I have Leviton 1P160 dimmer switch that controls our dining room 3 pendent lighting fixture. When I dim the lights - they will be fine for awhile and then will surge (grow brighter) and then dim down again. Why won't they keep a consistent brightness?

Hi Leonard,

I'm a licensed electrician and will be happy to help you get this working again. I suspect an incorrectly wired or incompatible switch or a load that is not designed for dimming. To know which one(s) is the problem and to be able to provide a solution, I need a little more information.

1) What was the old switch brand and model number?
2) What is the new Leviton switch's model number?
3) What type of light bulbs are you trying to operate in the 3 fixtures?
4) What is the number of and wattage of each lamp in the fixtures?
5) How many switches operate the lights?
5a) If more than one switch is used, what is the brand and model number of the other switch(es)?

Thanks

Just tripping the breaker should no affect your dimmer unless maybe malfunctioning or wired incorrectly or loose connection. It is hard to wire incorrectly, for there should only be two wires attached to the dimmer? Replace dimmer and make sure wiring is correct if not sure about wiring yourself contact local electrician for your safety. There are very good instructions inside the switch packages, make sure to buy a quality switch, Leviton is a good name I would lean towards faulty switch or loose connection but I'm not there. Good Luck Karen....

Hello.
Had this problem my self a while back, here's what I found out. Firstly, it may simply be the switch is faulty. If this was a new install, take it back and try another. But before that, get all relevant information about the lights you are dimming. Here's why: Some light fixtures are incompatible with dimmers. They may dim - but not properly. Some lights/fixtures require specific dimmers to be used: incandescent or not, total wattage in fixture, and so on. Having this information may save you a trip if it's actually not the switch. Good luck.

Sounds like that dimmer you ruined
You must turn off power when replacing
And test the wires

The Leviton IP106 Illumatech dimmer switch must be installed at the switch location where the hot feed exists. From your description your hot feed is at the regular 3-way switch location. Swap locations.

You posted under Leviton rotary dimmer.
Lutron and Leviton have many 3-way dimmer styles, and both make 3-way rotary dimmers.

I remember years ago replacing 3-way switches with dimmers and having same experience as you. One dimmer has to be ON for the other dimmer to dim.

Later I learned when you replace both 3-way switches with dimmers, you buy a control-and-companion dimmer set. One dimmer is main, and it lets you dim from both locations. The two dimmers communicate with each other electronically. Buy these dimmers at lighting store that specializes in fixtures and dimmers. Ask for most experienced salesperson.

I checked to see if rotary dimmers are made in the companion set. And neither Leviton or Lutron show 3-way companion set rotary dimmers.

1) Leviton spec sheet on rotary 3-way dimmers does not show companion dimmer. This indicates that Leviton rotary dimmers don't have capability of communicating with each other.

2) Lutron has image of 3-way rotary dimmers.
Image shows single rotary dimmer in 3-way & 4-way circuit.
This tells me that Lutron does not have companion dimmer for 3-way rotary dimmer.

if your trying to dim a florescent fixture you need one for those fixtures

I recently purchased a Leviton Dimmer switch which has a brown lead. This switch is to replace 1 of 2, 3 way switches that control the ceiling light in my kitchen. My problem is the new dimmer switch has 4 leads including a brown one which has me confused. I have installed and replaced numerous dimmer switches without difficulty. Please help.

It could be a loose connection, and it could be a loose connection on the OTHER 3-way switch across the room. Also, verify that the dimmer is rated for the fixture(s): add together the wattage of each individual light bulb that the dimmer controls and make sure that the dimmer has a higher wattage rating. If it isn't, you might have burned up your dimmer (and risked an electrical fire). Hope this helps!

What sort of light is it , dimmer switches normally only work on Incandescent type lights not flourescent type.

Otherwise it sounds as if the dimmer function is faulty.