Need some help with switch installation(PDW-5ANS)

[jayShomp]

First off, I'm sure it's going to be obvious but I'm a novice with electrical work, but I've so far installed several Caseta dimmers and switches, including 3-ways and 4-ways(the extra boxes I twisted the wires together and added pico remotes), plus a fan control, without much issue until now. The one I'm having trouble with is a 3-way switch, but the wiring is a bit odd. One switch has what I'd expect for wires, 1 cable with a red, black, white neutral, and the other cable has the black common wire and white neutral(the 2 neutral wires are twisted together). The other one I haven't seen wired in my house this way until now, this box has only has one cable with a red, black, and white(is this neutral?). Note that all 3 wires were connected to the old flip switch, and the ground to the box itself.

So anyway, I connected the Caseta switch to the box that has 2 cables which includes the neutral. I connected the switch's black wire to the common, the red wire to both the black and red, the white to the neutral, and of course the green to the ground(capped the blue wire). I get power to the Caseta switch. On the other box, which has only the one cable with a black/red/white/ground, I want to add a Pico. I first tried twisting all 3 red/black/white wires together, then tried twisting just the red/black and capping the white. In both cases, when I hit the On button on the Caseta switch, the light comes on for half a second then shuts off. So I'm guessing the issue is with that other box that only has the 1 cable, but I'm not sure what needs to be done there. If you think it would help you help me, I do have a multimeter and can test that white wire to see if it actually is a neutral or not.

I hardly ever use this light, but I did notice today after re-installing the old switches, is that it doesn't behave like a true 3-way. I can only turn on the light at the switch where it was last turned off. In other words if the light is on, and I turn it off at Switch A, then Switch B can't turn it on, and vice versa. None of my other 3 and 4 ways were like that, which all had obvious neutrals at every box.

[Brandon W.]

Hello jayShomp and welcome to the forums!

This is known as a deadend 3-way. The first box should actually have both the line and the load ran into the box via a 14/2 (black and white) and the 14/3 (black, red and white) is traveling over to the other location. This means that there will not be a neutral in the other wall box.

Please ensure that the PD-5ANS is connecting to the proper neutral bundle in the back of the box. This should be the white wires coming out of the two 14/2 (black and white) romex. Also, you are welcome to keep the standard switch in the other location. Please take a look at this unofficial wiring diagram for your references:

[jayShomp]

Thank you I'll try that. I'm still not quite clear what I'd need to do in order to use a pico remote in place of the old switch. It would be the only box on that floor with a flip switch rather than the Caseta, and my OCD can't have that :)

[Brandon W.]

Hello jayShomp,

To use the Pico remote, please bundle all three (white, black, and red) wires together in the box at the other location. At the PD-5ANS please connect the black wire to the black 14/2 wire (black and white). Cap off the blue wire and connect the red wire to the red and black 14/3 (black, red, and white) wires from the box. The white neutral wire coming off the switch must connect to the bundle of white wires in the back of the box (they should both be coming from a 14/2 sheathing).

If this configuration is still misbehaving, please give us a call at 1(888)588-7661. We have a great service where you can use the camera your smartphone to show us the available wires inside the wallbox.