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Thread: Help with caseta SWITCH ( Not dimmer)

  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
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    3

    Help with caseta SWITCH ( Not dimmer)

    My outdoor photocell motion sensing flood light is a security light but it's over my patio too. As happy as we are that it turns on when we pull in the driveway, we're equally annoyed that we can't shut it off when we just want to sit out at night. Plus, it brings mosquitoes.

    So I wanted to add a switch and I have a few other Caseta products. Since the junction box for this feed is at ceiling height in a closet, this installation was ripe for phone/remote access.

    When I opened the J box, I was (not really surprised) to find K&T. Good news: only about 8 inches in length, only going out to the light. No problem.

    Light was easily 20 years old, so I replaced it. New light is a:

    Good Earth Lighting 240-Degree 3317-Lumen Dual Detection Zone White Integrated LED Motion-Activated Flood Light with Timer. -- from Lowes.

    I hooked up the light to a new feed of 14-2 where the K&T was. No problems, works as advertised.

    So I then hooked up the Caseta switch. No dice. Light wouldn't fire. However, my pen tester indicates power down the throat of the light to the daylight/motion sensor. Nothing will light it up though. Not the "test" feature, not walking in front of the sensor.

    I went back in to the JBox and unhooked the switch's hot feeds, and I left the ground & neutrals intact. I hooked the hots all up, and the light fired up, no problem again.

    Rehooked switch black wire to the black hots from the panel, and red to the light's hot (my new romex.) Again, power to the sensors is intact. However, the light still won't fire. Furthermore, the little green led on the switch is ON when I hit the top button, and off when I hit the bottom. Similar results arrive from the app. Switch apparently works fine.

    What gives? Any way I can make this switch compatible with this light? Again, this is NOT a dimmer. Simple caseta switch. This should be a no-brainer..... right?

    Thank you for anything.

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Posts
    2,587
    Here's a couple of things I would try...

    Make sure you have the neutral connected to the switch. Not all white wires are neutrals. Especially in a house that had K&T.

    The switch needs to "see" the load. You have a motion sensor and/or a photocell between the switch and the bulb. You can try a LUT-MLC and see if that gives enough minimum load for the dimmer.
    Convergence Technologies Raleigh, North Carolina
    www.convergenceusa.com

  3. #3
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
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    3
    Wow, you're quick! I had gone straight to bed. Thank you very much for your reply, Randy. The neutral from the Panel & going to another light appear to be 'true neutrals', and (theoretically) all the K&T was mitigated when we bought the house. (Yes, I still find it all over the place, of course.) I'll try the capacitor. I did know that these dimmer-light combos can be funky, but I was unaware of the same issue with switches. That was part of the reason that i went with the switch here. I appreciate your time and assistance.

  4. #4
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
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    quick addition, in case it helps anyone else down the line. Subsequent to this exchange, I found that the green switch led may blink if low power is detected-- mine is NOT doing that. It's steady bright green when on, and steady dim green when off. I'll report back in about a week or so on the capacitor add.

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