AEOTEC Micro Motor Controller - Help with wiring

I’m hoping someone can help me figure out how to wire my AEOTEC Micro Motor Controller to my existing awning switch. I’ve had no problem wiring my z-wave switches, this one is throwing me for a loop. My current awning switch is a 3 position paddle switch. Press top - awning opens all the way and stops. Press bottom - awning closes all the way and stops. Press middle - awning motor stops. I’m attaching a drawing of what the current wiring looks like and hoping someone can tell me how to wire it to the micro motor controller. I’ve numbered the existing wires to make it easier to refer to them. I would appreciate any help on this. Thanks in advance!

Can you post the part number and manufacturer of your existing switch? Need to know how the contacts are setup. Your description of “pressing” top, middle , bottom implies its a button and not a paddle so it doesn’t help me how the terminals actually function, This should be an easy application to solve for you.

I think what he’s describing is an on-off-on toggle switch. Send current to #5, awning goes one way. Send current to #6 it goes the opposite direction. Remove current during operation, the awning stops moving. Test the switch by disconnecting the power to it and removing wires #1 and #2. Use the continuity test of your multimeter to see if #1 connects to #5 when the switch is EITHER up or down and not both, and that #5 and #6 have no connection with each other whatsoever. If you don’t have a multimeter…go get one. It’ll save you time, headache and maybe even a life.

If the test rings true, here’s my suggestion:

Disconnect the white wires from each other (#s 2 & 4)
Connect L to #1 from box
Connect N to #2 from box
Connect COM to #1 from switch
Connect Neutral 1 OR 2 to #4 to motor
Connect M1 to #5 to motor
Connect M2 to #6 to motor
Connect S1 to #5 from switch
Connect S2 to #6 from switch

Test time: Have some way or someone ready to kill the power instantly. If any of these steps are a fail, check your wiring. If you’re wiring is correct, you don’t have what I thought you have. Put it back the way you found it.

  1. Put the paddle switch in the middle position (Mid-stop) and turn on the power. Push the button on the Micro controller, the awning should move.
  2. Push the button on the micro controller again, the awning should change directions.
  3. Wait for it to finish and listen for a straining motor. If you hear it for more than a 2 seconds, kill the power.
  4. Flip the paddle switch up or down (Top-Open or Bttm-close). If nothing happens, move to step 5, otherwise see step 3.
  5. Flip the paddle switch in opposite direction. The awning should open or close to completion.
  6. This is not a pass fail, but a function test: Flip paddle switch in the opposite direction again and then to the middle before the awning completely opens or closes to see of the micro controller mimics the function.
    If it’s not moving in the direction it should, just swap the M1 and M2 wires or S1 and S2.

I found this thread looking for a DH that makes this thing more than just a toggle switch, if you have one, please post. Also, check the up/down, open/close or on/off display of the app before swapping wires to know if you need to swap S1 and S2 so both app and wall switch say the same thing. If it’s just a toggle switch in the app like mine atm, it doesn’t matter.

Hope this helps (and makes sense)!

Thanks for the great ideas and description Darius. I believe I have exactly the same connections to current components Robert shows in his drawing. My paddle switch has three discrete positions – up, stop and down. It has the expected three wire connections – line in, one load out for up and one for down. I also think I made the connections per your suggestion. I’m seeing a different (and at least to me) bizarre behavior. When I connect the micro motor controller as you describe I have to push the paddle up, then back to the “stop” position to get my projection screen to go up. If I then push the paddle down, then back to the stop position the screen will go down. There is no longer a middle “stop” position. Any thoughts as to why this is happening and how I might correct it?

Thanks!