Hey Inovelli fam - just tried hooking up a new Blue Series switch and am having some issues. Not sure if it’s wiring related or not…
Setup:
Inovelli Blue Switch
Single pole along with 2 other switches (both Blue Series) in the same box sharing a neutral
Switch turns on dumb LEDs
Home Assistant (updated this week)
ZHA with a Conbee II ZigBee stick
I try turning on the lights and they start flashing on/off every half-second or so. Both load wires are connected to the switch along with a neutral. Is there a different setup needed if other switches are in the same box connected to the same neutral line?
Can you elaborate on “both”? Is this switch powering two separate sets of lights? Or by both did you mean the black switched hot and white neutral, along with the neutral daisy chained from another switch?
By both I meant the hot wire and load (to the lights) is connected along with the neutral. The neutral is daisy chained to the other neutral wires from the other two switches and connected to the main neutral line. The switch only powers one set of lights (two LEDs in the image attached below).
Thanks for the pictures. I can’t see how you have your hot wired but I suggest that you double check to make sure the line is really the line. The very common error is for people to have the line and load reversed.
Since you have three Inovellis in that box, the neatest way to do it is to run a hot to the first switch and then using the second hole jumper to the other two. You can also do the same thing for the neutral. It eliminates massive wire bundles.
Although this doesn’t address your problem, I suggest you trim the conductors so that copper isn’t exposed outside of the switch. There is a strip gauge on the back of the switch. Weird things happen when you start to tuck devices back into the box. Also, scrape a little paint off of the device straps around the screws to ensure that you are getting a good ground with the metal box.
Thanks for the tips! The load line goes to the top of the box, and the hot wire line goes to a bundle of other hot wires that I assume is the hot line for all the switches in the box.
Will look into jumping in the future, seems efficient.
Just commenting to say please, PLEASE ensure your line and load wires are not protruding that far out from the switch. This would be a hazard if left as shown.
This light fixture is the only one I have of this variety (there are two connected on the same circuit). I’ve tested other switches on the same light fixture just to check (and vice versa) and no luck, so I don’t think it’s the switch.
Tried both on/off mode and dimmer with the same result - only difference is that it takes a little longer to “turn on” to full brightness.
“… Sandro also has exclusive Quattro dimming, which means no dimmer switch is required. You can choose from four different levels of light with just the flick of a light switch.”
That may be an issue when in dimmer mode (or since it seems the on/off mode is still clipping).
I think so. Here is their description. The first “on” will turn on the light 100%. Once it’s on, an “off”/“on” will dim it to 50% and another “off”/“on” will dim it to 25%.
So this fixture isn’t dimmable in the sense that it will work with a dimmer switch. Try the Inovelli in the switch mode and see if the “off”/“on” thing works.
I’ve never actually been able to dim this light, so it’s news to me! Not 100% sure my light has this option… Will keep digging to see if I can find the exact model and confirm.
Switch is set to on/off mode (no smart bulb) and the switch type is load only - same result with flashing lights.
Reinstalled the old dumb switch and it works alongside the other two inovelli blues. Played around with the lights and they do not have the aforementioned dimming technology. Can’t seem to find them anywhere for specs, but all signs still point to simple LEDs. Hoping it’s just something about the way the switch is passing the electric load that can be fixed through a change in the config.
Hi stefan814,
Did you happen to figure out what happened? I am having the same issue with a similar configuration, in my case 2 out of the 3 circuits of lights are having this behavior and I am wondering if there is an issue with the switch. I also had to reinstall the old dumb switches back.
Unfortunately, I haven’t found a solution yet. I reinstalled the old dumb switch and confirmed the lights don’t have the technology we explored above (dimmable with various paddle taps). I’m hoping it’s a wiring or firmware setup we haven’t explored yet.
So the wire colors don’t always match in my house so it’s possible I did it wrong but also possible it’s weird as your said.
What I’m struggling with. The “load” is black in my case however on the original circuit was 2 black one red. I know for a fact the line is right. However, wouldn’t the original dummy switch have the same wires being used as the inovelli needs? Also would t the switch just never work if it was wrong or would it really flash in one state and not in another?
Also this mirrors how I’ve done all the 3 ways in my house is a 4 way really done differently?
Not disagreeing with your suggestion just trying to understand it so I can figure out the right cables.
When switches are miswired, they often work in some fashion, but not correctly.
The concept of how 3-wire and 4-wires are wired is the same, so long as the topology is the same. But bear in mind that there are at least 3 common neutral installation ways to wire them, and it’s possible your house was wired using more than one topology. (Line/load same box, Line/load different boxes, Light in the middle, etc.)
The quickest way to check a line/load in the same box for what I described is to look at the two switch connections to the Load and Traveler terminals. If it’s wired correctly for this topology, those two terminals will be connected to two conductors of the 3-wire going to the next switch. (That is not what you described to me.)
If you think it’s wired correctly, then the next thing I would check would be the bulb(s). What type are you using. Some incompatible bulbs will cause wonkiness such as flashing as well. One way to check this is to temporarily replace with an incandescent, if that’s possible depending on your fixture.
All fair points. Unfortunately I’m leaving for Christmas today and can’t pull all the switches out to truly understand what’s going on. When I get back next week I’ll do just that and potentially restart this conversation.
