I can’t for the life of me figure this out. I have two (three-way) setups wired as shown. Totally independent of one and other, but for sake of context, this outcome has occurred twice, independently. The light fixtures come on and off via primary dimmers (VZM31-SN) as they would be expected to; zero issues there. But there is no functionality with either Aux. Both dimmers are set to three way (Aux) with Aux scenes enabled.
Do you have Romex/wire covered connectors i.e. multiple conductors wrapped in something, or individual conductors i.e THHN in conduit, knob and tube, etc?
You drawing needs more detail. What are the rectangles at the top. Also, wire the polarity of the conductors i.e hot or neutral
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Sorry I’m late coming back to this — I did land on a working solution and figured it might be useful to post in case anyone else runs into the same “line/neutral split across boxes” problem (which is what I was contending with, to be clear as my schematic may not be).
In my original dumb 3-way, the load box had neutral (unused), load, and the 3-wire to the other box; the line box had line and the 3-wire. I initially assumed I’d need a dimmer + AUX, but two full smart dimmers ended up being the cleanest fix (and honestly ideal).
Instead of using the between-box conductors as two travelers, I reassigned them:
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one conductor carries unswitched line from the line box to the load box
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one conductor carries neutral from the load box to the line box
That way both boxes have line + neutral, so both dimmers are powered normally. I then bound the two dimmers (ZHA) so they stay in sync like a 3-way. Since the fixture is not smart (fluorescent light), I set the line-feed dimmer to smart bulb mode / controller behavior so it doesn’t interrupt power in a way that takes the other dimmer offline; the other dimmer is the one actually driving the load.
Obvious caveat: repurposing a conductor as neutral could have code implications in some jurisdictions.
I’m not going to comment on your wiring (I’ll leave that for @Bry), but I do want to raise a concern:
Inovelli dimmers are not rated for inductive loads like fluorescent lights. From the manual:
REMINDER: This switch is only to be used to control lights (except ballasts or any lights connected to a transformer). Do not use the switches on outlets, fans, or any other inductive load.
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Ah, it does. To be clear- the switch carrying load is set to on/off. Well aware a fluorescent can’t be dimmed. The reason they were put in there was future-proof thinking for a reno where they’d come out. But point remains, manual does say that. Guess I’ll decide if I want to put on/offs or a new fixture in sooner than anticipated. Appreciate the flag.
I understand, but that doesn’t actually matter. The dimming circuitry is always used regardless of mode the switch is in which makes it dangerous to be used in this manner.
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For sure, I get it. My reading is that the switch controlling load could just be VZM30-SN (on/off), leaving the other (line-in) switch as-is, and that’d resolve that vulnerability?
Yes, using a VZM30-SN (on/off) as the load controlling switch will solve this.
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