I’ve been trying to figure out how to wire these as a 4 way, thus, trying to decipher how this works. I have a drawing that I’ve confirmed is accurate up to how much is filled out… However, I’m missing some pieces. I’ve validated the wires between switches are accurate by testing for resistance on both ends. I’ve validated the power input by taking all the black wires out of the bundle and testing the voltage between them and a white wire. Only one has voltage. However, testing between two black wires that were in the bundle also has voltage… The two black wires with 120v are the line and the light’s black wire… I’ve validated it is the light wire by testing resistance from the light and the wire from the bundle… Hope this makes sense.
I should add that white wire in my drawing is yellow. I’ve left out the ground. Also note that. The second light exists… Not sure how that’s wired.
What’s the brand and model of the smart switches that you intend to use? Different models use different wiring patterns.
Sorry, GE 12728 and GE 12729…
This video may help. This should be the same for you with the addition of a 2nd remote switch and I think you wire it the same way, white to switch, traveler to switch and blacks (load) wire nutted through. On my basement light I had 2 lights on one circuit also so I had 2 black (load) wires at the last remote switch.
Yeah, thats not how mine is wired based on what I’ve discovered. The line and load do not go to my “main” switch, which doesn’t make sense to me. I’ve traced these wires down by measuring resistance. Unless something is flawed in my procedure, my drawing should be accurate.
You’ll find the GE wiring experts in the following thread.
Do you have an photos of the boxes?
Thanks guys for the help. I used that 3 way wiring guide and it worked perfectly for my 3 way setup…This 4 way is a bit odd…So scratch the first drawing…
My method to trace the wires was to measure resistance between point A and point B to find which wire was which. I used an extension cord and another person to achieve this. The first stab at this…I didn’t disconnect the wires from the wirenuts…the white and black bundles…so I was getting resistance due to the fact that they were connected, which lead me to some odd conclusions. I’ve disconnected all of the wires in the wirenuts and the light switches and have redone my tracing. I’m 99% sure this drawing is accurate now…I still am not electrical savvy enough to figure out how this works…Based on this, could anyone assist with how to hook these up?
I don’t have pictures at the moment. Its 10:30pm and I’ve been working on this since about 2pm on and off, heh. I can get some in the morning when I do take 2 of attempting this if you think they would still be useful with this new drawing. !
So, I got this working. Below is are the wiring changes I made from the drawing as it was with the analog switches above. I’ll add a little more detail to what all I did in case anyone comes across this type of scenario…
My note on the black bundle of wires not having power is obviously when the switch is off on the left. I’m used to the black bundles containing a LINE or power source, but those did not.
