Wiring Two Tapo S505 switches side-by-side in a box with 4 wires
I have two places in my house where I am attempting to replace switches with Tapo S505 switches. The first is by the front door. There is a box with two switches, one for the porch light and the other for the entry way light. Both are one-way switches. When I opened it up, I foolishly neglected to take a picture of the wiring, but I remember how it went. But, I'm having trouble finding examples online of a box wired how this one is. There are 4 cables coming into the box, each with a ground, neutral, and line/load. For the original switches, the outside light had one black wire going directly into the back of it, and the other going into the back of it after first being wrapped around one of the screws on the side of the inside light switch. There was a bit of the wire stripped off part way down where it wrapped around the screw. From what I've read, I'm thinking that this is probably the live one of the 4, right? And then the other two black wires went into the second switch, the one that controls the inside light. Based on the instructions that came with the switches, it sounded like I didn't need to differentiate between the black wires, and just twist like wires with like wires. So I cut the one wire that touched both switches, in the middle where it was wrapped around the screw on the side of the second switch. In my ignorance, I assumed that the wires coming into the box just went with the switches on the same side (they come into the box in a line from the top, so I assumed the left two went with the left switch and the right two went with the right switch). I twisted together black to black (2x) and neutral to neutral and ground to ground, for both switches, and then flipped the breaker back on. Well, the right switch (inside light) worked, but the left switch (outside light) did not. I'm about at my wit's end trying to look up how to connect these so they both work, but I haven't been able to find a good explanation for how to wire it with the situation I have. Is it even possible with the switches I bought? Is that the problem? Or do I need to figure out which black wire is the hot one and then connect it correctly to both switches (I don't know what the right way to do that would be.
The second location is in the bedroom, with a double switch also. Left switch is the fan, right is the light. But this box only has three cables, each with a black, neutral, and ground. I did take a picture of this one, and was able to re-wire the original switched back on after my install attempts failed. This one is basically the same as the first, but the right switch only has one black wire going into the back, with the right switch having one directly into the back and the other that wraps around the right switch screw and then into the left switch back. How would I wire the Tapo switches to this one? And again, did I buy the wrong switches for my situation?
Thanks for any help!
I think I would honestly consider consulting with an electrician, where you will at least be able to ask questions to help you better understand the wiring in your specific situation. Otherwise, you will first want to accurately identify each wire using a line tester. for both troubleshooting and safety purposes
For the first set of switches, I am not sure I understand where a wire would have touched both switches. Is it possible that this was splitting the line between the two?
I will mention that more often than not, outdoor switches will use a different type of switch wiring, where power is delivered to the fixture before being delivered to the switch. This is done for a variety of reasons, whether it be to improve safety, the result of an after-construction install, or even sometimes simple convenience. This could explain why only one of your switches work, but we would need to know the function of each wire for certain.
For the second set, it is unusual not to have both provided.
Are both switches wired to the same fixture? If so, you are probably wanting to look at something like the KS240 for wiring.
