I’m having a problem with a White dimmer I just installed. I’m using it with 3 dumb switches wired as shown in the documentation (the extra switch is another 4-way in line). I simply replaced the dumb switch in the box at the end of the line where the power comes in and left the others as is. I can confirm the wiring is correct and the mode is set correctly in HA. The firmware is the latest (v1.0.6).
What’s happening is the up button does nothing and the down button toggles the light on and off. The LED is always on with a brief interruption to off when it switches. It does the same thing in either ‘OnOff+Dumb’ or ‘Dimmer+Dumb’ modes. The dumb switches work as expected.
When using the HA app, when I turn the lights off they go off, but the app jumps back to on. The next time I turn them off they go on and everything repeats. The app switch is acting like a toggle. Any ideas what the problem could be?
I have this configuration except with just two dumb switches (one 3-way and one 4-way) exactly as per the Inovelli diagram you posted. It works just fine. The switch mode is set to OnOff+Dumb. Just in case I recommend you set this to some other mode and then set it back.
I tried that but it didn’t help. Both OnOff+Dumb and Dimmer+Dumb. I know it’s wired correctly, since Dimmer+Single works with the dumb switches in position to pass power from the load terminal to the lights.
The wiring is very apparent, however I double checked by measuring 120V between neutral and line and no voltage between neutral and the load and traveler terminals.
As you say, adding an additional 4 way switch to the circuit should not (in itself) impact the software of the dimmer switch at all. Just to check, the dumb switches all work correctly (turn the light on and off when toggled)?
In this case it sounds as if the Dimmer is always sensing the light at the end of the “chain” is on (whether it actually is or not). This is why the dimmer switch “off” (toggle down) does something and “on” (toggle up) does not. When you toggle the switch in OnOff + Dumb mode in the opposite direction to its current state, the dimmer triggers the internal relay to move the power output from “Load” to “Traveller” (or vice-versa depending on the previous state) which is why the light turns on and off in your example.
The extra segment (for the 2nd four way, or high resistance/impedance in the conductors (due to aggregate length or a bad conductor) or high resistance/impedance through of the switches may also be a factor.
I would start however by verifying that the neutral driving going to the switch is the same neutral as is being passed down the “chain” to the bulb. I would also put a bigger load (say an incandescent bulb) at the end of the circuit to see if it has any impact.
I had similar issues on a long run (with 3x 4-ways in it, and maybe 160ft of line between the switch and the furthest fixture). It always displayed that it was on, and down toggled the actual light status. Up did nothing. In my case one orientation if the dumb switches made things work better than the other.
I didn’t get anywhere with Inovelli on it, and eventually shortened the load by removing the last 2 switches and half of the fixtures, and now it works consistently (the last 2 were motion fixtures on the garage, so they’re fine to be hard powered)
I always assumed that it was an issue with the current detection in the dumb switch mode when there’s enough wire and fixtures on the line, it always detects the lights as on, probably due to the capacitive load of the wire.
Thank you very much for your comments. I think you’re absolutely right.
I have seven R30 LED ceiling lights on a large lanai. The load plus the wire length is probably introducing noise that is affecting the switch. The circuit Inovelli is using to detect what terminal the load is connected to has room for improvement. My guess is this was never a priority.
I just tried a test and found that if I disconnect the traveler on the red terminal, the switch worked as expected. (Without being able to use the dumb switches of course.)
