Aligning light switches, Simple problem

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Higgledy

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I installed a Lutron Caseta Wireless fan controller into a 3-gang switch box. I thought I’d change the other two switches to the Leviton Decora rocket switches. Everything works fine, electrically. I’m having a boat load of trouble aligning all three switches with the wall plate. It’s difficult enough to align the horizontally, but then some switches don’t sit properly thru the wall plate leaving gaps.

does anyone have any tips how to align everything to look good? Seems a good solution would be a steel sub-plate to added needed rigidity, then attach the plastic plate on top

three-gang-switch.jpg
 
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Reach4

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Left and right should be easy. In and out can be handled with shims. So the alignment that you are mainly concerned with is the rotation about the vertical axis, right.

That is harder. It probably comes from the wires pressing on the left side, and rotating the switch.
 

Higgledy

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Left and right should be easy. In and out can be handled with shims. So the alignment that you are mainly concerned with is the rotation about the vertical axis, right.

That is harder. It probably comes from the wires pressing on the left side, and rotating the switch.


Thanks. That is exactly my problem. I’ve been adjusting how the wires are push back into the box. I am going to do it again and try to get as little pressure from the wires pushing against the switches.


Also, when I took the old switches apart, only one had a ground wire attached. I added the ground to the other two with pigtails. But was that code or a lazy electrician?
 

Reach4

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Also, when I took the old switches apart, only one had a ground wire attached. I added the ground to the other two with pigtails. But was that code or a lazy electrician?
Metal box, or plastic? If plastic, lazy.

A deeper box would have given the wires more space. A bigger box with a mud ring would have given even more room. That is hard to retrofit, and would have taken more work to begin with.
 

Jadnashua

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SOme of the Decora switches have more volume than the more conventional ones. Each box will be rated for a certain volume it can accept. That comprises the number of cables in the box and the devices. You might have exceeded the fill ratio of the box, making it harder to get everything looking nice.
 

Reach4

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If that is enough force, good. I think often more torque would be needed, and those ears are not strong.
 

LLigetfa

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Works for me but then I also pre-bend the wires before stuffing it all in the box. I am OCD about getting them aligned.
 
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