I want to wire an XPDI3 wall switch to control a ceiling fan. The ceiling fan does NOT have a light. The XPDI3 has four wires -- line, load, neutral, and control. The switch I'm replacing had three connections -- line, load, and ground.

Any help?

Connect Line to Line

Connect Load to Load

Connect Neutral to the nuetrals in the box

Cap off the control

I neglected to mention that I did try this. This switch is part of a bank of three switches in the same big box. All of the neutrals in the box are wired together. I tried connecting the switch's neutral to this bundle. When I turned to power on, the fan began to run at low speed, buzzing loudly, and the switch wouldn't turn the fan off. Should I separate the neutrals in the box so that the neutral of the switch is connected to only the neutral going to the fan?

By the way, what does that neutral do anyway?

All the neutrals go together.

You're using an inductive dimmer on the fan which quite frequently causes fans to buzz. It's a function of how tightly the fan motor's windings are wound, not something to do with the switch as ALL X10 dimmers chop the A/C wave form in the same manner. Some fans buzz, other fans don't and it very difficult to know in advance which will and which won't. Generally speaking, the more expensive the fan the less likely it is that it will buzz but there's no guarentee.

The loss of control is probably due to the fan generating powerline noise. The noise produced would be greatest when the fan is "dimmed" which seems to be the situation you have. An in-line noise filter wired at the fan would clear up that problem.

The way to get rid of the buzz (and likely the noise) is to switch to a non-dimmer switch. The X10Pro switch would be the XPS3 or the PCS switch would be the SS1F/S-5A. In either case you'll have on/off control of the fan but no remote speed control.

If you're using other X10Pro switches in your house then stick with them. If this is your first X10 switch then I'd strongly recommend looking at the PCS switches. I have a comparison chart showing the features of the PCS and X10Pro switches at [Link: ir-x10.how.to] You'll notice that all of the inductive dimming switches have the potential for causes fan motor buzzing.

The neutral is the third wire in your electrical service. Combinining either hot line with the neutral produces 110v. In this case switch uses the nuetral so that it can have power for it's internal circutry at any time without having to rely on passing power through the load.

Thanks for the help Larry. Unfortunately this switch isn't going to work. As I mentioned above, even when it is wired correctly, the fan buzzes and the switch won't turn it off. The XPDI3 is advertised as an "Inductive Dimmer module for ceiling fans and 4A motors." I suppose it may work with some ceiling fans, but it definitely doesn't work with mine.

After looking at the switch comparison table, it looks like the best choice is a $79 switch. For that much money, I can get off my lazy butt and flip the switch. :-)

Anybody want to buy an XPDI3 wall switch? Maybe it will work as advertised for you.

Even the $74 switch won't solve your buzzing problem. The windings in your fan motor aren't tight enough to preclude the vibration which you're hearing.

The XPS3 will eliminate the buzz (as there's no dimming) and may reduce your noise problem since the A/C wave form will be clean (undimmed). If not, you'd just add an inline noise filter on the fan.

If I may offer the following suggestion many people overlook or don't understand: when using an external speed controller, the fan MUST be set to high-speed, and left there. Check that before hooking up the wall controller. Please forgive if you already knew that. If this doesn't help, email me and I might buy your switch.

Larry

No, I didn't know the fan had to be set to high and left there. If I have to leave the fan on high to use an X10 switch, then I definitely wouldn't be interested in an X10 switch. I generally run the fan at either low or medium. Any higher is just too much air for its location. Does the requirement of a high-speed setting apply to the XPS3 as well?

Chris, The XPS3 is an appliance switch with a relay in it. This relay connects power to whatever is on the output end. You can have your fan set for any speed without a problem or hum (assuming it didn’t hum with a manual switch). You will have to get up and manually change the speed from then on.

Bill
www.homeautomationnet.com