Hi, I am troubleshooting an install from a previous homeowner of an Innovelli Blue dimmer in 3-way mode. The issue is that one side is an Innovelli smart dimmer and there is a dumb switch on the other side and both switches have to be on for the lights to be on, either turning the Innovelli dimmer or the smart switch off turns the lights off. Looking at the wiring diagrams it is either a “load in both boxes” or “power into light” scenario, not sure how to test to determine which it is, but I’m hoping the symptoms+diagram will shed some light. I do not know how these switches were previously hooked up. Attached is the current wiring diagram. Innovelli settings are, switch type: 3-way dumb switch, smartbulb mode on, output mode: dimmer, powertype: neutral.
If your diagram is correct, then it is not a power into light topology, since that would make it a non-neutral.
Double-check to confirm that you have a 2-wire Line and a 3-wire in the Inovelli box, and JUST a 3-wire in the dumb switch box, as you have in your drawing. If that is the case, it’s a lights in between the switches topology.
If you update your drawing to note the common screw on the dumb switch, that would be helpful.
Sorry, the black wire on the dumb switch is at the common terminal. How does the drawing you posted differ from the “load in both boxes (neutral wire setup)” where an aux/add-on switch is at the other side that says re-wiring the fixture will be needed?
How does it differ? Put the two drawings side by side and compare them.
I mean, I see that the re-wiring required diagram has an aux switch rather than a dumb switch, I guess I just didn’t understand why the aux switch would need the re-wire…. anyway it seems that if my black wire is on common then the neutral and traveller are just swapped at the dumb switch if I’m reading that correctly?
No, that’s not correct.
In a light between the switch topology, there is no neutral at the far box. It is sent from the Line box to the light and stops there. The white and red in the far box are just travelers which can be swapped without adverse consequences.
If you think you are wired properly according to the diagram, then you need to go into the light box to see if the wiring there matches the drawing.
I will do that, but I want to make sure I’m not fundamentally misunderstanding how the Blue dimmer works. The load is several recessed Hue lights, and the Blue dimmer is set to smartbulb mode and bound to the Hue lights. Right now, flipping the dumb switch turns the lights off, however the dimmer still has power but does not turn the lights back on until the dumb switch is flipped back. Am I missing a setting in the switch?
I don’t think you can bind with a 3-way and dumb switch. I’m thinking that the dumb switch overrides the SBM. Someone else here is going to have to confirm.
I think you’ll need an Aux, but I could be wrong . . .
I had a similar issue where if I turned off the first switch the second switch would completely lose power and if I turned off the second switch the first switch would remain powered but not have any control over the brightness of the light. My solution was to change the second switch to “Smart Bulb” mode so it would deliver power all of the time and I also bound the controls of the second switch in Zigbee2MQTT to a group that controlled the first switch (this will work even if the hub is offline). So the first switch controls the light directly, the second switch delivers power to the first switch and remotely controls it. No need for a traveler wire.
Another alternative would be to set both switches to 3-way dumb mode and use the traveler wire, but that way you won’t be able to dim the lights.
The OP does not have 2 smart switches . . .
Still an option if they want to get another one. Otherwise they will probably have to use dumb 3-way mode.
That sounds correct to me. I don’t believe a smart bulb + dumb switch 3-way works at all.
You’ll either need a dual smart switch setup (both switches and smart bulbs end up in a zigbee group and both switches get bound to the group) or a single smart switch and an aux.
Similar conversation that happened about a year ago: White Series 3-Way Dumb Switch and Smart Bulbs
Thanks, I have a few extra blue dimmers that I was going to use for other parts of the house, I’ll install one in place of the dumb switch. I was just hoping to save a little with the aux switch. It does somewhat work as is, except the smart switch cant switch the lights back on after the dumb switch is flipped.
I have resolved the issue, it was just needing a second smart dimmer and using Bry’s wiring suggestion in this post: Which wire diagram to use for 3-way? - #3 by kreene1987 . I’m having a buzzing issue with another Blue dimmer in a standard single switch setup, I’ll create a new post for that one.