Switch Operation is Reversed

[chuckc3]

I just purchased and installed a LUTRON TGCL-153PH-WH Toggler Dimmer Switch for LED, Incandescent and halogen bulbs, White. The switch and dimmer work fine but the operation of the switch is reversed. With the switch mounted in the upright position:

- Moving the switch lever to the up position turns the lights off
- Moving the switch lever to the down position turns the lights on

The operation of the dimmer is correct - in that position, moving the dimmer slider up brightens the lights, down dims the lights

The operation of the switch is reversed from what it should be. How do I correct this problem? If I mount the switch upside-down, the switch will work properly but then the dimmer slider will be reversed.

Thanks,

[Jai H.]

Hello chuckc3, This is a very simple fix. What you need to do is take the wire that is attached to the brass screw above the copper screw, and move it to the brass screw on the opposite side of the copper screw.

[Allen]

Hello chuckc3, This is a very simple fix. What you need to do is take the wire that is attached to the brass screw above the copper screw, and move it to the brass screw on the opposite side of the copper screw.

I have a single pole switch and I'm replacing an older Lutron dimmer (that caused flickering with my LEDs) with a newer TGCL-153PH-WH.

In the electrical box are a ground wire and two black wires. I wasn't sure what to do with the green wire on the new Lutron unit, so I attached it and the ground wire from the electrical box to the ground on the Lutron unit. I plugged in the black wires in the holes where they were on the old unit. The light worked and dimmed great but--as with this person--the switch worked in reverse (up for off/down for on.) So, I cut the power and switched places for the two black wires. Is that what you meant? Swap places for the two black wires?

The problem is that when I turned on the power again, the light was on. Then, when I turned the switch OFF, the Lutron unit made a loud POP! and then it would not work at all. I cut the power and put the old unit back and that works.

[Jai H.]

I have a single pole switch and I'm replacing an older Lutron dimmer (that caused flickering with my LEDs) with a newer TGCL-153PH-WH.

In the electrical box are a ground wire and two black wires. I wasn't sure what to do with the green wire on the new Lutron unit, so I attached it and the ground wire from the electrical box to the ground on the Lutron unit. I plugged in the black wires in the holes where they were on the old unit. The light worked and dimmed great but--as with this person--the switch worked in reverse (up for off/down for on.) So, I cut the power and switched places for the two black wires. Is that what you meant? Swap places for the two black wires?

The problem is that when I turned on the power again, the light was on. Then, when I turned the switch OFF, the Lutron unit made a loud POP! and then it would not work at all. I cut the power and put the old unit back and that works.

Hello Allen, you are correct with putting the green wire on the dimmer with the bare copper wire in your wallbox. Swapping the black wires would not have solved the problem, but it shouldn't have damaged the dimmer either. What you should have done was left the wire that was plugged in near the copper screw where it was, and moved the wire that was plugged in near the brass screw and plug it in near the other brass screw on the opposite side.

[Allen]

Hello Allen, you are correct with putting the green wire on the dimmer with the bare copper wire in your wallbox. Swapping the black wires would not have solved the problem, but it shouldn't have damaged the dimmer either. What you should have done was left the wire that was plugged in near the copper screw where it was, and moved the wire that was plugged in near the brass screw and plug it in near the other brass screw on the opposite side.

My mistake was that I put the wires in the same 'locations' as was on the old Lutron dimmer that I was replacing--in the same pattern. Therefore, I wired the house ground from the box to the post where GROUND was on the old switch (on the new one, this is the side where there is just one screw) and put the two black wires on the other two screws (where they were on the old switch.) Not knowing where the green wire should go, I wired it to what I incorrectly assumed was the ground. This worked but the switch was upside down. When I tried swapping the black wires around: POP! :-) It fried something inside the new Lutron.

I bought a new one, wired it according to the directions rather than trying to wire it in the same 'pattern' as the old one. Works fine.

Let this be a lesson to me! ;-)

[Jai H.]

My mistake was that I put the wires in the same 'locations' as was on the old Lutron dimmer that I was replacing--in the same pattern. Therefore, I wired the house ground from the box to the post where GROUND was on the old switch (on the new one, this is the side where there is just one screw) and put the two black wires on the other two screws (where they were on the old switch.) Not knowing where the green wire should go, I wired it to what I incorrectly assumed was the ground. This worked but the switch was upside down. When I tried swapping the black wires around: POP! :-) It fried something inside the new Lutron.

I bought a new one, wired it according to the directions rather than trying to wire it in the same 'pattern' as the old one. Works fine.

Let this be a lesson to me! ;-)

Great! We are glad that you got the new one to work.

[ssclifford]

Hello chuckc3, This is a very simple fix. What you need to do is take the wire that is attached to the brass screw above the copper screw, and move it to the brass screw on the opposite side of the copper screw.

I have the same problem. I have tried every conceivable wire combination and the switch either doesn't work at all, or only works in the "backward" or "reversed" (off is on and on is off) position. I have 1 bare copper ground, 1 white wire, 1 red wire, and 1 black wire. completely stumped.

[benrub]

I'm having the same issue. I have a switch which was previously used in a 3-way application. I'm trying to install it as a single-pole switch in a different location.I've tried every possible configuration with the wires. Either the switch doesn't work, or down is on and up is off, with the dimmer slider working normally. (The switch is not upside down).Has anyone solved this?

[benrub]

Update: well I thought I had tried every possible wiring configuration but I guess I was wrong. The instructions in this video worked for me:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d24HtN6GZw

[DAbernathy]

Hello chuckc3, This is a very simple fix. What you need to do is take the wire that is attached to the brass screw above the copper screw, and move it to the brass screw on the opposite side of the copper screw.

I am quite an ameture but can usually do small electrical jobs myself by following how something was orginally wired. However, the person that installed my TGCL-153PH had it working as chuckc3's switch was. I guess they didn't pay attention to the up arrow on the switch so installed it upside down. So the dimmer was on the wrong side. Thank you for this forum and solution. I was able to fix it myself without calling in an electrician.