This is my first post on this board, but I have lurked long enough to know that Larry Fine is the man (butter, butter). Anyone else who thinks that they might be able to help please jump in there!
What I need: x-10 control of a 3-way switch (on/off only) that controls flourescent lights in my theater.
What I bought: XPS3, and XPSS slave.
The problem: The wiring setup is pretty complicated. My dad is a master electrician with 35 years experience, and so I'm pretty sure we got it right - but still... he has no experience with x10 stuff. There are 2 3-way switches and a single pole on this circuit (we didn't wire the house). In one box, we have a hot coming to the single pole, and jumpered to one of the 3-ways. We assume that the hot must be spliced somewhere before it gets to the single pole and run to the other 3-way.
So... We hook up the xps3 and the slave exactly like the (very limited) instructions say to do. Everything worked except I couldn't turn the lights on from the slave switch (off, but not on). Since I really needed to be able to do that, we tried just a regular 3-way switch for the slave (a mistake), and that seemed to work with all permutations (both wall switches and ir543) but in trying those permutations, something fried the master. (maybe the fact that the regular switch was not a 'momentary' slave was the problem?)
Anyway, Any ideas on what the original problem was? why slave wouldn't turn on the lights? Was it a problem with the master or slave switch? obviously I have to get a new master now, but is the slave bad too?
Do you think those other switches on the same circuit are causing a problem, and if so what should I do about it?
Sorry for the long post, but wanted to be thorough as possible... know I have prob. left out some info that you might need...
Thanks in advance for your help
David

David, here's what you need to know:

Before:

Most likely, on three-way in the 'first' switch location, there is the black jumper from the single-pole switch (on the 'common', or dark screw), and a black-and-red pair (the travelers) that go to the second three-way. (sometimes, they use a black-and-white pair from a separate cable, but the rest is the same)

In the 'second' three-way location, you should find the other end of the black-and-red pair, and a black that goes to the fixture, again on the common screw. Toggling either switch changes whether the two common screws are connected to the traveler or not, which in turn turns on and off the light.

After:

Here's the way to wire the X-10s:
The slave switch goes where the three-way with the hot-feed in with the single-pole switch is. If you put the master there, turning it off deprives the slave of power, so it can't turn the master back on. This is a common mistake.

Now, all of the switching is done by the master swicth, and the slave is merely a remote controller for it. Think of the slave as a wired remote that activates the circuitry of the master. (You no doubt fried the master by feeding 120v on the slave wire.)

At the 'first' swicth location, where the slave goes, do this:
In order to get the always-hot wire to the master, you connect the black from the common screw to the black traveler, along with the hot wire of the slave switch, and connect the slave wire to the red (or white) traveler. Note: the slave's neutral will need to be connected to the several white wires in the box.

At the 'second' switch location, where the master goes, do this:
The black traveler goes to the master's hot in, and the red traveler goes to the master's slave wire. The switched wire from the master goes to the black wire that feeds the fixture. Again, the neutral wire joins the several whites in the box.

Hope this explains it well. If you need more help, feel free to ask. That's why we're here!

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

Larry,
I guess I should have clarified, on the one circuit there are a single pole, and two SETS of 3-way switches (5 switches total). the single pole controls a patio light, one SET of 3-ways controls my stairwell light, and the other SET of 3-ways controls the theater fluorescents where I am trying to use the x10. That's why I said that we assumed that the hot was spliced before you get to the single pole. Hope that clarifies what the situation is. Does that complicate things or what?
Also, I assumed that the master did all the controling of the switching since the slave is called a 'momentary' slave...
Thanks,
David

David, nothing changes. (Ignore everything except the three-way pair that controls the fluorescents.) The important thing is to identify which three-way switch is fed hot and which three-way is the one that feeds the fixtures.

Use any simple testlight or meter to identify which common screw (remember them?) is hot when the lights are off. If you test when the lights are on, both commons will test hot.

The fact that there are other switches and lights on the circuit is not relevant. Where you mentioned that a wire was jumped from the single-pole to one of the three-ways tells me that that's where that pair was fed hot.

The other three-way in that box probably was connected to a single three-conductor cable, which means that the other three-way of this pair has the hot fed to it, but it could be done either way. Use the test-light test I mentioned above just to be sure which switch is "first" of the pair in question.

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

Larry, help me also?

Been reading this forum over a year now, this is my first post also. Using exactly the same switches as David, XPS3 & XPSS (Thanks Bill E. - first order from you, excellent service).

I've never been so frustrated with any wiring project in the last 40 years (guess I'm extra cautious- don't want to fry a master switch)

Here's what I have:

Box 1 - Double box, multiple circuits - (I've indentified where every thing goes) Have a Black hot, white neutral and a 3 cond cable (Bl, Rd, Wh) that goes to Box 2, plus the wiring for my Load. The Black hot is connected to the Black wire of the 3 cond cable.

Box 2 (multiple circuits also) Have a neutral available, and the 3 cond cable from Box 1.

Since the Black wire of the 3-cond is hot, I assume the Slave goes in Box 2. X-10 Pros limited instuctions do not indicate a neutral connection to the slave. The terminals on the slave are labled - Live, Live, Switch (no place to connect neutral?)

I presume in Box 2 - the slave - the Black wire from the 3 cond cable, which is hot, goes to one of the Live terminals, the red to the other Live terminal and the white ( from 3 cond cable, not the neutral) to the Switch terminal.

In Box 1, the Master, (terminals labeled Line, Neutral, Load, Control) presume to wire as follows -

Red from 3 cond cable to Line, White from 3-cond cable to Control, Black from load to Load, and White neutral to Neutral.

Is this correct?

Really appreciate the wisdom of everyone on this forum, which all of you have so freely shared.

Thanks,

John

John, you've got it exactly right.

A small criticizm to the original electrician:
The incoming black hot in Box 1 should have been connected to the white in the 3-conductor cable running to Box 2, so the black and red would have been used as the travelers. No BFD, though.

Technical info: the slave switch connects the two Line terminals together internally, just like the two blue wires on the cheap X-10 slave switches. This is done to avoid (lessen?) confusion when replacing three-way switches, as every wire gets connected to a terminal.

Theoretically, you could just connect the incoming and outgoing black hots in Box 1 to the Line terminal on the master, and abandon the red wire altogether. However, I would stick to your wiring plan in case someone ever removes the X-10s.

It's reletively unusual for both the line in and load out to go into the same switch box. This is how the wires would be run if someone added three-way switching to where a single pole had been, with a single 3-conductor cable run to the new switch location.

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

Larry,

Thanks, it works like a charm!!

John

Happy to help.

Next?

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com