S515 3 Way Switch Keeps Flickering, Keeps Going Offline

S515 3 Way Switch Keeps Flickering, Keeps Going Offline

S515 3 Way Switch Keeps Flickering, Keeps Going Offline
S515 3 Way Switch Keeps Flickering, Keeps Going Offline
Wednesday - last edited 9 hours ago

Hello. I recent installed five S515 3 Way Smart Switches (along with many other S505 single pole switches throughout my house). Two of them work fine, but the other three have pretty much the same issue: after turning the power back on, the light the switch controls keep flickering, about once per second, and the LED on the switch itself blinks the amber color. I've tried every wiring combination I can think of, and none of them work. If it makes a difference, one of them is in a two gang box with an S505 (which works) and the other two are in a three gang box with a S505 and another S515 each (which all work).

 

On a related note, I swapped a couple of the wires around so that they would work as single pole switches, and they seem to work in that configuration, but one thing I noticed is that in one of the three gang boxes, the S515 that was giving me issues seems to go offline and back online, every few seconds or so. The LED, which is supposed to be solid white, turns off, and the switch doesn't respond remotely in that state, and then shortly after the LED turns back on and the switch is responsive again. 

 

So, what's going on? Are they not drawing enough power or something? I contacted an electrician, but he didn't seem to have the answer. Can anyone here help? I can answer questions as needed. Thanks. 

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Re:S515 3 Way Switch Keeps Flickering, Keeps Going Offline-Solution
9 hours ago - last edited 9 hours ago

Hi @Carl I owe you something of an apology. I decided to double check which side of the circuit the line/load wires were, and sure enough, I had the smart switches on the wrong ends. Swapping them around did the trick. It threw me off because at least a couple of them did not have neutral wires in the box (one of them did that I just didn't see), but I got around that by simply wiring neutral and ground together. I'm not sure that's exactly a safe solution, but the switches works, and I will be contacting an electrician to see if I can get neutral wires pulled into those boxes. I appreciate the tip, and again, I apologize for not taking your initial post seriously.

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Re:S515 3 Way Switch Keeps Flickering, Keeps Going Offline
Yesterday

  @PunctualGuy 

 

The most likely culpri is that it is not wired properly or is not installed on the Line (Power) side of the 3 way run.  Take a look at this video It shows how to wire the switch in a 3-way enviroment.  The key is that it has to be the Line side.  If that doesn't help please let me know and we can provide additional instructions. 

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Re:S515 3 Way Switch Keeps Flickering, Keeps Going Offline
Yesterday

  @Carl Thank you for the reply. I'm quite certain the switches were installed on the Line side, as the other side does not have all five wires (two travelers, line, ground , and neutral) to install them. That said, I haven't specifically tested the voltage of the wires when the power is on, so I can try that later today or this week. I'm also fairly certain they're wired correctly, as I've already installed several of them before with no issues, and double checked my work repeatedly.

 

In the meantime, I was wondering if we could explore other potential solutions to the issue. Please let me know when you get a chance. Thanks.

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Re:S515 3 Way Switch Keeps Flickering, Keeps Going Offline-Solution
9 hours ago - last edited 9 hours ago

Hi @Carl I owe you something of an apology. I decided to double check which side of the circuit the line/load wires were, and sure enough, I had the smart switches on the wrong ends. Swapping them around did the trick. It threw me off because at least a couple of them did not have neutral wires in the box (one of them did that I just didn't see), but I got around that by simply wiring neutral and ground together. I'm not sure that's exactly a safe solution, but the switches works, and I will be contacting an electrician to see if I can get neutral wires pulled into those boxes. I appreciate the tip, and again, I apologize for not taking your initial post seriously.

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Re:S515 3 Way Switch Keeps Flickering, Keeps Going Offline
7 minutes ago

  @PunctualGuy 

 

Not at all. I completely understand.  I am glad it was relatively simple to solve.  Enjoy the product and please let us know if there are any other concerns or questions in the future. 

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