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I have 3 switches that control the same light. One of them broke, so I replaced it. I can't get the light to work now. I got what looked like the same kind of switch from the store. It's a 15amp/120 Volt 4 way switch. All wiring diagrams I've looked at talk about a black wire. This only has 2 reds and 2 whites. Here's what it looks like:

Picture of outlet box

I've tried lots of combinations with the red and white wires. What's not right here? Do I need a three way switch instead?

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  • So you going to provide a PN/datasheet for the switch? Is the picture provided the old switch or the one you bought? I assume you hooked the new switch up the same as the old one?
    – I. Wolfe
    Feb 19, 2015 at 19:29
  • You may need at least one four way switch... see here.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
    – George Herold
    Feb 19, 2015 at 19:33
  • I changed that that "12V" to "120V"; please change it back if I was wrong.
    – Niall C.
    Feb 19, 2015 at 20:41
  • Where's the second ground? pig tailed?
    – Mazura
    Feb 19, 2015 at 21:30

1 Answer 1

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1st, the white wires should be completely covered with black tape. Try putting both same colors at the top and at the bottom, if you have verified all these wires are the travelers from 2, 3-way switches.

enter image description here

In this diagram the light is off. Toggling any of the switches will turn it on.

hometoys.com

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  • I should have taken a picture of the switch that I removed so I can match up the wiring connections. Are you suggesting putting both red wires at the top and both white wires at the bottom?
    – Matt Kaye
    Feb 19, 2015 at 23:05
  • @MattKaye That's how I'd of done it.
    – Mazura
    Feb 19, 2015 at 23:06
  • Note that the middle switch is a "4 way" switch. The other two are "3 way" switches. It is okay to use a 4 way as a 3 way–one terminal will not be used in that case.
    – wallyk
    Feb 20, 2015 at 0:24
  • @mazura, that didn't work. Maybe this other pic will help imgur.com/VpTAn4q
    – Matt Kaye
    Feb 21, 2015 at 14:01

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