Switch – Eaton 3 way dimmer switch

dimmer-switch

Other outletOutletReplacing an old 3 way switch with a new dimmer 3 way switch. The old switch had 2 traveler wires connected to it (black and red), the ground wire, and the 'hot' wire. I also noticed 2 neutral wires (both white) that were bundled together and capped. Now, the new dimmer switch has the green screw (for the ground wire), and then 2 screws on each side. According to the instructions, the top left is 'neutral', the bottom left is for a traveler, the top right is for the hot wire, and the bottom right is for another neutral wire. So I'm a bit confused here – I have 2 traveler wires but only one spot on the new switch for one. There are 2 spots for neutral wires, but they are bundled together in the outlet. Thanks

FYI – this is an Eaton WFD30 smart universal dimmer…
Edit: In the pic, the 2 white wires were bundled together and capped (assume they are both neutrals), the black and red are travelers and the other white with the black tape was the 'hot' wire.

Edit 2: Added a pic of the other outlet. Looks to be wired slightly differently than the one I was installing the dimmer on. I can out the dimmer on this one, whatever is easier. This one appears to have 3 white wires bundled together.

Best Answer

The answers are all in the manual

An ordinary 3-way switch uses two travelers. A smart switch doesn't necessarily need two travelers, and this one doesn't. There is an accessory switch available to let you dim at both locations. But assuming you are replacing one 3-way switch with the dimmer and the other one is staying the same, you wire according to Two Location Control Using a 3-Way Switch.

  • Top Left = Neutral (white, connected to the existing white bundle)
  • Top Right = Hot (note, this must be true hot, not "switched hot")
  • Bottom Right = Load, also known as "switched hot".
  • Bottom Left = Traveler. Yes, just one traveler.

This is almost certainly doable, since you have the sometimes elusive neutral available in the box. But it may get tricky. Specifically, typical configuration is that one of the 3-way switches will connect to two travelers and hot, and the other to two travelers and switched hot. But this smart switch needs to connect to both hot and switched hot, and the ordinary 3-way switch needs to connect to hot.

Note: Major changes to original answer, now that OP posted a second picture.

It looks now like this is either:

  • Power -> switch 2 -> switch 1 -> fixture

or

  • Power -> switch 1 -> switch 2 -> fixture

(My original answer had power and fixture both connecting in the switch 1 box.)

Basic answer will still be along the lines of:

  • Use one traveler as a "signal"
  • Use the other (former) traveler as a way to get hot (not switched) between the boxes

But the specifics will vary depending on exactly what is going on. In particular, determination of which switch connects to power and which switch connects to the fixture.

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