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I have just finished replacing all light switches in the house with Lutron devices and had no problem as all the instructions were extremely simple and straightforward. However, I have now run into a Carro Smart Fan that came with 1 switch. The way my fan currently works is with two switches -- one for light, and the other for power (spins the fan).

How exactly do I accomplish this? Here is the Carro wireless switch instructions:

enter image description here

And here's what I have in my house:

enter image description here enter image description here enter image description here

In my picture, here's how it's currently set up:

  1. Left switch: Top black wire is always hot, lower black wire is only hot when switched on.
  2. Center switch: Top (red) is always hot, lower black is only hot when switched on.
  3. Right switch (ignore this -- one of my Lutron dimmer switches)

Some other points:

  • On both left and center switches, the top red wire and top black wire are running into the same spot above the wallbox.
  • On both left and center switches, the bottom black wires are running together in the same cap.

In my picture, the right switch controls the light. Its red cable makes sense when connecting to the Carro switch, but which of the two black wires on the 1st switch (to the left in my photo) would be considered the "Electric Fan" wire (based on the Carro diagram)?

LewlSauce
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  • Are you wedded to the Carro smart fan control for some odd reason, or is returning it and getting a different control an option? – ThreePhaseEel Sep 05 '22 at 17:11
  • On the left switch the upper black is the switched one. Would be the "Electric Fan" – Traveler Sep 05 '22 at 17:52
  • Yes @Ruskes. The left switch controls the fan (upper black wire is always hot, lower black is only hot when switched on). The center switch (of the three) is for the light -- upper is always hot, lower is only hot when switched on. – LewlSauce Sep 05 '22 at 18:14
  • @ThreePhaseEel honestly I wouldn't be opposed to getting another one, but only if I can't figure out this one. I hate that I need the switch in the wall for this to work properly. Seems very odd to me. – LewlSauce Sep 05 '22 at 18:15
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    Thank you. Take the Always hot and plug it in the most left (Live) on the Carro. Then plug the second black form that switch to the Fan. Take the the switched from the second switch and plug it in the light. Blank off unused wires – Traveler Sep 05 '22 at 18:23
  • Got it!!! Thanks @Ruskes this makes perfect sense and super clear for me. Much appreciated! – LewlSauce Sep 05 '22 at 18:27
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    Great, I make that a answer so you can reward me. – Traveler Sep 05 '22 at 18:29
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    Most definitely!! – LewlSauce Sep 05 '22 at 18:29
  • Gave you +1 for all the photos – Traveler Sep 05 '22 at 18:42
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    Is this item actually UL Listed? (CSA or ETL are acceptable alternatives; FCC or CE are not). I say that because you're posting the official instructions, which are supposed to be effectively written by UL, and have a particular look to them. That is not that look. Also, on "Center switch: Top (red) is always hot, lower black is only hot when switched on." are you absolutely sure about that? I think you have mixed up those two wires since it disagrees with the wiring plainly visible. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Sep 05 '22 at 19:04
  • Unrelated, but that point sprayed over the wiring is pretty sloppy. Make sure that those ground wires are actually bare under the screw terminals. There's also a fair bit of excess exposed wiring on some of the connections. I'd suggest tidying those up a bit. – Alexander Sep 06 '22 at 18:12

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Ignoring ground (bare wire on the light switch) wires, you have 2 wires to each old switch. 3 are black, 1 red. That should be:

  • One black from each switch connected together somewhere in this box.
  • One black going to the fan/light to control the fan, together with the red and a white neutral.
  • One red going to the fan/light to control the light, together with one black and a white neutral.

If you actually have one black going together with the red but the others go to two different cables then you have a big problem that needs to be resolved before proceeding with any replacement switch.

But if the wires are as I described, then with respect to the Carro switch:

  • White - Add to the existing white neutral bundle. If you don't have an existing neutral all-white bundle (minimum 2 = in from panel, out to fan/light) then stop because you have a problem.
  • Black - Find where the existing two "black together that go to the two switches" connect together. Remove the short wires (should be one to each switch) and connect the remaining wire (should be coming from a black/white calbe) and connect it to the new switch.
  • Red - connect to red.
  • Yellow - connect to the black switch wire that was not connected to a black from the other switch.
manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
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First you'll have to verify that the upper black wire on the left switch is connected to the black wire on the right switch which would mean it's the hot or line feed. Then the other black wire on the left switch would go to the yellow which is the fan wire from the switch. You'll have to remove the feed to the switch on the left from the wire nut connecting those black wires together.

JACK
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    On the left switch, the upper black is always hot, and the lower black is only hot when switched on. I updated the OP to show a closer image of the wallbox. – LewlSauce Sep 05 '22 at 18:16
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I wish you hadn't cropped the photo so tight; it would have been useful to see where the red wire goes.

The diagram they provided looks to be slightly incomplete in that the white neutral should also go into the cable to the fan. It is required to run the fan. I'll assume that was an omission on their part.

Look in the box for a cable that the red wire is coming out of. This cable should also have a white, green/bare wire and a black wire. This black wire should be the switched hot going to the fan; the orange wire in the diagram.

One proviso: did the switch with the red wire previously control the light? If not, then you need to exchange the red and black wires going to the fan.

DoxyLover
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    Thanks for the feedback. I updated the original post to show closer screens. The red switch is indeed for the light and always hot. The black wire on the bottom of the center switch is hot only when the light is turned on. – LewlSauce Sep 05 '22 at 18:18
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Take the Always hot and plug it in the most left (Live) on the Carro.

Then plug the second black from that switch to the Fan.

Take the the switched from the second switch and plug it in the light.

Blank off unused wires

Traveler
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