "Traveler" wire and the black wire (from the primary switch) to the white/taped (hot) wire. This left me with the Blue/load wire which was connected with the black (load/line-out) wire running to the lights.
After installing the switches in this configuration, everything seemed to work fine so I installed the switches into the gang boxes. After this I noticed that the lights could not be made to achieve full brightness and that they would actually flicker. Knowing that often a flicker means a bad connection exists somewhere in the circuit, I removed the switches from the gang boxes in order to check the tightness of the connections. Once I removed the switches I noticed that both of my problems were improved immediately, and that all of the connections were in fact tight/good.
Since everything appeared to be working correctly I placed the switches back into their respective boxes, after which I began noticing the same problems/issues. It was only after I removed the primary switch a second time that I came to the realization that the problems were actually being caused by inference with the tiny yellow wire. In fact if you apply pressure to (squeeze) this wire with your fingers it will actually cause the lights to change brightness.
Ergo I concluded that the post-installation problems are a result of the size of the yellow wire, as it is either too large of a gauge, not well enough insulated, or both (just an FYI wiring gauge is opposite than one would assume, that is the smaller the gauge the larger the wire).
In order to rectify this and fix the problems I spliced a replacement wire (of the same gauge/size as the other wires) in place of the smaller yellow traveler; though I would have preferred to completely replace the wire but I do not have a Soldering Iron. Since I could not completely replace the wire I created a splice as close to the back of the switch as possible, while leaving enough wire available to allow the use of an Insulated Butt Connector Terminal (which would also serve to insulate the little wire remaining as I placed it tight against the back of the switch) . I then used this replacement wire to connect to the red "Traveler" wire. This seemed to fix all of the problems I was experiencing, as I virtually removed the small yellow wire and replaced it with what I have determined to be a more appropriately sized and insulated wire.
Description of GE 45613 Z-Wave Technology 3-Way Dimmer Switch Kit
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