Hello I tried to install the switch yesterday with all possible cable combi nations and I was not able to get it to work. The best outcome was when I hook the black wire to the black wire, the red wire to the red wire, and t he white wire to the white wire. The green wire goes to the cooper line ins ide the box. This house was build in 1960. There is a regular switch on on e side of the 3 way setup. If that switch is ON the light on the 3 way is O N. If I push the button on the 3 way woods switch while the light is ON, th e lights go ON for less than one second and then it jumps to the off posito n after a small click sound. This happens with both switches that I got. Wh at could be going on?
ombinations and I was not able to get it to work. The best outcome was wh en I hook the black wire to the black wire, the red wire to the red wire, a nd the white wire to the white wire. The green wire goes to the cooper line inside the box. This house was build in 1960. There is a regular switch o n one side of the 3 way setup. If that switch is ON the light on the 3 way is ON. If I push the button on the 3 way woods switch while the light is ON , the lights go ON for less than one second and then it jumps to the off po siton after a small click sound. This happens with both switches that I got . What could be going on?
Sounds like a good possibility. If the new timer is electronic, it needs a neutral. But some things don't add up. It would seem to me an electronic 3-way timer would have 5 connections:
common, two travelers neutral, ground.
And the old switch would have had the same, minus the neutral. Also possible the old switch was grounded by using the metal box. But it sounds like we're only talking about 4 wires total, not 5? Seems bizarre that a white wire would be coming out of a 3 way timer that doesn't need a neutral.
So, where did the white wire come from? Two possibilities:
1 - It was connected to the old switch, in which case Bud's theory is confirmed, it's not a neutral.
2 - It was a new pig tail added off of a group of white wires that were wire nutted together, ie neutrals.
Also, just to clarify, he said that the switch on the other end is a "regular" switch. I'm assuming that means it's a
3-way switch that's not a timer? When I first read it, I thought he meant it was a "regular" single pole switch, ie not 3-way.
A final possibility. Depending on how fancy this new
3 way timer is, it might need one of it's own kind on the far end.
combinations and I was not able to get it to work. The best outcome was when I hook the black wire to the black wire, the red wire to the red wire, and the white wire to the white wire. The green wire goes to the cooper li ne inside the box. This house was build in 1960. There is a regular switch on one side of the 3 way setup. If that switch is ON the light on the 3 wa y is ON. If I push the button on the 3 way woods switch while the light is ON, the lights go ON for less than one second and then it jumps to the off positon after a small click sound. This happens with both switches that I g ot. What could be going on?
But would a new 3-way timer have a white wire coming out of it that was not a neutral? Would that even be code compliant?
I think gfretwell wrote that some of them used the ground as a neutral and got away with it because the ground current was less than the allowed leakage current.
Other than just not re-marking if it should have been, it used to be allowed to use the neutral in 3-wire romex without re-marking it if it is the hot feed to a 3-way switch.
There was an electronic 3-way in an old thread where the 3-ways worked with a hot, neutral, and 3rd wire that was a control wire between the switches. If I remember right, another wire connected to the light at the switch where the light connection was.
To the OP - all of that is why we need to look at the installation instructions for the timer.
Before you hook the switch to these wires you need to figure out what the wires do. Do you have a volt meter? What country are you in? Do you have written instructions? What model number is your switch?
Thanks Guys, I think I messed up. Looks like there are no cheap 3 way timers. I thought it was a 3 way but i read on the box in the amazon website that it is not.
The model is Woods 59007
So why does it have 4 cables? i know what to do with the red, black and green cables but what does the white one do? Ill try today on a different wall.
As previously explained the additional white wire is for connection to a neutral. The timer is electronic and without a neutral, the electronics have no source of power. Code has recently been updated to require a neutral at switch boxes to accommodate that. Lots of times you have neutrals there anyway because of how the wiring is run. But sometimes you don't.
You have wired the switch correctly ( most likely). Return the defective switch and try a new one. There are 4 wires because they are needed. The black wire carries 120v to the switch. The white wire is the neutral around which the 120 volts is refenced. These two wires are the electric source to your fancy switch. The red wire supplies 120 volts as the output of your switch., i.e. when the switch is on there is 120 v. The red wire is also referenced to the neutral white wire. A red and a white should go to whatever you are powering off of the switch. The green wire is a ground which is there for safety reasons. The white wire and the green wire are connected together in your main breaker panel.
Ooops, You're right. I thought he said it wasn't a three way switch for some reason. Ignore my last post J. You need to get a voltmeter and sort our what's going on with the wires.
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