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wrote:
Hi all,

Sorry if this is really trivial, or has asked before, but I can't seem
to find an answer.

I just bought a new light switch for the laundry room in the basement.
It is a Leviton brand which has a bunch of buttons to give you a

painful details snipped

What should I be doing?

TIA,

Dave

As other posters indicted, you are probably screwed with that switch and
your existing wiring. You _could_ always replace the 2-conductor romex
between the switch and light with 3-conductor but that isn't trivial for
a beginner and depending on how the walls and ceiling are finished can
be a PITA for anyone.

How about this: take the timer switch back and try to get your money
back. Then buy a "warm moving body detector" switch for about half the
price. The common ones, such a Eagle that some big-box stores carry, can
be wired to work in your situation. And they work even better in my
experience than a timer since you don't have to touch anything -- you
walk into the room and the light comes on and after you leave it waits
for a pre-determined time and then switches off. Just the thing if you
have your hands full. Best of all, the Eagle probably costs half of what
your Leviton timer cost ($20 vs. $40?)

I've wired my garage bays and some entry switches with the Eagle brand
units from the Borg and they work very well.

--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com