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Motion sensor at 4-way switch

9981 Views 27 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  markore, 
martianlawnmower
Hi all,
I was asked to install a motion sensor light switch in a short hallway which already had 3 mechanical switches. The center switch would have been an ideal spot for it, but a 4-way switch was there. I had no neutral for the switch, and no way to run another wire back to the panel. However, there was a j-box for another panel near my 4-way. I am wondering if it is legal to give the motion sensor hots from the 4-way, and tie into another panels neutral.
Thanks,
Alex
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martianlawnmower
Re: 4-way and motion sensor

Thanks. I assumed it was no legal so I left it for now. But it will have to be done at some point. How about MC to the nearest box I can find from that panel? It's a military base and we never have adequate tools for the job.
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martianlawnmower
I thought that was a brand new rule, that every circuit requires its own neutral...I can't add three lights to another circuit with three lights?
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martianlawnmower
Well, golly, thanks for the snap assessment. I'd love to do the job right but the people above me make the decisions and they have opted to not have conduit or benders available. Also, I don't work there regularly. It's not my base not my shop. And yes, I'm new to the trade
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martianlawnmower
This is a not a "shangri-la" base and I don't have access to those departments. I have also heard rumor that the reason my unit works on it is because the building contains the armory and they don't want civilian contractors working in there...

I would also like to ask, because no one in my chain knows...if the army did not purchase the wrong type of switch, because they look almost identical

http://www.wattstopper.com/products/sensors/ceiling-or-wall-mount-sensors/ci-355.aspx#.UtlwUWQo7fY

vs.

http://www.wattstopper.com/products/sensors/ceiling-or-wall-mount-sensors/dt-355.aspx#.Utlwn2Qo7fY

The CI-355 has instructions for hooking two up in parallel. What does that mean for a switch? The DT-355 has instructions for three-way installation...but the schematics for each switch look identical...are they not the same thing but with a different switching mechanism?
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martianlawnmower
The "clients" have requested three-way motion sensor installation in hallways. The existing three-ways are all mechanical...I did swap out one end successfully and had a motion sensor on only one side of the hallway. Without the possbility of running conduit, though, I am not sure if I can put another motion sensor at the other end.

We talked about throwing boatloads of MC up in the drop ceiling instead, but as a junior member of the team, my opinion is not listened to much.
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martianlawnmower
s1? Yes, I wanted to tie the traveler into the neutral (gold-colored) but I wasn't sure if that was legal
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martianlawnmower
I'm a reservist on a base that is not related to my unit. The army uses us as free labor. I've worked one commercial job, and my test for the IBEW is in two weeks.
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martianlawnmower
Thank you for the prompt responses. During reserve duty, we rarely get a chance to practice, and our tech-schools cover all aspects of electrical work in very broad, quick strokes. During deployment the knowledge boosts pretty quickly, though. The IBEW seems to have a nicer training facility than the Navy.
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martianlawnmower
That would do it...thanks. I'll see if I can get superiors to buy them...
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