Time switch has 3 wires, box has 4. How do I wire?

13 years ago

Hi all,

I wanted to install a timer switch for my bathroom exhaust. I picked up one of these at Home Depot: Leviton Timer Switch 6161T.

The issue is that the old switch had 4 wires connected to it, while this one only has 3 wires coming out of it. (The old switch is just a plain old on/off switch.)

On the new switch, I successfully connected the hot and the load (both were black), and the ground wire (green wire to bare wire).

The remaining wire just runs from the original switch, to another on/off switch next to it, which controls the bathroom light.

What do I do with that wire on the new switch? There is nowhere to connect that on the new switch. I tried just taping it up and leaving it in the back, but when I reconnected everything, none of the lights in the bathroom worked. I was able to reconnect all 4 wires on the old switch and get it working again.

Any idea how to make this new switch work? What can I do about the extra wire?

Is it possible that extra wire is a neutral wire? Why would it just run from switch to switch? Note, I did also see white wires inside, from the line side, and the two load sides. They were all just connected to each other with screw connector, and not connected to either of the original switches. White wires are usually neutral right?

Note that the instructions for the new switch say "a neutral connection is not required for this device".

Appreciate any help!

-Kev

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Comments (8)

joed
13 years ago
The wire that runs from the one switch to the other switch is the power feed in wire. I don't know what the other wires are.
Your old switch had two terminals and the green ground. Connect all the wires from one terminal to the hot. Connect all the wires from the other terminal to the load connection. Connect the green/bare wire to the ground connection.
keviv
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks joed,

What does a 'power feed in wire' do? I tried googling that but only got results about how to feed wires through the wall...

I'm fine with the rest of the wires, already had them connected properly. But until this extra wire (power feed in wire) is taken care of, it seems like none of the lights/outlets in this bathroom will function.

Anyone have any ideas? As I said, the new switch doesn't have any place to connect this wire.

Thanks joe and thanks all!
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Sometimes electricians carry the 3-wire from one switch to the other via the light's box, to make a shorter run or just because it's convenient to route that way. If that's the case, then there should be a grand total of eight wires (excluding grounds) entering the light box: * 2 hots (one black, one some other color) and a neutral (white) from the first switch. * 2 hots (one black, one some other color) and a neutral (white) from the second switch. * A hot and a return (not a neutral) from the second switch. One of these should be black and one should be some other color. However, if the circuit is romex, one of them will probably be white; if so, it should be painted black or have black tape on it near the end. These would be the two wires connected to the light fixture. What it sounds like to me is that the light box is not really "between" the two switches in terms of how the circuit is routed, even though it may be physically in between. My guess is that the yellow is the switched hot, and the white and green are what you expect. I'm not sure what the always-hot black is doing there. Possibly at some time in the past, there was a ceiling fan installed there with a light, and the yellow was connected to the light lead of the fan so the light could be switched on and off with the wall switches. The black might have been connected to the motor lead, and the fan turned on and off via its own pull chain. That's kind of unorthodox, but in an older installation, it wouldn't surprise me.
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petey_racer
13 years ago
Pictures. We need pictures.

You probably have to pigtail the "power feed wires", or LINE wires, leaving one tail to connect to the switch. Just because the new switch does not have a dedicated spot for it does not mean it does not belong there.
joed
13 years ago
Sorry but if you don't know what a power feed wire does you need to call an electrician.
keviv
Original Author
13 years ago
Okay, not sure I'm following. Here are some pictures...
Click on them to enlarge!!

Picture 1: the outside view

Picture 2: the back view, with wires labeled

Picture 3: Inside view, to illustrate the white wires, not connected to the switches, but just capped off with the yellow cap.

Click on any picture to enlarge.

So, anyone have any idea what that mystery wire is, and what to do with it on the timer switch which only has a line, a load, and a ground coming out of it??

Thanks!
ontariojer
13 years ago
Ignoring the ground wires(since you know where they go) I can't be any clearer than this. You have two terminals(the part where you push the wire in next to the screw terminal is the same terminal, maybe that is your sticking point?) on the old switch. Let's call them line and load. The line terminal is the one with the 'mystery' wire. The load terminal is the other one. Take All the wires on the load side, marrette them to the load Side wire on your new device. Take the wire from the other terminal, marrette it to the other wire on the new device. Ta-da!
hendricus
13 years ago
Your line has to go to both switches, that's what the mystery wire does. It just continues the line from the first switch to the second.
hendricus
13 years ago
The white wires are not just capped off. You need a continual line from the panel to the fixture for the neutral. That is what the yellow cap is for, to join two lines to make them one.

Time switch has 3 wires, box has 4. How do I wire?

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Time switch has 3 wires, box has 4. How do I wire?

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