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

[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.