Wiring – Help: Replacing a Leviton Dimmable switch with a Regular Switch

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I'm a newbie when it comes to installing light switches. My staircase light would randomly turn on in the middle of the night and it has 3 dimmable Leviton light switches that control the staircase light. I've already successfully changed one of the three light switches to a regular light switch. However, when I'm attempting the second light switch, I'm super confused on how to connect the wires and screws.

  • 2 black wires connected to the black screw
  • 2 Red Wires connected to a copper screw
  • 1 white wire connected to a silver screw
  • 1 Copper Wire connected to green screw

Here is the original setup of the Leviton Dimmable switch:
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Here's my new switch that I'm trying to install:
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What I have attempted so far (I know I'm doing something wrong here). Please advise.

Light Switch 2 Attempt
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Back of Dimmer
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Thank you!

Best Answer

Here is how "old-school" 3-way wiring works. Black is always-hot, white is neutral.

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Here is how 4-way wiring works.

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Note how the 4-way switch changes very little about the wiring. This second diagram shows that the wiring sequence could vary.

Your smart-switches are using the wiring in a completely different way. You will need to figure out how to reallocate the wires to find 2 "travelers".

Of course your wires are not yellow. There are no color codes for 3-way wiring. Certain wires must be certain colors because of Code requirements; the travelers get the wires that are left. I am extremely fond of re-marking them yellow using a pack of multi-color electrical tape... but they don't get that way by themselves.

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