Fried 2 GE 12724 Smart Dimmers. Design flaw?

Devices & Integrations
1

Hi all,

I have fried 2 of these smart Dimmers now.

First one, I had all wires except ground connected. I inserted ground wire the started tightening the screw. When the screw was close to tight, Sparks flew & the switch was fried.

Second one, in a 3-way writing setup. I had both the dimmer switch & the add-on switch connected and working hanging out of the wall. I screwed in the add-on with no issues. As I went to screw in the dimmer, I applied some pressure because of the crowded box and Sparks flew and the switch was fried. I think the Sparks came from the area of the ground terminal.

Anyone else having the same issues? Is the ground terminal very close to the load terminal & too much pressure will cause it to Arc & fry?

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide,

CTB

2

sounds like you need to keep the breaker off until things are back in the wall. Also, there was an issue at one point using screws that were too long. Make sure you use only the screws that were included with the switches.

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3

You are swapping hard wired electrical devices while the circuit was energized? You are lucky YOU didn’t get fried.

Please verify that the breaker is off, and there is NO power to the circuit before you start turning screws.

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