Infernal IDIOTS!

[unixronin]

I replaced a pair of "three-way" switches today.  (Why the US calls them three-way when they're two-way, I don't know.)  I wanted to replace a three-way dimmer at the top of the stairs with a regular three-way switch because the track light it controls now has all CFLs in it, which are non-dimmable and may be damaged by dimming them.  Since people walk past it going up and down the stairs, I wanted a flat decor-type switch that nobody would scrape their shoulder on, and it then made sense to replace the other of the pair (at the bottom of the stair) to match.

Now, the switches contain a handy little wiring diagram inside the package.  The wiring diagram has pretty accurate representations of the switches, with the terminals all to proper scale and in the right places, and even the ears on the ground tag are visible.  Makes it real straightforward, you just wire everything in accordance with the diagram, right?

...Wrong.  Because if you can squint hard enough to read the little tiny, grey, sideways fine print next to the diagram, you will discover that even though the switch as represented in the diagram looks exactly like the physical switch, the arrangement of the terminals on the diagram does not match the contacts on the switch.

In other words, if you carefully and conscientiously wire the circuit exactly as shown in the wiring diagram, YOU WILL WIRE IT WRONG.

I want to know whose stupid idea it was to make a precise, accurate-looking diagram that does not reflect reality.  To all practical purposes, the wiring diagram is booby-trapped.  Fortunately, me being a careful sort when it comes to electrical wiring, the only consequence was several minutes of "WTF?" until I noticed — and managed to read — the fine print.

Comments

[sammyd.livejournal.com]

I found that to be the case for the switches and electrical outlets I had to replace when doing our bathroom remodeling recently. The diagrams were backwards to reality.

My understanding is that there is supposedly mercury in CFL light bulbs. Although, the amount is small, there have been tests done on them and they do present a risk:

"Although initially dismissed as an overreaction, subsequent scientific studies by the Maine DEP [44] and also Brown University in 2008 have confirmed that - contrary to earlier belief - the amount of mercury released by a broken CFL bulb greatly exceeds EPA safety standards."
(Quoted from the Wiki page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp)

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Yes, this is true. But until LED lighting becomes cost-effective, I'm willing to tolerate the slight risk in exchange for the lower power consumption, the reduced waste heat, and the brighter, better quality light.

[robbat2.livejournal.com]

I'm actually really impressed with the dimmable CFL I found for my office:
Phillips Marathon 16W dimmable CFL reflector flood.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there are a few dimmable CFLs out there, but not a lot.

[robbat2.livejournal.com]

I had a lot of trouble finding one that would fit into my flood fittings. The base of most of them was too large, so they wouldn't actually make contact. Then these ones came onto the market recently, and I'm very impressed. My sole complaint is that their warmup time is the longest I've seen, nearing 30 seconds to full brightness, on a log-like curve.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've noticed that about CFL floods ... they seem to take a remarkably long time to warm up. The ones we have in our outside floodlights start out with a dull pinkish glow and take several minutes to produce usable illumination.

[n5red.livejournal.com]

Wait until the weather gets cold, it's really funny watching the bulbs as the warm up over the period of an hour of so. Or perhaps I'm just easily amused.

[plutosonium.livejournal.com]

When I replaced my three way switches in the hallway, also due to getting CFLs, it took me multiple tries to get it right. And the other switch was upstairs. Ow. (Plus I had to go to the basement to turn off the circuit every time I wanted to work on it, and then again every time I wanted to test it.)

It really dampened my enthusiasm for replacing switches.

[zeekar.livejournal.com]

I think it's called a three-way switch because there are three terminals.
There are also at least three different ways to wire a set of the things up...