Hello, I have a Black Series LZW31 Dimmer switches which I set up to be a 4 way setup controlling my foyer lights. I have the Inovelli switch by my entrance door. A “dumb 3 way switch” upstairs and a “dumb 4 way switch” in the hall by the foyer. I believe the wiring was correct but it’s not working as expected. The Inovelli switch works turning it on but if you turn off the light using one of the 2 dumb switches it turns the light off and the Inovelli switch off(LED bar is off). If I turn that one or the other dumb switch again then the power to the switch comes back(LED bar is on) and the light turns back on. I even replaced the Inovelli switch with another 3 way switch and all of the switches worked fine. I’m not sure if this is suppose to be like this or if I’m missing something, if anyone can help? i have Pictures of each switch
Can you let me know what hub you’re using? Likely what needs to be done is the switch needs to be programmed:
This is a way to do it without the hub, but if you have something like SmartThings, or Hubitat, you can do it via the hub.
Actually Havent done that until now. Also just recently added it to Smartthings and changed AC type to Neutral and Switch type to dumb switch( or 3 way toggle from smartthings settings). That also didn’t work when I turned off one of the other switches the Inovelli switch turned off and didn’t work when toggling. Also when flipping the other switch back the Inovelli lights back up (red green then blue) and I hear a click noise
Can you post better pictures of the wires in the box with the Inovelli?
I THINK that you have the line and load in that box. If that is the case, there are 3 Romex in this box that pertain to this 4-way. There will be two 2-wire and one 3-wire. One 2-wire is the constant hot and the other goes to the light(s).
I’d normally expect to see the line and neutral connected to the Inovelli to come from the same 2-wire, but from what I can see, that’s not the case. If all the neutrals in the box are on the same circuit, that won’t matter, but it makes me wonder if you have the line and load blacks mixed up.
Can you remove the black line from the Inovelli and test it to see if it is constantly hot? Check with the other switches thrown in all possible combinations. Test between that back and a white neutral bundle. You can just pull the cap off for the neutral.
Here’s, hopefully, a better picture. The box with the Inovelli has 2 Romex (1 with 3 wired and 1 with 4 including the red). The upstairs box has only one romex with the red(pic in first post) I’ll have to test it or tomorrow as it’s dark now. But since I switched it with a normal 3 way and all 3 switches worked correctly I don’t see how this is wired wrong. I do want to know if the Inovelli switch has to be where the line/hot power source is or if it doesn’t matter?
If you simply tried to replicate the wiring scheme for a dumb 4-way by wiring the Inovelli the same way, then it’s not going to work. Wiring schemes for smart switches are different. You can’t just wire the Inovelli as on the dumb switch and add a neutral.
The more complicated explanation is that for a dumb switch schema with line and load in the same box, the constant incoming hot is sent to the last switch in the chain and makes it’s way back switched to the first switch where the switched hot to the light goes out the common terminal on the first dumb switch.
When you switch to an Inovelli, the constant hot IS NOT sent to the last switch. It’s used to power the Inovelli switch. The switched hot is returned to the first box where it is tied to the black (usually) going to the light.
So if you simply replicate the wiring config of the dumb switch that’s not going to work with a smart switch.
Yes, the Inovelli needs constant power.
It’s always best to consult with a licensed electrician.
Thanks! I want to try one more thing before giving up and getting an electrician. So my 4 way looks kinda like the line/load in same box(4 way switch and last 3 way since the last 3 way switch has only one romex in the box but the black wire is hot always unless I disconnect the white and black wire in the yellow nut in the diagram below. The first 3 way doesn’t quite look like this diagram as it has only 2 romex in the box. I attached a picture of what it could possibly be as it looks exactly like this diagram compared to the one above. If it’s like this, does the Inovelli wiring change at all from the diagram you sent? If it does I’d like to at least try it and if it doesn’t work will probably call someone.
Ok, let’s take this one step at a time before this gets totally confusing.
We are just going to focus on the first box. That is the box that you presently have the Inovelli in and posted a 2nd picture of.
We have to determine if you have a line and a load in that box. The picture you posted isn’t line and load in the same box so we’ll ignore that. (It’s line to the light.) Forget about the other boxes for now.
Definitions:
2-wire Romex - A Romex with white, black and bare copper conductors.
3-wire Romex - A Romex with white, black, red and bare copper conductors.
(When refering to the count in a Romex, don’t count the bare copper conductor.)
I know that you can put the dumb switch back and everything works properly. When the dumb switch is put back in place of the Inovelli and everything is working, how many different Romex cables have one or more conductors connected to the switch in the first box?
(The answer is going to be 2 or 3.)
So for the two or three Romex at least partially connected to the switch, what are they?
(The answer will be either:
a) there is one 2-wire and one 3-wire or
b) there are two 2-wire and one 3-wire.)
If your wiring is like the picture you just posted, which is why I asked the questions, then you don’t have a line and load in that first box. Let’s figure out what you have there first and go from there.
So there are 2 different Romex connected in that first box. One 2 wire and one 3 wire.
Ok, thanks. So if that is the case and if there is only ONE 3-wire in the last box, then you have a line (power) to the light configuration, just like the last schematic you posted. That means that you do not have a neutral in the first box, or any box, for that matter, with the exception of the light. So this is a non-neutral situation.
If this was a three way, with a non-neutral you could install the Inovelli and install an Aux switch as the other switch. I can’t say with certainty, but I don’t think that a non-neutral installation will work with a four way. The problem is that 4-way switch in the middle which would, I think, prevent the Aux switch from communicating with the Inovelli.
So as-is, I don’t know of any way to get this to work. Sorry I don’t have better news.
Perhaps someone else has some thoughts.
I want to add, in that first box there are two other switches ( one dumb single pole for outside light, and the other is a 3-way dumb switch for the upstairs light which is also a 4 way setup but I’m not using a smart switch for that). If you can see my pic in the 5th post of this thread there are Three other 2-wire Romex in that box. All 3 neutral wires are connected, is that possible to leverage? And thank you for your help!
So that is something that you should discuss with your electrician. You may have a line w/neutral in your box unrelated at this point to the switch leg you are working on. (The bundles of blacks/whites suggests that.) So the question to your electrician is can you re-map the 4-way leg so that the line originates in the box as opposed to at the light. This would involve locating the where the line is connected to the lights and properly terminating that connection so that the line is no longer connected to the lights as it is now.
There are other considerations as well. Will adding pigtail connectors to the box overload it? Is the line/neutral in the box on the same circuit as the 4-way? If not, is there any reason the 4-way shouldn’t be on it? etc, etc, etc.
Definitely speak with an electrician if you’re going to explore.
Ok, I will try to see if anyone can answer if it’s possible with my line to light, just to make sure before calling an electrician. Thanks for the help!!