Resolved the issue, found some random video on YouTube to reset the dimmer using the air gap tab at the bottom of the switch after the face plate is removed. Feit’s instruction to reset the dimmer didn’t work for me but by pulling out the air gap tab and pushing it back in worked, took a couple of tries but got it work eventually…yay!
Excellent, glad you got it to work… persistence is the key.
1 Like
Great discussion so far on the Feit smart dimmer switches. I’m working on installing my 4th FEIT smart dimmer switch and I’ve run into a setup that doesn’t seem to be addressed anywhere. It’s a 3 way switch in my basement where both the LINE and the LOAD are coming into the same box in the basement (the other switch is at the top of the stairs and has just the travelers). The Feit instructions / videos always talk about the load being on 1 side and the line on the other. Anyone run across this setup and have any advice?
Thanks in advance!
If you can decipher/share the schematics, we might be able to work something out.
I took a fresh look at it today and came up with the 2 pictures attached. In the box the romex on the far right are the load wires and the travel wires romex is next to that. I then tapped into the line bundle for power and tapped into the white bundle for neutral.
I currently ended up with the setup in the 2nd picture with tagged wires in the corresponding slots on the dimmer. With this I have power to the switch and can turn lights off, on, and can dim them but of course the switch at the top of the stairs doesn’t work as I’ve got T1 and T2 unused. My one attempt to have the travelers on the dimmer was to put both T1 and T2 in the YL/RD slot. The allowed power on, power off, dim but the switch at top of stairs didn’t do anything (so functioning the same as pic 2 where T1 and T2 aren’t in use).
The issue seems to come down on where to put both traveler wires on the dimmer is this setup to get the other switch to turn lights off / on?
(turns out I can only post 1 picture per post so will try to post picture 2 in a second post)
I’m not sure putting BOTH travelers in the same connection will help. In fact, it’s guaranteed to NOT work. Now, can you do an actual schematics, similar to those above?
How did you ‘label’ all those wires? Did you follow what the instructions say?
In a 3-way setting, normally we have the following:
- Box 1 - Has 2 travelers + 1 Hot/Live + Neutrals bundled in the back
- Box 2 - Has 2 travelers + 1 Load + Neutrals bundled in the back
Can you confirm this is the case? Typically, when you have a multi-gang box (like you do), the 3 wires are wrapped around each other (bundled) so they do not get mixed with others.
Ok, hopefully my drawing isn’t too terrible but here is what I have. So going back to my original question, my wiring doesn’t seem to be the typical setup you described / how the Feit directions expect it to be. Both the 120 line and the lights line go into box 1. Box 2 (switch at top of basement steps) only contains the travel wires. Given this, the dimmer has to go in box 1 and I’m trying to figure out where on the dimmer T1 and T2 would go to make the lights controllable from the switch at Box 2.
I do have a ticket logged with Feit support to see if they have any thoughts. I guess worst case, I have the dimmer up and running in current setup with T1 and T2 unhooked and can control lights with Alexa.
Those are not conventional schematics for a 3-way. In a ‘normal’ 3-Way Installation (my 1st sketch below), you should have a total of 5 wires (named in blue Text) in the two boxes. Sometimes both boxes also have few white (typically) wires bundled in the back, those are the neutrals. You need to find and label the 5 wires, and indicate which is sitting in each of the two boxes. Once I understand that, we should be able to come up with a wiring that works for you.
Now, one important question: Are you planning to use a single dimmer or 2 dimmers? In the conventional installation (schematics I made below), one can do both. However, in your specific case, I’m not sure yet, as that depends on which of the 5 wires are available in each of the two boxes.
Based on your explanations, it looks like the Load wire (that connects to the light bulb) is routed back to the first 3-way switch, as in the modified schematics below. Is that correct? If so, then that means you have a total of three wires ‘traveling’ between the two boxes: The two Travelers and the Load wire. Please check, is that correct?
If so, I’m tempted to guess that your home was initially wired with a 1-way switch (Switch 1), then the 3-way (control from 2 locations) was possibly added at a later time. It’s ok though, we should be able to get this to work. Depending on whether you want dimmers at both locations, we might need neutrals at both boxes.
I found a solution. I’m going to assume the following:
- There are 3 wires traveling between the 2 switches (you labeled them WBR in your sketch)
- We’d need only one dimmer to control the light, to be installed in Box#1 (in your sketch)
Of the 3 travelers (W/B/R) in your sketch, we need to repurpose one, let’s say the black B wire and connect that to the HOT in Box 1. Thus, such wire will always be HOT. Then, all you need is to run the cables/wires as shown below. Note that the HOT wire in Box#1 does NOT connect to the Feit dimmer.
Here are some explanations: Feit’s instructions require that Box1 has a HOT wire, and that Box2 has a LOAD wire. In your specific case, you have both Hot and Load in Box#1. What we need to do then is take the Hot wire and ‘transport’ it to Box#2 (via the B Black wire).
In Box#2, use a regular 3-way switch or even a 1-way if you feel like replacing the switches.
In Box#1, use the Feit dimmer, and connect it as the above figure shows:
- Two Travelers coming from Box#2 (R/W in your sketch) to ports YL/RD and AC-L on Feit dimmer
- Neutral from Box#1 to AC-N on Feit dimmer
- Load (going to lamp) to LOAD on dimmer
- Ground from Box#1 to G on dimmer
Let me know if we need more clarification. If you want to use TWO dimmers, one at each box, then for that you need to have a neutral in Box#2. If you do not, then I’m not sure that is feasible.
This looks promising…thanks so much for the assist! I’ll work on this this afternoon and report back soon.
That worked! Switch in box 2 at the top of the stairs controls the lights now and the dimmer in box 1 stays powered / functions as expected.
Thanks so much for you help!
Congrats, and you’re very welcome 
Please note:
1.You should be able to turn the light on/off from BOTH switches/locations. Please confirm. If that is not the case, we need to revisit the wiring.
2. Dimming however, can be done only from the dimmer
Such configuration (one dimmer only in a 3-way installation) is very common in most homes.
If however you want the ability to dim from both locations, we need a second dimmer, and we also need to have neutrals in BOTH boxes.
Hi all,
Looks like I have a very similar problem here I’m hoping someone can help with.
I have a hot traveler in box #2 now but the load is also in box #2. I have two travelers (one now hot from being connected to the source) going between the switches, a neutral and ground at the feit switch but no load. I have a 3-way switch at box #2 that is now both hot and load so #2 controls everything and the feit switch controls nothing.
Is it possible to get this install to work with my current config? Only thing I can think of is that I need to transport the load wire (black) from box #2 to box #1.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
I think we can make this work. Few questions:
- Is the above schematics correct i.e., exactly what you have, including number of wires and colors?
- Where do you want to install the Feit dimmer, left/right?
- Do you have neutral wires in both boxes ?
Yes, this is exactly what I have to work with, colors and all.
I want to install the Feit dimmer on the left.
I only have a neutral wire on the left.
Thanks for your help!
Here’s a cleaner picture of what I have to work with. I only have a neutral available on the left, so I’m guessing the Feit dimmer must be installed on the left? Any guidance on where to install each wire on both side to get it to work is greatly appreciated.
Excellent, that for sure does help. I did the schematics below as well … working on it. Should have an answer later today. There are no ground wires (yellow) in my schematics though. Just so I understand better your current circuit: The two Romex cables have a total of 4 wires each (Black/White/Red + Copper/Bare) … Correct?
Yes, you are correct. The two Romex cables have a total of 4 wires each. I left out the ground, but they are there on both ends (green). Your diagram matches what I have to work with.
Here is what I have. It looks like we need 4 wires (+ground) traveling between the smart dimmer (on the left) and the junction box close to the lamp (Romex_1). Your Romex_1 cable has only 3+1 wires.
Now, we can try to repurpose the ground wire in that Romex_1 cable and use it as a Neutral to feed the lamp … but that is certainly not to code. Though, if you look in your electrical panel in your basement/garage, ‘typically’ the ground and neutral are connected together. Most electricians would not do what I propose to avoid ‘floating neutrals’. If you’re brave (and won’t hold me liable) then you can try this:
Please make sure you understand the implications of the above circuit. For example, if you re-purpose the ground wire, then you no longer have ground at both the light fixture and the switch on the right.
If possible at all, I would prefer that you pull a 5-wire Romex (4 wire+ground) between the left box and the lamp junction box. That is really the ‘cleaner’ way of doing things. Also, please read the thread below. It explains a bit about mixing ground+neutral.