I have 2 separate switches that turn on/off my living room lights. One in the actual living room and one in the stairwell leading to/from the living room. I only need the dimmer on the living room switch as the stairwell switch is simply for anyone navigating the stairs in the dark and even then there's a stairwell switch right next to it sharing the same plate.
That said, can I install a 3 pole dimmer switch on just the switch in the living room that I utilize or do I have to replace the stairwell switch as well? [Reply]
New dimmer switch has 4 wires, but I only have 3 coming out of the box.
Feel I know how to connect the 3 but not seeing a ground wire coming out of the box to connect to the new switch.
Can I connect the ground wire to the green ground screw on the accompanying switch inside the box? If not, where do I go with the ground wire on the new switch?
Originally Posted by notorious:
WTF is there orange wire in your electrical box?
From what I've gathered the one with paint on it is the main power, the other 2 are travelers.
Originally Posted by notorious:
If there is a bare wire coming into/out of that mess send the ground back on it.
No bare wire in the box. From what I understand the box is grounded via a metal conduit, which may be a Chicago code thing. The house is brand new FWIW.
I just capped the ground wire from the dimmer switch and connected the others and it seems to work fine.
I'm open to any critique or feedback on that though as I've clearly never messed with electric at any level. [Reply]
The green screw on your old switch is screwed all the way in. Was it not in use? Is there not a bare, or possible green, wire back behind that mess of orange? [Reply]
Originally Posted by ghak99:
That looks like it could be a fun expereince!
The green screw on your old switch is screwed all the way in. Was it not in use? Is there not a bare, or possible green, wire back behind that mess of orange?
Screwed all the way in, nothing connecting to it. No green wire present. There were a couple white wires capped together but neither with a bare end coming out of the box. [Reply]