Lutron Electrical Supplies - Page 7 - Popular Questions, Answers, Tips & Manuals

The two most usual reasons are:
- The minimum load requirement hasn't been met (should be at least 40-Watts of lighting load)
- The lamp-type isn't compabitable (the product is rated for incandescent / line-voltage halogen - not CFLs or LEDs).

Regardless, I would recommend calling Lutron's tech support at 1-800-523-9466. They're available 24/7 and can help you investigate further.

Thank you for including the Manufacturer, Model and Model number
Lutron makes a long list of products.

I found the product manual at Lutron: and am looking at the instructions
http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocumentLibrary/033100b.pdf

The Lutron device replaces an ordinary single pole switch.
It is not made to control compact florescent bulbs, just incandescent bulbs.
The switch has to have a ground wire.
Lutron tech assistance 1-800-523-9466 (included just in case I cannot find the trouble)
Troubleshooting in manual: They mention 'upper LED on wall control cycle rapidly.'
The solution is to check wiring, which we will review.
The fan and lights are supposed to be on high (this means your pull chain controls located on fan)

Let's review the wiring.
The switch wires connect to either brass screw.
The switch wires are usually black. Let's say they are black.
One of the black switch wires travels to fan in a cable.
This cable has 2 wires: a black and white.
This cable goes to fan.
The black wire carries power to the fan.
The power wire, or Hot wire from switch connects to the Module-black wire.
The Module-white wire connects to the Neutrals (which are white and usually twisted together and covered with a wire nut).
So all your Neutrals are joined together and covered with wire nut.
The Module-red wire connects to light-wire
The Module-yellow wire connects to fan-wire.

I'm looking at this wiring and it seems so straightforward, I can't find a problem.
According to the troubleshoot, the fan could NOT work properly if the wires were reversed at the Module.
The switch wires connect to either terminals, so there's no confusion there.

1) Unless you forgot the ground wire, or 2) you're using compact florescent bulbs, or 3) the light is not on high, I can't see where the problem is.
I suggest you call the Lutron tech support number.
They may suggest a circuit analyzer, for example a small voltage ground fault in the line might affect their device.
In any case, I want to know how this turns out because I specialize in electrical devices.
Add a comment and keep me updated.

If you could describe the previous lights/switches configuration and how it was changed, I think I can help solve your problem.

Charlie

There are no repair parts for in-wall electrical devices.
When they go dad you buy another.
Lowes and Home Depot carry inexpensive dimmers.
Look for 3 things:
1) Wattage: most off-the-shelf dimmers are 500-1000Watts. Add up total wattage.
2) If you are dimming incandescent bulbs, dimmer package will say tungsten or incandescent.
Package will say florescent if dimmer also works for florescent bulbs.
3) If dimmer is 3-way, with a dimmer on either end of a room, many times the dimmers are sold as a package of 2 dimmers with 1 dimmer that controls the other dimmer.

Lutron dimmers
http://www.lutron.com/Products/StandAloneControls/Dimmers-Switches/Pages/DimmersSwitches.aspx
Leviton dimmers
http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=15265&minisite=10025

I think you need a provide a little more information in order for there to be a possible solution. I'm particular confused by your use of the term "eventually" - these are analog dimmers, there are no "smarts" involved with this products, so I don't get how it would magically turn itself on to a higher brightness. Regardless, you will be able to get a much quicker answer by just calling Lutron directly. Their tech support number is 1-800-523-9466, they're available 24/7, and it won't cost you anything. They can help you diagnose whether its something related to installation or whether the product has simply hit the end of its life, and they can probably assist you with gettting a replacement as well.

Sometimes a hellacious lamp blow-out or lighting strike can knock out the dimming element in the device. Call their tech support line at 1-800-523-9466. You may want to suggest that they upgrade you to a 1000-Watt dimmer so that the issue doesn't happen again.

You posted under Lutron 3-way dimmer.

You didn't say the number of screw terminals on device or color of those screws.
If your device has two brass screws, then it is single pole.
If your device has 2 brass screws and 1 dark screw, then device is 3-way
If you are replacing 3-way switch, identify wire on dark screw >> connect this wire to dark screw on dimmer. Other two wires connect to either brass screw.

If device has wires instead of screws, the color of those wires is an important clue.
Answer back with the colors of those wire and it is easier to help.

Different dimmers are suitable for different types of lighting.
In an effort to help you, I searched my files for Lutron dimmers.
Lutron has 17 dimmer types, with numerous models under each type
They don't show DL-3PS
http://www.lutron.com/Products/StandAloneControls/Dimmers-Switches/Pages/DimmersSwitches.aspx

Lutron has NT-3PS
http://www.lutron.com/Products/StandAloneControls/Dimmers-Switches/NovaTDimmer/Pages/ModelNumbers.aspx

The NT-3PS is a 3-way dimmer.
Here is wiring manual:
http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocumentLibrary/wallbox_wiring_6_7.pdf

If the help above does not get you going, answer back with more information and we can help.

I would call their tech support line at 1-800-523-9466 (available 24/7). The fluttering is obviously not normal, but in an environment such as an MRI room, there are more troubleshooting steps involved than I think could be delivered in this type of textual back-&-forth environment.

Unfortunately, no. Its a neon bulb that gets soldered into the product, so its not something that can be tweaked or replaced. My suggestion would be to call their tech support number 1-800-523-9466, and see if you can get them to replace the whole dimmer.

I suggest contacting Lutron's tech support center at 1-800-523-9466. They're available 24/7 and can help you out.

Having said that, can I assume that the red, white and black are all coming from the same romex? If so, the trick to doing this properly is to understand how the 3-way switch at the other location is wired up. In other words, of the red, white, and black wires... only TWO of those wires are connected to the other 3-way switch (I'm assuming this is a 3-way circuit given that you bought a 3-way product). Once you've identified the color of those two wires, on the dimmer, attach each of those two wires to one of the red wires coming out of the dimmer. The remaining wire coming out of the wall (red, white, or black) should then connect to the black wire coming out of the dimmer.

Which product is this (the one pictured doesn't have an LED indicator on it)?

I would call their tech support number 1-800-523-9466 to diagnose (available 24/7).


I suggest this because I can think of a few possibilities (is it a dimmable load or a non-dim CFL - is it an LED load that might not meet the minimum load requirement)? And I think the answer will differ based on what product you're using - do you have a model number of what product it is?

There's more answers that are needed to diagnose, so I would call tech support.

The switch has gon bad on you. You need to replace the dimmer switch

If I understand correctly, you have the Lutron Pico wireless control
And you have the Lutron Maestro companion switch or companion dimmer
Pico will not work with ordinary wall switch or dimmer >> it has to be a companion product from Lutron


I have read the PICO wireless manual, and it shows no instructions for communicating with the companion wireless switch or companion wireless dimmer
http://www.lutron.com/Products/SingleRoomControls/MaestroWireless/Pages/Overview.aspx

http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocumentLibrary/369-144f_Pico_Wireless_Control_SpecSub%20%286%29.pdf

I have read the 120V Companion switch manual and it shows no instructions for communicating with the PICO wireless control
http://www.lutron.com/Service-Support/Technical/InstallationInstructions/Pages/InstallationInstructions.aspx?syst=Single+Room+Controls&prodn=Maestro+Wireless%C2%AE

http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocumentLibrary/030865c.pdf

1-800-523-9466 for technical support
Technical support online appears at page bottom

Normally manuals give you some clue as to how the product works.
The PICO manual says it's easy to control lights (I guess it's easy for mind-readers)
There seems to be no answer or hint when working with the PICO.
I think Lutron tech support is where you go from here.

Let us know what you discover

If each fixture has an individual transformer, the chace is that they are electronic (about the size of a matchbox car) If so, you have the wrong dimmer installed. You will need to install a MAELV (Electronic Low Voltage) Dimmer. The regular dimmers are set up for Magnetic Low Voltage and incandescent which work differently. http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocumentLibrary/362219.pdf

Here is a link to the difference in how they work. Also, if they are a Low Wattage light like an LED, the dimmer may not have enough resistance to bleed off the excess voltage. The MAW-600 has a minimum load of either 25 or 40 watts. If you are operating LED's you may also need a Low Wattage Interface to act as a simulated load that wires in series with your lights. (lut-lbx)

If it gets too anoying until you get the proper dimmer, you can switch the Air Gap switch at the bottom to the off position. This completely disconnects the power to the load side of the dimmer.

Good Luck

Call their tech support center and have them diagnose because that sounds insane. If there's something genuinely wrong with the product (which to be honest, I kind of doubt), they'll send you a replacement. They're at 1-800-523-9466 and available 24/7.

Off the top of my head, there are three possibilitiies:
1) check the lamp type that you're controlling. They're rated for incandescent, but if you're driving LEDs or CFLs, the inrush current you get from those lamp types may be enough to cause the device to fail. They make a version of the product specifically designed for those lamp types if that's the issue.
2) How warm does the thing get? Because these are devices that could get caught in a couch cushion, they're thermally protected. So if you're controlling too many lamps, or have it sitting on a heater, or trapped between two pillows, theyll shut themselves off (permanently, I think) to avoid a safety issue.
3) Is there any possibility that someone's simply been turning those lights off with another switch? In other words, when this product is installed, you should use the dimmer to turn the lights on and off, not a wall-switch and not the switch in the lamp. If one of those are turned off, the dimmer doesn't get any power to do anything. Just, before you declare it broken, take the dimmer, and find another lamp in the house that is wokring, and quick plug it in to see if it works.

As a general rule, grounding will not affect operation of dimmer.
Type of dimmer, type of switch being replaced, type of load, and how you connect wires will affect dimmer.

Here is Lutron dimmer switch page
http://www.lutron.com/Products/StandAloneControls/Dimmers-Switches/Pages/DimmersSwitches.aspx

What is the load? Are you wiring dimmer to a ballast? Or fan? Or incandescent lights? Or florescent lights?
Are you replacing a 2-way or 3-way switch?
What color are your dimmer wires?
How many wires were connected to switch?
Can you re-install the switch, and know where each wire went?
Did you replace a light with a fan, and then want the dimmer to slow the fan? Not every dimmer will work with a fan, or florescent lights.
Dimmers cannot dim LED lights.

If I know what type switch you are replacing, and the type of load you want to control, and the specific dimmer you have, I can answer the question.

The issue you describe is pretty open-ended. Rather than diagnose through e-mail, you'd be much better off calling their tech support service at 1-800-523-9466. They're available 24/7 and can ask the right questions to point you in the right direction.

The watt rating is absolutely critical to the operation of the device.
The high heat is a direct result of too much amperage flowing through the dimmer.

Reduce your wattage immediately or stop using the dimmer.
You have a fire hazard.

According to the math, you have 20 - 65 Watt bulbs
Change 12 of the bulbs to 40 watt and you will drop to the 1000W max.
12 x 40 = 480W
8 x 65 = 520W
Total = 1000

However I am worried about this circuit.
A typical 15 amp switch (not a dimmer, but the switch) is maxxed-out at 1440 Watts.
So if you had 20 100 watt bulbs for 2000 Watts, it would heat up the 15 amp switch
It seems very odd that an electrician would put 20 lights on one circuit without having a 20 amp switch and 12 gauge wire.
Look at the markings on the switch you replaced and look for amps or watts.
And then look at the color of the wire cable inside your box ... 12 gauge wire is yellow and the lighter-weight 14 gauge wire is white.
If you have a white wire going to all those lights, then you are going to burn down the house unless the total wattage is reduced.
Volts X Amps = Watts.

I think your circuit needs a review to make sure it has the correct wire.
http://waterheatertimer.org/Color-codewire2.html

This being said, Lutron makes 1800 Watt dimmers.
You can web search: 1800Watt single pole dimmer
If you have yellow-colored 12 gauge wire, it can carry up to 1920 Watts

If you want more help, add a comment and I will answer

Lutron Dimmer manuals
http://www.lutron.com/Service-Support/Technical/InstallationInstructions/Pages/InstallationInstructions.aspx?syst=Dimmers+%26+Switches&prodn=Maestro%C2%AE+dimmer+%26+switch

Lutron manuals show a couple things that might be affecting you lights.
1) Wattage: If you have wrong wattage dimmer
2) Type of light bulb: Dimmers work on different types of bulbs
3) Wiring: You say you got 3 wires going to the chandelier? Why you got 3 wires? Is this a 3 way switch? Are the chandelier bulbs wired separately so you can control groups of bulbs with different switches?
Does the dimmer have 3 screws? A dark-colored screw and 2 brass screws? If so, then that sounds like a 3-way dimmer. A 3-way, is where more than one switch controls the same light.

Does the dimmer have 2 screws? Then that dimmer controls a single circuit. Your black Hot wire from breaker box connects to one screw and the black wire to Load connects to other screw.
A quick glance at Lutron wiring manual shows that Hot and Load wires connect to either screw.
The question is your 3-wires from the chandelier ... does the black Hot wire from breaker arrive in the ceiling box first? Or does it arrive in the wall box first? If your Hot arrives in ceiling box, then the Hot must come down to the switch box and connect to a screw on the dimmer >>> a second wire connects to other screw on dimmer and travels up to the ceiling box where it connects to black wire on chandelier. The white wire on chandelier connects to white Neutral.
4) Dimmer might be bad

Yes. The dimmer can be installed at either location - I think the instructions only describe the one location just to attempt to keep it simple.

To connect it at the other location, use the instructions you have, except where it says to connect to the house-wire that has 120-volts on it (connected to the breaker), instead, connect it to the house-wire running to the light fixture.