Aube TI071 lightswitch wiring

Local Dimwit · 12-19-2009, 03:35 PM

I was previously helped in this thread 10 months ago and I'm here for similar advice. I was hoping someone could tell me how to hook up the wires on an Aube TI071 light switch I just bought. There is only one switch to these lights, so I'm assuming this means it's a single-pole installation.

There are three wires that come out of the Aube switch; black (line), blue (load), and white (neutral).

There are tons of wires coming out of the wall. The previous switch used two black wires (no labels for line or load on the wires nor the switch) and did not use a ground wire.

Can anyone tell me which wires should connect to which? Pictures are below. I tried connecting black1-to-black and black2-to-blue, as well as as black2-to-black and black1-to-blue, and neither worked. According to the manual,

Quote:

the switch cannot be used if there is no neutral wire (indicated by white wires joint together) inside the electrical box.

so I'm assuming I need to figure out which wire is the ground wire and connect the white to it.

TI034-3W manual:
http://www.aubetech.com/manuel/2/TI071.pdf

Picture 1: http://i45.tinypic.com/rwkj12.jpg

Picture 2: http://i47.tinypic.com/91bbj8.jpg

Bob Mariani · 12-19-2009, 03:37 PM

You need a neutral for the features of the switch to work. If all you have available are the two black (line and load) then you need a different type of switch.

Local Dimwit · 12-19-2009, 04:11 PM

Thank you, I was wondering how the screen powered up.

There's a white wire and a copper wire that can be seen the first picture, neither of which were connected to the previous switch. Is one of them (I'd assume the white) a neutral wire?

If it is, it's connected to the red connector on the left, which is being used by the other switches. Is it okay to "double up" in a sense and connect the white wire from the new switch to that same red connector?

Bob Mariani · 12-19-2009, 04:16 PM

yes just pigtail a white wire to the switch and connect with the other white wires in this box. Twist the new wire around the others and then replace the wire nut.

jbfan · 12-19-2009, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Local Dimwit

Thank you, I was wondering how the screen powered up.

There's a white wire and a copper wire that can be seen the first picture, neither of which were connected to the previous switch. Is one of them (I'd assume the white) a neutral wire?

If it is, it's connected to the red connector on the left, which is being used by the other switches. Is it okay to "double up" in a sense and connect the white wire from the new switch to that same red connector?

NO! if the white wire is connected to the red wire, it is a hot conductor and will fry the switch.

Local Dimwit · 12-19-2009, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbfan

NO! if the white wire is connected to the red wire, it is a hot conductor and will fry the switch.

It's connected to a red connector, but the red wires that can be seen in the picture are safely elsewhere. Thank you though, that's a point I hadn't considered.

It sounds like Bob Mariani's advice is safe to go with, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow to see if any conflicting advice gets posted.

jbfan · 12-19-2009, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Local Dimwit

It's connected to a red connector, but the red wires that can be seen in the picture are safely elsewhere. Thank you though, that's a point I hadn't considered.

It sounds like Bob Mariani's advice is safe to go with, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow to see if any conflicting advice gets posted.

My bad. I miss read the post and thought it was a red conductor.
Yes, take the white wire from the switch and connect it to the white wires in the back of the box.

I don't know what differance it will make if you connect the load backwards the first time.

Bob Mariani · 12-19-2009, 05:23 PM

on these switches it can make a difference. The black that is spliced to other blacks is the one you want as the hot wire. At first I thought the red was referring to the wire also. Then I looked at the pictures and realized he was referring to a wire nut.

kbsparky · 12-19-2009, 06:45 PM

I can't see it in your photos, but there should be a wirenut with a bunch of white wires in it. THAT is where you connect the white wire from your switch.

Local Dimwit · 12-20-2009, 11:14 AM

It worked! Thank you!! There was indeed a wirenut off to the left with all the white wires.

But, one more thing...

I have one more of these I wanted to install, but this one is on a 3-way switch. The existing switch is just like the first, but instead of having only two wires (black and black), it has four (black, black, red, and ground).

This is for a front porch light. In a perfect world, I'd ignore the other 3-way switch that's 10 feet away in the dining room and control everything through this one. I doubt that means I can hook it up like the last one though and ignore the red and ground wires.

So the bottom-line question is, again, what goes to what? The black(line) to black(line) and black(load) to blue(load) seem pretty obvious, and I assume I'd again feed the white neutral line to the wirenut with the other white neutral lines, but what about the existing red and ground wires? Do I just wrap them up and tuck them away so they don't touch anything? Do I hook them up somewhere? Or is this just not possible?

Many thanks again, I can't say enough about how helpful you guys are.

Local Dimwit · 12-20-2009, 12:25 PM

I think I found the answer, and that this wouldn't be possible. Aube sells two lightswitches:

http://www.amazon.com/Aube-Honeywell...1329669&sr=1-2
http://www.amazon.com/Aube-Honeywell...1329808&sr=1-1

The first (TI071) is what I bought two of, but I think the second (TI070) is the same but made for a 3-way switch. I think I'll have to order that one, and if I don't hear anything I'll assume that's the case. But if it is possible to use the TI071 for a 3-way, let me know.

Again, thanks to all.