# DIY Home Electrical Question **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 13, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-home-electrical-question/810516 "2018-03-13T21:30:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-home-electrical-question/810516/1 "2018-03-13T21:30:19Z")
OK. I’m trying to upgrade to a new Leviton Smart Switch (DW6HD) from my old Lutron switch, but I’m not sure which wire is which. On my existing Lutron dimmer switch I have (viewed from the front of the switch): Top Right: Black Wire Bottom Right: Black Wire Top Left: Bare Wire (ground) Bottom Left: White Wire (common?) On my new new Leviton Smart Switch, there are 5 terminals (viewed from the front of the switch): Top Right: Black Screw Bottom Right: Yellow Screw (labeled YL/RD) Top Left: White Screw (common?) Middle Left: Red Screw Bottom Left: Green Screw (ground) How do I determine which wire on my existing switch is the line and which is the traveller? Are those the correct terms? I have a multimeter. I tried ground-ground, white-white, and the two blacks to the black and yellow screws, but that didn’t work. I also switched the two black wires around and that didn’t work either. I put the old Lutron switch back on, and it works fine. Yes, I turned off the circuit breaker during the process. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-home-electrical-question/810516/2 "2018-03-13T21:55:48Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > How do I determine which wire on my existing switch is the line and which is the traveller? Are those the correct terms? I have a multimeter. See this video: This is for your particular switch: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/14k-a7mOMgY/hqdefault.jpg "How to Install Decora Smart 600W Dimmer: DZ6HD, DW6HD, DH6HD | Leviton") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14k-a7mOMgY) ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-home-electrical-question/810516/3 "2018-03-13T21:55:50Z")
Black wire goes to the line. Red wire goes to the light fixture. Unlike a “dumb switch” this matters so you need to figure out which wire is hot, perhaps by flipping on the breaker with them unconnected and using a non-contact voltage detector. The yellow wire is for 3-way setups, if you have a 3-way switch it goes to the corresponding yellow terminal of the other switch over one of the travelers, with the other traveler being reassigned as a hot wire to power the other switch. In a single switch setup the yellow is left unconnected. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-home-electrical-question/810516/4 "2018-03-13T21:59:08Z")
Yes, forgot to mention that the set-up is 3-way. I’m replacing the side that has the dimmer switch. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-home-electrical-question/810516/5 "2018-03-13T22:32:40Z")
Looks like the Leviton Smart Switch has to be installed on the switch with the line voltage, so I need to figure out which one that is. Maybe I picked the wrong location when I did it. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-home-electrical-question/810516/6 "2018-03-13T23:01:40Z")
Yes, your switch is the main switch. If you’d like a video that uses a multimeter instead of a voltage detector to detect the line wire, check out this one: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Xp4FWJRzHdo/maxresdefault.jpg "Find the correct wiring for a 3-way switch in 2-minutes!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp4FWJRzHdo) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2018, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diy-home-electrical-question/810516/7 "2018-03-13T23:08:27Z")
[quote=“x-ray\_vision, post:6, topic:810516”] Yes, your switch is the main switch. If you’d like a video that uses a multimeter instead of a voltage detector to detect the line wire, check out this one: [/QUOTE] Thanks. I think I know what I need to do now. It’s actually even more complicated. I have a 4-way switch for those lights. I think I’m going to choose a simpler set of lights to hook up to the smart switch. 🙂