Our old timer four our outside lights stopped working, so I decided to install a new one . Should be simple, no?
The switch is the middle of a gang of three light switches mounted in the wall. One of the poles on each of the three switches is connected to the “load side” wire for the lights. The other pole on the rightmost switch is connected to a “line side” wire and then a short wire is also connected to that pole and to a pole on the middle switch and then another short wire connects that pole on the middle switch to the left most switch. In other words, each switch has its own load side wire, but they share the line side wire.
When I wired in the timer the manual on/off function did not work. I was careful to follow directions and checked that I was connecting the line and load sides correctly, and then switched them in a final what-the-hell moment of frustration.
After I couldn’t make it work I gave up and just installed a normal switch, that works fine.
Any ideas why this wouldn’t work? Could it be related to how the switches are wired together? The fact that there is a GFI on the line (I tested it and then reset it)?
If the normal timer turns on the lights (not explicit in your post), but the manual switch doesn’t…and your old one works, I’d suspect the new switch is defective.
I would tend to agree–does the switch work when using it as a timer?
There are only two connections (and possibly a ground connection, which won’t affect whether it actually works or not). If it works as a timer but not manually, then the switch is defective (or you forgot to RTFM ).
If a standard switch works, that rules out some other problems, like bad connection at the light socket.
From your description it sounds like the switches are pigtailed together on the line side. Although that can work I don’t think it conforms to code. Generally you would run the hot and neutral to the light socket, wire neutral to the socket, then take a run from the hot wire to the switch as your line lead, and send the load linke back to the socket. That is, each switch would have its own line lead. It sounds like this circuit bypassed the light socket and runs the hot wire right to the switch, if all three switches are using the same line lead.
Even if this configuration doesn’t conform to code it sounds like the timer switch would still work, so I’m agreeing that the switch is defective.
What do the other two switches control?
But IANAE, so someone with greater expertise may want to weigh in.
And if it isn’t dead out of the box, it will be dead shortly. Those digital Intermatic switches do not last long - I’ve had two go bad in under six months’ use.
When the display shows “NoOP” it’s toast. You might be able to revive it for a few days by hitting it hard to unjam the mechanism.
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