Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - Three-way circuit with three fixtures & dimmer
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Bob Pierce
08-28-05, 09:40 PM
I've wired a circuit in my kitchen as follows:
Power-S1=L1=S2, and L1-L2-L3, where S1 is a switch, S2 is a dimmer, and L1, L2, and L3 are light fixtures with 100W bulbs in them.
For some months I've been using this with just L1 and L2 installed with 100W bulbs in them, and it has been working great. But this weekend I installed L3 and, when I turned the power back on, the dimmer switch didn't work--the lights all lit, but the dimmer function wouldn't work. So I removed the connections to L3 and re-tried it, and the dimmer still doesn't work. So, apparently, I've done something that has ruined the dimming function. The dimmer was rated 120V/600W incandescent, which is well over my 3-100W bulbs. Can anyone help me figure out what I've done wrong?
Bob
Power-S1=L1=S2, and L1-L2-L3, where S1 is a switch, S2 is a dimmer, and L1, L2, and L3 are light fixtures with 100W bulbs in them.
For some months I've been using this with just L1 and L2 installed with 100W bulbs in them, and it has been working great. But this weekend I installed L3 and, when I turned the power back on, the dimmer switch didn't work--the lights all lit, but the dimmer function wouldn't work. So I removed the connections to L3 and re-tried it, and the dimmer still doesn't work. So, apparently, I've done something that has ruined the dimming function. The dimmer was rated 120V/600W incandescent, which is well over my 3-100W bulbs. Can anyone help me figure out what I've done wrong?
Bob
John Nelson
08-29-05, 08:36 AM
The dimmer is fried. You need a new one.
Bob Pierce
08-29-05, 09:51 AM
Yes, I know the dimmer is fried. But how did I fry it? I don't want to go buy a new one and then wreck it again.
John Nelson
08-29-05, 12:45 PM
Dimmers are fragile. They can get fried in a number of ways. The most common is if you did anything to cause a high current to flow through it, even momentarily. From the information you have supplied, I don't see anything specific you did wrong, but there may have been something.
The best way to avoid these problems is to make sure that you shut off the breaker before doing any work, and to observe the highest standards of workmanship, making most excellent connections and packing boxes ever so carefully. You don't want to do anything with the slightest risk of an accidental short or voltage spike.
Even if you'd have done everything perfectly, there's always a chance that you had a marginal dimmer, or that you just got unlucky. You'll probably never know for sure.
The best way to avoid these problems is to make sure that you shut off the breaker before doing any work, and to observe the highest standards of workmanship, making most excellent connections and packing boxes ever so carefully. You don't want to do anything with the slightest risk of an accidental short or voltage spike.
Even if you'd have done everything perfectly, there's always a chance that you had a marginal dimmer, or that you just got unlucky. You'll probably never know for sure.
Bob Pierce
08-29-05, 12:59 PM
Thanks, John. I'll look at the quality of everything again and turn the power off at the breaker this time. Hopefully, the next time will work.
Bob
Bob
MrRonFL
08-31-05, 04:06 PM
Just to ask the obvious, but is the dimmer a 3-way dimmer? A regular dimmer won't work correctly in a 3-way circuit.