I'm looking for a replacement knob for my dimmer switch. They seem to get hot and crack across the top and bottom. We bought our house new 4 years ago and they all look this way. I've checked out several web sites and i'm unable to find them.

Cookrobert- you have to determine wich wire is the common wire in the box (house). Look in the box and see wich two wires ore in the same sleave. (These will be your travelers, (more than likely a black and a red) the wire that is in its own sleave (black)with a white tied to other whites is the common. Now the dimmer will tell you wich wire is commom. Tie the tow commons together. The green wire is ground if your house does not have ground , cap it and forget the green, if your house does have a ground (bare copper wire) then connect the green to the bare wires is the house box. Now your to travelers on the house side will tie to the two travelers on the dimmer side. Once you have found the traveller's on the house side and dimmer travelers they can be flip flopped. It dosnt matter. Just as long as they are the traveller's it will work. It sounds complicated but I'm sure you got this. I'm a 30 year electrician. (master).. I'll be looking for your update my friend. Good luck

This switch has developed a high internal resistance, an electrical fault. The 50% dim symptom is consistent with that. Replace it ASAP.

Probably the switch has 4 wires because it cuts off power to both hot lines in the 230Volt line to outlet.
Disconnect wires from switch and test for 230 Volt across blue and white from main breaker box. Tape tester leads to wood sticks for safety. Stand on dry boards and never on wet surface or bare ground when working with live electricity.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-wire-240-volt-outlets.html

If you need further help, I’m available over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/gene_9f0ef4df2f9897e7

seems like you have wiring for a three way switch you need a three way switch to make it work , the way i do it is the black and white are hot red is a traveler wirewhite will be onb top the others on bottom there should be a screw on top two screws on the bottom see if the white is tag with a peice of black tape on it to tell you the wire is hot, good luck

I wouldn't spend a lot of time trying to hunt it down yourself. Call the tech support number at 1-800-523-9466. First of all, they're there 24/7. If its the wrong size knob then it sounds like you just need some help matching up model numbers. If you can find the model number on the dimmer itself, that will help - but call them up and they'll probably just send you the parts you need.

First off, if your dimmer is getting hot, then there is something wrong. This is dangerous. Do not leave that dimmer in the wall. Remove it.

1) A typical wall switch controls up to 1400 Watts. Look at the watt rating of your dimmer. A 600 watt dimmer will control up to 600 watts. If you have 600 watts on your dimmer, expect a shortened lifespan for that device. If you have more than 600 Watts, expect overheating and possible fire.

2) Lutron makes 1000 Watt dimmers
http://www.lutron.com/Service-Support/Technical/InstallationInstructions/Pages/InstallationInstructions.aspx?syst=Dimmers+%26+Switches&prodn=Maestro%C2%AE+dimmer+%26+switch

3) Type of bulb: Review the specs shown on link above because they show wattage, and they also show which light the dimmer is made to control

4) If your lights are on a 3-way switch, then dimmer has 3 screws and connects to 3 wires. If your wiring is incorrect, it might give symptoms shown above.
If your switch had 2 wires and you put those wires on a dimmer with 3 screws, it might be wired incorrectly.
Check wiring. Re-post a question if your are confused about details.

5) There might be a short in the circuit ... or in the dimmer ... replace dimmer with another one from Home Depot and see if symptoms persist. Disconnect ground wire as a test only and see if symptoms disappear ... if so then there is a short somewhere in the circuit
Don't burn the house down.

1. what year model is accord?
2. there are several doors in the air box
3. blend door (hot cold)
4. mode door (defrost, floor, vent)
5. recirculation door (outside air)
6. if the control mechanism is defective. the tech may have reached under the dash and manually opened the blend door.
7. which control knob does not work mode or temp?

It could be a loose connection, and it could be a loose connection on the OTHER 3-way switch across the room. Also, verify that the dimmer is rated for the fixture(s): add together the wattage of each individual light bulb that the dimmer controls and make sure that the dimmer has a higher wattage rating. If it isn't, you might have burned up your dimmer (and risked an electrical fire). Hope this helps!

You should attach the green grounding wire to the metal box using a green grounding screw. You don't want to leave the wire loose, as any contact with the switch screws could cause a short.

Also, you should wrap the switch with at least 2-3 complete wraps of electrical tape to prevent the screws from contacting the sides of the wall box.

As a side note, you should likely have a complete check done on your house if you still have knob and tube wiring installed, as the dangers associated with this very old wiring are many. Typically, older K&T wiring was used in homes well over 60 years ago and houses then only had minimal electric current drawing devices, such as lights and a couple of other small appliance devices (toasters, coffee pot, TV and radio, etc.)

The problem with older homes with K&T wiring still in use, is that the circuits can be easily overloaded with modern electric convinences and lead to a possible fire situation, especially since there is no dedicated ground to help mitigate short circuits, etc. Also, the rubber based insulation used on this type of wiring deteriorates after 40 years (+/-) and rodents tend to chew on exposed wires in attics and crawl spaces.

I don't wish to alarm anyone, but as a Licensed Master Electrician, I've seen and done my share of repair work involving Knob & Tube wiring and even had a couple of homes that had a mix of it and other, newer wiring, that I've completely rewired. Many states require K&N wiring be replaced before a home can be sold, so getting a jump on it will make your home safer and better suited to operate all the devices that people tend to have, in today's society.

Hope you find this Very Helpful and best regards!

Both wires should be black because the switch interrupts or breaks the connection to the light. It doesn't matter which black wire goes where. Just be sure the power is OFF and then undo the dimmer switch (usually has wire nuts connecting the black leads) and then connect the wires to the new toggle switch.

Turn on the power and feel good about your work!