Hello I tried to install the switch yesterday with all possible cable combinations and I was not able to get it to work. The best outcome was when I hook the black wire to the black wire, the red wire to the red wire, and the white wire to the white wire. The green wire goes to the cooper line inside the box. This house was build in 1960. There is a regular switch on one side of the 3 way setup. If that switch is ON the light on the 3 way is ON. If I push the button on the 3 way woods switch while the light is ON, the lights go ON for less than one second and then it jumps to the off positon after a small click sound. This happens with both switches that I got. What could be going on?

On 9/26/2013 6:09 AM, wrote:
Hello I tried to install the switch yesterday with all possible cable combinations and I was not able to get it to work. The best outcome was when I hook the black wire to the black wire, the red wire to the red wire, and the white wire to the white wire. The green wire goes to the cooper line inside the box. This house was build in 1960. There is a regular switch on one side of the 3 way setup. If that switch is ON the light on the 3 way is ON. If I push the button on the 3 way woods switch while the light is ON, the lights go ON for less than one second and then it jumps to the off positon after a small click sound. This happens with both switches that I got. What could be going on?

Manufacturer and model number for the 3-way timer? Or, better, link to
the installation instructions? (How does it work?)

The timer white is probably a neutral and the wiring white is not a neutral.

On Thursday, September 26, 2013 9:02:48 AM UTC-4, bud-- wrote:
On 9/26/2013 6:09 AM, wrote:

Hello I tried to install the switch yesterday with all possible cable combinations and I was not able to get it to work. The best outcome was when I hook the black wire to the black wire, the red wire to the red wire, and the white wire to the white wire. The green wire goes to the cooper line inside the box. This house was build in 1960. There is a regular switch on one side of the 3 way setup. If that switch is ON the light on the 3 way is ON. If I push the button on the 3 way woods switch while the light is ON, the lights go ON for less than one second and then it jumps to the off positon after a small click sound. This happens with both switches that I got.. What could be going on?



Manufacturer and model number for the 3-way timer? Or, better, link to

the installation instructions? (How does it work?)



The timer white is probably a neutral and the wiring white is not a neutral.


Sounds like a good possibility. If the new timer is
electronic, it needs a neutral. But some things don't add
up. It would seem to me an electronic 3-way timer would
have 5 connections:

common,
two travelers
neutral,
ground.

And the old switch would have had the same, minus
the neutral. Also possible the old switch was
grounded by using the metal box. But it sounds like
we're only talking about 4 wires total, not 5?
Seems bizarre that a white wire would be coming
out of a 3 way timer that doesn't need a neutral.

So, where did the white wire come from? Two possibilities:

1 - It was connected to the old switch, in which case
Bud's theory is confirmed, it's not a neutral.

2 - It was a new pig tail added off of a group
of white wires that were wire nutted together, ie
neutrals.



Also, just to clarify, he said that the switch on the other
end is a "regular" switch. I'm assuming that means it's a
3-way switch that's not a timer? When I first read it, I thought
he meant it was a "regular" single pole switch, ie not 3-way.

A final possibility. Depending on how fancy this new
3 way timer is, it might need one of it's own kind on the
far end.

On Thursday, September 26, 2013 10:39:47 AM UTC-4, bud-- wrote:
On 9/26/2013 8:23 AM, wrote:

On Thursday, September 26, 2013 9:02:48 AM UTC-4, bud-- wrote:

On 9/26/2013 6:09 AM, wrote:



Hello I tried to install the switch yesterday with all possible cable combinations and I was not able to get it to work. The best outcome was when I hook the black wire to the black wire, the red wire to the red wire, and the white wire to the white wire. The green wire goes to the cooper line inside the box. This house was build in 1960. There is a regular switch on one side of the 3 way setup. If that switch is ON the light on the 3 way is ON. If I push the button on the 3 way woods switch while the light is ON, the lights go ON for less than one second and then it jumps to the off positon after a small click sound. This happens with both switches that I got. What could be going on?







Manufacturer and model number for the 3-way timer? Or, better, link to

the installation instructions? (How does it work?)



The timer white is probably a neutral and the wiring white is not a neutral.





Sounds like a good possibility. If the new timer is

electronic, it needs a neutral.



Some of them are battery.



I think gfretwell wrote that some of them used the ground as a neutral

and got away with it because the ground current was less than the

allowed leakage current.



But would a new 3-way timer have a white wire coming out of
it that was not a neutral? Would that even be code compliant?

On 9/26/2013 8:23 AM, wrote:
On Thursday, September 26, 2013 9:02:48 AM UTC-4, bud-- wrote:
On 9/26/2013 6:09 AM, wrote:

Hello I tried to install the switch yesterday with all possible cable combinations and I was not able to get it to work. The best outcome was when I hook the black wire to the black wire, the red wire to the red wire, and the white wire to the white wire. The green wire goes to the cooper line inside the box. This house was build in 1960. There is a regular switch on one side of the 3 way setup. If that switch is ON the light on the 3 way is ON. If I push the button on the 3 way woods switch while the light is ON, the lights go ON for less than one second and then it jumps to the off positon after a small click sound. This happens with both switches that I got. What could be going on?



Manufacturer and model number for the 3-way timer? Or, better, link to
the installation instructions? (How does it work?)

The timer white is probably a neutral and the wiring white is not a neutral.


Sounds like a good possibility. If the new timer is
electronic, it needs a neutral.

Some of them are battery.

I think gfretwell wrote that some of them used the ground as a neutral
and got away with it because the ground current was less than the
allowed leakage current.

But some things don't add
up. It would seem to me an electronic 3-way timer would
have 5 connections:

common,
two travelers
neutral,
ground.

And the old switch would have had the same, minus
the neutral. Also possible the old switch was
grounded by using the metal box. But it sounds like
we're only talking about 4 wires total, not 5?
Seems bizarre that a white wire would be coming
out of a 3 way timer that doesn't need a neutral.

So, where did the white wire come from? Two possibilities:

1 - It was connected to the old switch, in which case
Bud's theory is confirmed, it's not a neutral.

Other than just not re-marking if it should have been, it used to be
allowed to use the neutral in 3-wire romex without re-marking it if it
is the hot feed to a 3-way switch.


2 - It was a new pig tail added off of a group
of white wires that were wire nutted together, ie
neutrals.



Also, just to clarify, he said that the switch on the other
end is a "regular" switch. I'm assuming that means it's a
3-way switch that's not a timer? When I first read it, I thought
he meant it was a "regular" single pole switch, ie not 3-way.

A final possibility. Depending on how fancy this new
3 way timer is, it might need one of it's own kind on the
far end.

There was an electronic 3-way in an old thread where the 3-ways worked
with a hot, neutral, and 3rd wire that was a control wire between the
switches. If I remember right, another wire connected to the light at
the switch where the light connection was.

To the OP - all of that is why we need to look at the installation
instructions for the timer.

J,

Before you hook the switch to these wires you need to figure out what the
wires do. Do you have a volt meter? What country are you in? Do you have
written instructions? What model number is your switch?

Dave M.

On Thursday, September 26, 2013 12:16:00 PM UTC-4, David L. Martel wrote:
J,



Before you hook the switch to these wires you need to figure out what the

wires do.


What? You don't believe in the trial, flash, bang method?

When you find the wiring that doesn't trip the
breaker, you're getting close.

..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 9/26/2013 12:20 PM, wrote:


What? You don't believe in the trial, flash, bang method?

On 9/26/2013 11:30 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
When you find the wiring that doesn't trip the
breaker, you're getting close.


It's part of what I call "The Jesus Method", remember? ^_^

TDD

Shor thin honeychile. Ah rememmer.

..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 9/26/2013 12:33 PM, The Daring Dufas wrote:
On 9/26/2013 11:30 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
When you find the wiring that doesn't trip the
breaker, you're getting close.


It's part of what I call "The Jesus Method", remember? ^_^

TDD

Thanks Guys, I think I messed up. Looks like there are no cheap 3 way timers. I thought it was a 3 way but i read on the box in the amazon website that it is not.

The model is Woods 59007

So why does it have 4 cables? i know what to do with the red, black and green cables but what does the white one do? Ill try today on a different wall.

On Thursday, September 26, 2013 1:41:46 PM UTC-4, wrote:
Thanks Guys, I think I messed up. Looks like there are no cheap 3 way timers. I thought it was a 3 way but i read on the box in the amazon website that it is not.



The model is Woods 59007



So why does it have 4 cables? i know what to do with the red, black and green cables but what does the white one do? Ill try today on a different wall.

As previously explained the additional white wire is
for connection to a neutral. The timer is electronic
and without a neutral, the electronics have no source
of power. Code has recently been updated to require
a neutral at switch boxes to accommodate that. Lots of
times you have neutrals there anyway because of how
the wiring is run. But sometimes you don't.

On 9/26/13 1:41 PM, wrote:
Thanks Guys, I think I messed up. Looks like there are no cheap 3 way timers. I thought it was a 3 way but i read on the box in the amazon website that it is not.

The model is Woods 59007

So why does it have 4 cables? i know what to do with the red, black and green cables but what does the white one do? Ill try today on a different wall.


For those interested, the install sheet for the Woods 59007 is at
http://www.ccixpress.com/cci/Marketi...7_InstrMan.pdf

It is an SPST, not a 3-way. The 4 wires go like this:

Black on sw incoming Hot black from panel

Switched Hot Red outgoing black toward lamp

Green Green ground

All 3 whites tied together.

So it is the same 3 wires as on a $.99 SPST switch, with addition of a
white neutral connection

Trader,

Been there. Done that. Older and wiser now.

Dave M.

J,

You have wired the switch correctly ( most likely). Return the defective
switch and try a new one.
There are 4 wires because they are needed. The black wire carries 120v to
the switch. The white wire is the neutral around which the 120 volts is
refenced. These two wires are the electric source to your fancy switch. The
red wire supplies 120 volts as the output of your switch., i.e. when the
switch is on there is 120 v. The red wire is also referenced to the neutral
white wire. A red and a white should go to whatever you are powering off of
the switch. The green wire is a ground which is there for safety reasons.
The white wire and the green wire are connected together in your main
breaker panel.

Dave M.

On Friday, September 27, 2013 7:59:11 AM UTC-4, David L. Martel wrote:
J,



You have wired the switch correctly ( most likely). Return the defective

switch and try a new one.

There are 4 wires because they are needed. The black wire carries 120v to

the switch. The white wire is the neutral around which the 120 volts is

refenced. These two wires are the electric source to your fancy switch. The

red wire supplies 120 volts as the output of your switch., i.e. when the

switch is on there is 120 v. The red wire is also referenced to the neutral

white wire. A red and a white should go to whatever you are powering off of

the switch. The green wire is a ground which is there for safety reasons.

The white wire and the green wire are connected together in your main

breaker panel.



Dave M.


I guess you missed the part about the existing circuit being
3-way and this new timer switch being a single pole. It can't
work.

Trader,

Ooops, You're right. I thought he said it wasn't a three way switch for
some reason.
Ignore my last post J. You need to get a voltmeter and sort our what's
going on with the wires.

Dave M.

On Friday, September 27, 2013 2:39:18 PM UTC-4, David L. Martel wrote:
Trader,



Ooops, You're right. I thought he said it wasn't a three way switch for

some reason.



He did say it's not a 3-way switch. That is the new timer switch he
bought is not 3-way. The old switch he was trying to replace
was 3-way.



Ignore my last post J. You need to get a voltmeter and sort our what's

going on with the wires.



Dave M.

He needs to get a 3-way switch too.