Dimmer Switch Installation

May 26, 2006 8 Replies

I need help wiring a dimmer switch. My switch has 2 black wires and 1 green wire. My outlet box has a ground wire, 1 black, 1 white, and 1 red wire. It is a 3-way switch. How do I wire my dimmer with a black,white, red, and ground wire?



Thanks, Brian



If you removed a three way switch or dimmer from the box, you need to replace it with a three way switch or dimmer.

Or, 3 way does not work any more.

My old dimmer is the same as my new dimmer except that the wire colors are different. I don't remember how my old dimmer was wired.

I threw my old one out so I have no clue what color the wires are. I have another regular switch that turns the fan on/off. The 3-way wiring is actually done at the fan. The dimmer switch powers the fan.

You are not giving me enough info to be definitive, but if all three wires were used by the old dimmer, not including any ground wire, there are two possibilities I can think of. One, is that you had a three way dimmer and you need to get another one. Second, you had a combination speed control/ dimmer which controlled the fan speeds and dimmed the light separately

The only thing left to do is touch combinations of wires together until you find the pair that turns on the light, then wire those two wires through your dimmer, and cap the third wire

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