[joshlardinois83]

I just purchased two Honeywell 7-day Solar Programmable Wall Switches (RPLS540A). I installed one in my house to control the front door porch light (10W CFL), and it worked like a charm. I know this model requires 40W according to the instructions, but it's worked perfectly.

I recently tried to install the second switch in a new garage (replacing a photo sensor that worked erratically due to natural lighting) to control two-10W CFLs. However, after following a couple of the single-pole diagrams, I absolutely cannot get it to work.

The wiring coming from the power (breaker box) is 14/2...line (black), load (white), and a ground. There is also the same three wires going to the two CFL lights. The switch itself has a line (black), load (black), three-way (yellow) and ground (green).

The following is a diagram to the installation instructions: https://customer.honeywell.com/resources/techlit/TechLitDocuments/69-0000s/69-2454EFS.pdf.

Could anyone please let me know how the timer should be hooked up given my current configuration?

 

[djlandkpl]

Looking at the instructions, did you follow the second diagram for single switch installation?

If you can, try swapping the CFLs for incandescent bulbs just to see if the fixture works.

 

[k_buz]

The instructions for this install seem to be labeled incorrectly in their literature. (Line and Load seem to be reversed) I cannot say for sure how it is supposed to be wired. However, I will assume that Honeywell puts the wattage ranges in the specs for a reason. It would not be out of the realm of possibility that by not following the minimum wattage requirement could be a problem.

 

[joshlardinois83]

Thanks for the reply. The fixtures (with CFLs in them) do work fine. I actually just took out the Honeywell switch for the time being and have the lines, loads and grounds wired together from both the breaker box and lights. They're on 24/7 for now, but hopefully that's just temporary until I can get a switch wired up.

 

[joshlardinois83]

The instructions for this install seem to be labeled incorrectly in their literature. (Line and Load seem to be reversed) I cannot say for sure how it is supposed to be wired. However, I will assume that Honeywell puts the wattage ranges in the specs for a reason. It would not be out of the realm of possibility that by not following the minimum wattage requirement could be a problem.

Thanks Buzz. I thought about the minimum load, but I wired the exact same switch in my house for the front porch light. I'm using the same 10w CFL as in the garage fixtures, but the house switch works perfect. I'm also using only one fixture in the house switch as compared to two with the garage switch.

 

[djlandkpl]

My thought on swapping to incandescent bulbs is to validate your wiring connections in case the CFLS don't have enough load to trigger the switch.

 

[joshlardinois83]

My thought on swapping to incandescent bulbs is to validate your wiring connections in case the CFLS don't have enough load to trigger the switch.

Gotcha. That makes sense to me, but then why would you think the same switch in the house (with only one CFL) works great? I'm stumped.:huh:

 

[ericmunyon]

You mentioned a yellow "3 way." Are there two switches that control those garage lights? If so, you need a programmable 3 way switch, not single pole. Also, you are using the terms line/load incorrectly, and if you're wiring the switch based on this, that could be the problem. Line means the "hot" feed (yes, it's the black, but the white neutral with it is still part of the "line"). Load is the pair of wires (plus ground) that then, in your case, go on to the fixtures. So anytime you open a connection in a box, the line is the energized pair, the load is whatever it would energize when connected (except for a drop/end-line switch).