I have 5 switches which all control the same recess lights. On each ends of the line are two 3-way switches and then the 3 in the middle are 4-ways.
The 4 ways do not appear to have neutrals; only the 3-ways. The 4 ways have two blacks and two whites, all connected to the switch and then bundled red travelers in the back.
I was hoping to replace both 3 ways with blue series dimmers with auxs replacing the 4 ways. I have Hue bulbs so I want to use smart bulb mode.
Is that possible with the 4-ways not having neutrals? I couldnât figure it out when reading the wiring documentation. Thereâs â3-way non-neutralâ wiring instructions for the aux but no ânon-neutralâ instructions for a 4-way. But I also canât find anything that explicity says its not possible.
In multi-way installations, you use ONE Inovelli switch/dimmer with the remainder Auxs. You wonât be able to add a 2nd Inovelli to the far box. (Unless, on the off chance that the far box is a multi-gang that has a separate hot and neutral from a different switch leg.)
Depending on the wiring topology (line/load same box OR line/load different box), you may or may not have a neutral in each box. But that doesnât really matter when installing Inovelli switches with Aux switches. The neutral (or hot, depending on the installation) for the Aux is sent to each box via one of the 3-wire conductors.
Yes, only the 3-way non-neutral diagram is posted, but for bigger multi-ways, you just keep adding Aux switches and then use 2 of the 3-wire conductors to route the traveler and the hot.
So I has something similar to what you have (3 switches) and only one box had the neutral. SO what I did (Against standard wireing code) is take the lines from the main and the lines leading to the other switches and just chnage them to connect to a power and neutral. one switch was the main switch, the other two the lines were reused to take power & neutral from the main to the other switches and it worked. so my other 2 switches just have Power & Neutral (And ground) ran to them, no load lines. and them binded them all together so any switch can now dim my lights / turn them on / off.
I have done similar for other other lights where my switch has only 3 wires (load in/ out and ground) and chnaged one of the line in the fixture to run power and ground to the switch instead so light is always powered, if not smart light I add in a zigbee relay and bind it to the switch. and that works great also.
You just need to be confertable in tracking lines and connecting them up corectly. (And be sure to label them) If not I recomend getting an profesional to come help.
Yea, I double checked the far box and youâre right.
I know what to do in terms of the dimmer and the first 3 way. Iâm just not exactly sure how to do the Auxâs. All three have two blacks (one always hot) and two whites - all four connected to the dumb switch. Then travelers bundled in the back.
Iâm probably way off but would I:
bundle the blacks,
bundle the whites and connect the auxâs neutral to it, and
connect the auxâs traveler to the existing traveler bundle?
If you donât mind drawing it out instead, thatâd be amazing.
Sure, but describe what you have in the first box. Iâm not convinced either of us fully understands the wiring topology. You said that in the other boxes the one black is always hot. Thatâs not possible with dumb switches working correctly, as the switched hot will alternate between two conductors as you flip the switches.
Will do; Iâm at work but can send pics when Iâm home. Admittedly, I may not have tested it right. I pulled out one of the dumb switches and with the lights off, one of the blacks was hot (I may have mistaken this as âalways hotâ)