Hi folks. I’m trying to install an Aeotec bypass for my Red 2-1 switch. The switch controls some recessed lights in my basement. I tried to access the wires on one of the lights, but I can’t really get to it. There are some rods up there that make it really difficult to pull the whole light down. I also can’t seem to unscrew where the light bulb goes in. Here’s a picture.
I had a hard time pulling the wires out, but here are some pictures from a few different angles. I hope they’re helpful. I did confirm that several Romex are going to lights (it’s hard to tell, but that’s what the last picture is of)
Thanks. You have one bundle of all blacks and one bundle of all whites. You will have to confirm but those should be going to the lights. (One of the blacks in the all black bundle will be the switched hot coming back from the switch.)
Leave the bundle with the blacks and the one white alone.
You should be able to wire the bypass between the all black and the all white bundles. That is electrically the same as wiring it at the light so I don’t know why that would not work.
I went ahead and put it up there. My non-contact voltage meter beeps when I attach it to the bypass.
The problem I was trying to solve was:
a) flickering on a bulb on a different switch but on the same circuit. I don’t see a difference, but if I switch two of the bulbs, the flickering goes away. Maybe it was unrelated.
b) an 87 volt difference between line and ground. I was getting 97 after installing the bypass, but now that I switched the two bulbs, I have 120V.
Unfortunately, I went to switch them back to confirm this behavior, and when I put it back into a new configuration, I’m still seeing around 95 volts. The only way that I seem to reliably be able to have 120 volts is if I just remove a light bulb from the flickering socket.
For funsies, I just took out the bypass, and my voltages read fine. I haven’t had any problems with the lights that the switch is controlling.
I’m thinking it’s a problem on the socket for the flickering light itself? Honestly, this room has enough light without the bulb that I’m thinking of just keeping it out and moving on without the bypass
So let me see if I understand correctly. You have a flickering bulb that you are trying to correct. But instead of wiring the bypass in parallel to the troublesome bulb, you wired it to other lights that aren’t on the same switch leg as the problematic bulb? You thought that might work because the two switch legs are on the same branch circuit??
EDIT: I see you added a couple paragraphs and things are fine if you if you disregard what may be a bad socket. So, ok . . .
That’s the gist of it. I had opened a ticket with Ira, and the advice given to me was to install bypass at the light fixture. Perhaps there was confusion on one end or the other as to where exactly it should be installed.
Since it’s all working, I think I’m just going to leave the bulb out, and when I have an electrician come to look at some other stuff, I’ll have him look at this too.
And I did originally conflate line and load in that last post. I had meant to say line.
