Why Is My Lutron Dimmer Blinking? – Working Solutions

Wondering – why is my Lutron dimmer blinking? The primary reason is due overwhelmed circuit or an improper installation of the switch.

In this guide, we’ll unwrap everything from top to bottom and provide you with many working solutions!

The reason why the Lutron dimmer is blinking in green is that the switch is in calibration mode and soon the blinking will stop.

In case the dimmer is blinking in red, the reason is typically in the AC (insufficiency & fluctuations) or no compatibility between both units.

Let’s unwrap the Lutron dimmer switch LED indications first!

Lutron Dimmer Switch – LED Indications!

The Lutron dimmer switch has an indicator LED that typically alerts users of various things by changing the color and starting to blink.

To identify the exact reason why the Lutron dimmer is blinking, you would need to understand the different dimmer switch LED indications.

• Blinking Red Color – The load size of the switch is too low/minimal.
• Blinking Green Color – The Lutron switch is in “calibration mode”.
• No Light & No Color – There is no electricity or the switch is not wired.

Hence, if your Lutron dimmer switch is blinking in green you simply need to wait for a few moments to check whether the process would end.

In case the switch is blinking in greed indefinitely, or in a red color, proceed with learning how to wire the Lutron dimmer correctly!

How To Wire Lutron Dimmer Switch? (Correctly)

As we’ve mentioned the primary reason for a blinking Lutron dimmer switch is an issue with the AC circuit, mainly due to overloading.

The reason could be your Lutron dimmer switch, and more specifically because it’s not wired correctly. 

Here are the correct steps for wiring a Lutron dimmer switch to a wall outlet:

1. Turn off the power from the AC (main) circuit breaker.
2. Check if the power is gone by flipping the switch.
3. Unscrew the wall plate and remove the old switch.
4. Info: The green or copper wire is the ground wire.
5. Info: The other two are a hot wire and a neutral wire.
6. Use a Phasomer to identify the hot and neutral wires.
7. Connect the green Lutron dimmer wire to the ground.
8. Connect the Lutron hot wire with the hot wire in the box.
9. Connect the dimmer neutral wire with the neutral in the wall.

Important – 3rd Wire?

In case there is a 3rd (common) wire which can be found in a three-way switch, connect to the black (dark-colored) screw.

It’s important to mark this wire during the installation in order to connect the common wire to the Lutron dimmer switch.

How To Fix When Lutron Light Switch Blinking?

Tip: Follow all steps in consecutive order to achieve the solution as soon as possible!

1. Check for Bulb Compatibility!

One of the most important factors is to check whether your bulb is dimmable and whether it’s compatible with your Lutron dimmer switch.

The blinking could be an indication of a bad bulb, hence not compatible or not dimmable.

• Is My Bulb Compatible with Lutron?

Here’s a list of dimmable bulb brands that are proven to work with Lutron dimmer switch:

1. Philips (Hue, AmbientLED, and WarmGlow).
2. Sylvania (Sylvania True-Aim and Ultra LED).
3. Feit Electric (Performance LED and IntelliBulb).
4. Cree (Cree standard LED bulbs and Cree TW).
5. GE (GE Relax and GE Reveal)

Note: Not ALL bulbs from those brands are dimmable and compatible with Lutron!

• How to Check for Bulb Compatibility?

In case you didn’t know about all these compatibility requirements and now you know why the switch is blinking, the next step would be purchasing a bulb.

Well, don’t rush forward since it’s important to first know how to check whether a bulb purchased or not, is compatible with Lutron.

• Simply use the Lutron Compatibility Tool

Then simply click on “An LED for my dimmer” and insert your Lutron dimmer model number which can be found on the box.

Finally, click on “Get my results” to discover many supported bulb brands so you can purchase with peace of mind.

Note: Contacting Lutron Support would also help you in selecting a dimmable bulb!

2. Check the WiFi & Lutron App!

Note: Skip this step if you don’t use the mobile Lutron app!

The users wondering why is my Lutron dimmer blinking, having their Lutron switch hooked up to the mobile app via WiFi, should know that the LED indicator blinks during the setup.

Thus, if you have not finished the WiFi setup, the Lutron switch would remain blinking indefinitely.

Another reason why the Lutron dimmer switch would be blinking is if it was previously hooked up to the Lutron app, and the WiFi is currency down.

The rapid blinking in green means that the device is attempting to connect but to no avail.

3. Switch OFF & ON the AC Circuit

Sometimes when a fuse tripped, after a power outage or a power surge, your appliances, including the Lutron switch might not be functional.

This is why you need to ensure that all fuses are flipped ON and additionally, switch OFF & ON the main circuit breaker.

Note: Also, check whether other dimmable or non-dimmable switches in your home, work!

4. Unload the (Fuse) AC Circuit

One of the most frequent reasons why the Lutron dimmer starts to blink in red is when the main circuit is overloaded.

This happens when too many high-consuming devices such as fridges, ovens, microwaves, hot water heaters, and ovens are working at the same time.

This sometimes trips the fuse and all appliances go off or other times simply causes fluctuations and insufficiency in the electrical voltage. This typically makes the Lutron dimmer switch blink.

• The solution is to turn off as many devices (on this fuse) as possible!

In addition, flip off other lights in the same room as well as turn off all electrical devices near the switch to unload the fuse even further.

This might also eliminate any wireless interference so it’s definitely worth taking your time, before proceeding further.

5. Unscrew and Screw the Bulb!

When there is no bulb in the light’s fixture connected to the Lutron dimmer switch, the device would start blinking green and then turn in red.

The reason is simply that the calibration phase could not pass, hence, the culprit might be the bulb or the way that is installed.

There are three general aspects to ensure:

• Test whether the bulb is working in other light fixtures!
• Test whether the fixture is working with another bulb.
• Ensure that you’re screwing the bulb tightly into the socket.

There is nothing extra to do and if the Lutron dimmer switch is still blinking, perhaps the reason is much deeper than we’ve expected.

At this point, we strongly recommend scrolling up and checking the steps to correctly wire the Lutron switch, before proceeding further.

6. Factory Reset the Lutron Dimmer

In case you’ve followed all of the previous steps and still wondering why is my Lutron dimmer switch blinking, perhaps the reason is related to the operating system of the device.

The best way to deal with problems of this nature is to perform a factory restoration.

Follow the steps below to factory reset the Lutron dimmer switch:

1. Tap the “ON” button on the top 3 x times quickly.
2. On the 3rd press, hold the “ON” button continuously.
3. Wait until the connected lights start to slowly dim.
4. Then tap the “ON” button 3 more times quickly!

Info: During the reset process the connection to the switch lights, will pulsate and alternate between dimming brightly and dull.

Lutron Dimmer Switch Making Lights Blink?

In case your Lutron dimmer switch is making the connected lights blink, you need to manually adjust the brightness.

The reason why some bulbs are blinking on low dim settings is due to their voltage consumption and whether it’s enough or not.

Also, some older (dimmable) bulbs might be worn out, leading to a flicker when the dimming settings are high, hence they need more current to operate.

This is another factor to consider when purchasing a bulb for your Lutron dimmer switch.

Note: Some bulbs would stop flickering only when the Lutron brightness is high enough.

Quick Recap:

Here we’ve learned why is my Lutron dimmer blinking and many working ways to help us solve the issue in a matter of minutes.

Some of them involve, unscrewing and screwing the bulb, and others to checking for compatibility or simply factory resetting the Lutron!

Read Next: Lutron App Not Working? – Complete Fix Guide