I have several 3 way and 4 way applications I wanted to use the Intermatic HA14 switch in. That is to say 2, 3 or 4 switches control the same light. My question is, can I replace one switch in a 3 or 4 way with the HA14 and leave the other switches as they are. If I can, how will this effect how Z-Wave works. So if I turn the regular switches on or off will it register that that light is now on since I didn't press the Zwave switch?
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I tried to replace one switch in my 4 switch setup and it doesn't seem to work correctly. I can get the HA14 switch to turn on and off the lights. Once on, I can get any of the other switches to turn the light off, but I am unable to get them to turn the light on, I am only able to get the light to turn on at the HA14. I've tried swtiching all the wires I could think of around and it doesn't seem to work. I tried it on both ends of the 4 switch chain, the front and back and still no luck. Any ideas? -
Check the wiring diagram that came with the HA14. It is NOT a standard 3-Way/4Way wiring! You have to hook one wire that goes from the load back to the switch, so it knows whether the light is on or off.Comment
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Thanks for the reply. Is there an easy way to do that, or am I doing attic time? How do I know which is the load if this switch turns on 7 cans at a time?Comment
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[tongue in cheek]Touch each wire one at a time while flipping the switch on/off slowly and methodically. When you flip the switch, the light comes on, and you suddenly let go and yell obscenities at me, well, you found the load/hot wire
[/tongue in cheek]
Use a voltmeter instead of your fingers, one to the each wire one at a time, one to the ground/green wire, and when you flip the switch and the light comes on, you found either a load wire or a parallel power switching wire. Only 1 switch generally actually connects to the load.
You will likely have to inspect all the switch boxes for the single set of wires that go to your light circuit. That's your master switchbox. The other switches will be your slave switches and will basically tell the master switch to toggle on/off.
It may take a while because there is no 100% standard way to connect these things up despite them all being wired up to wiring code standards. The trouble is, over the years, the wiring schemes, switches, and standards have changed a bit.
I had to resort to removing the switches (writing down and labeling the wires as I disconnected them), and checking how they functioned to see how the system was connected/wired/functioning. Even then, I found some really odd "standard" wiring schemes. Actually it was WRONG... which explains why I was replacing them in the first place. I was surprised the place hadn't constantly tripped breakers, but they lucked up in the switch they put in and didn't fry anything... just made it so one was "enable" and the other switch actually toggled properly. You had to know the position of the switches in advance to know whether it would work or not. Weird stuff, probably not unlike what you are dealing with.
Best of luck. Seriously though, you will need to be careful and document the existing wiring (before you updated) so you can properly plan the update. Some wires may not even be used afterwards, or they may serve a completely different function with the zwave multi-way switch setup.huggy_d1
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Believe me, I've gotten my share of zaps in my lifetime. I know how to determine which wire is hot, etc. But for these switches I need to run an auxilary wire from the HA14 switch to the load, I wasn't sure if that required me to crawl into the attic to run another wire down from the light to the switch, or if I could tap into the white wire I see in this box, or some other method.Comment
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Once you know what each wire in your 3/4/5/6/7 way setup does, you can probably find an existing wire you can re-task for your aux purposes. I know I was able to re-task a wire or 3 for a couple 4 way switches, and figure you will be able to as well. You can always crawl up there and add more, but you might want to wait until it cools down a bit...huggy_d1
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Cool I'll check it out. There are just some white wires in each box that are twisted together, thought maybe I could use those, not sure what they are.Comment
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The white wires are probably your neutral (return). Good luck with the 3 way. I just tried to install a set from GE and I had a bad aux switch so I couldn't get the aux switch to turn the light on/off. I bought through buy.com and I am sending it back tomorrow for a full refund. I may just use the cash for two individual lights or for my savings when I get the dual RFXCom setup.
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Wasn't there a 3-way wiring diagram on HS somewhere?
I searched for it and I can't find it...
Specifically, how to wire up a ZDW103 to 3, 4 or more other switches.Comment
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You can only use 2 companion switches (AS101)Comment
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