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Questions tagged [multiway-switch]

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Use this tag for any time lights, fans, or devices are controlled from more than one wall switch location.

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30 views

Fried switches, light fixtures, or wire?

In an attempt to fix a wiring problem from five years ago, I made a huge error. Here's the scenario: Box 1: Has switch #1 in a four-way set up (it's a 3-way switch) and is where the power comes in. ...
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1answer
46 views

These switches are making me crazy

I have a 3 way setup and one switch has white black and copper wire and the other one has the same but with a red wire. Can I use smart switches for these? Thanks! Joe
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2answers
46 views

How to add a light to an existing 3-way circuit

Trying to add a light to an existing 3 way circuit. I have access from one light switch to my first junction box. The rest is Asbestos walls so I can't touch. Drawing below. Much obliged.
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1answer
61 views

Eliminating a 3 way switch

In my living room is a ceiling light controlled by 3 switches within the living room. Two switches are 3-way and one switch is a 4-way. I would like to completely eliminate one of the 3-ways from the ...
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1answer
41 views

In a three way switch, why would the “open” traveler wire test at 17VAC [duplicate]

While I had my 3 way switches open, I used a DMM to figure out what was hot and cold while flipping the switches. While my traveler shorted with the line feed showed 120VAC as expected, at least one ...
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1answer
82 views

Convert Three-Way to Single Switch and Add Smart Switch

Would like some feedback/instruction on converting a three-way to single switch and then install a "smart" switch that requires LINE, LOAD & NEUTRAL. Current Configuration: ( Switch A ) has (2) ...
3
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1answer
49 views

How to wire a 3-way dimmer switch in box with three cables

I was thinking I would replace one of our dumb switches with an Eve smart switch. I opened it up to make sure it had a neutral wire, but it was wired so poorly that as I pulled on the old switch, ...
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0answers
39 views

Why was one of the light switches wired differently from other location?

Last night I installed a master dimmer and a companion dimmer in the dining room. Upon removing the wall plate to one of the two switches, I discovered that a black wire was attached to the black ...
3
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1answer
173 views

What do I do with these extra multiway wires in my light fixture?

I have been modifying some fluorescent light fixtures for led lamps. Ballast bypass lamps. Have done several so far and all good so far. I have a fixture that is a 4 lamp, 2 ballast. It is on a 3-...
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1answer
40 views

2 single switches; want to create three way switch

I'm trying to improve the quality of lighting in my house. I used to do electrical work, but only got so far into the field. So... I have a 2 single switches; one controlling a light and another ...
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2answers
95 views

Why three wires?

I have a carport light that takes two switches to operate. An inside switch essentially sends power to an outside switch. In other words, when the inside switch is in the "on" position, the outside ...
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0answers
34 views

Wiring a ceiling fan/light to two 3 way switches

Wiring a ceiling fan/light combo with TWO 3 way switches. The fan/light is pull string type. The First 3 way Switch box has ONE (line/power) 14-2 cable plus ground, and TWO 14-3 cables plus ground ...
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1answer
32 views

Well pump only works with on/off switch not control box

My well pump is setup with an on/off switch that works fine as well as a control box that should be turning it on when activated. Now it just makes a clicking sound and nothing happens. I am ...
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2answers
38 views

Convert 3 ways to 4 way Wiring

I am hoping someone can help me. I have a 3 way switch for lights on my stairs and a 3 way switch for lights in the hallway. The way they are currently wired is there is a 2 gang box at bottom of ...
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1answer
55 views

Adding another light switch to the bathroom

We are currently finishing out Master bedroom in the basement. It was left unfinished. The builders were supposed to add a light above the shower and didn't. I ran a 14-2 cable from the existing 2 ...
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3answers
43 views

Can you add a separate switch (different light) to a 4 way switch?

Can I add a circuit (new Light separate from existing) to a 4-way switch set up? I used what I thought was hot from a switch and the new light only works when certain switches are activated. The 4-...
6
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3answers
554 views

THHN through EMT - then convert to Romex?

I want to wire outlets and light in my unfinished attic. There is a light switch at the bottom of the stairs, cable (I think THHN?) that runs through EMT through the wall and comes out upstairs and ...
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1answer
81 views

How should I reconnect this switch?

I suppose it's a three-way. The red light it's the only hot wire. It was like that when I came to the house. But the wire on top of the red it's going to other room switch and light. The one next to ...
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2answers
114 views

Is there a code-compliant way to label a wire where the conductors are not wired in the expected way?

This might be an X/Y problem, so if there is a better solution, I'm all ears. I have a 3-gang electrical box in my basement that is already overcrowded. It has The wire for the three-way light in the ...
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1answer
77 views

Lutron Caseta smart dimmer with Pico remote in 4-way switch set up

I would like to install a lutron caseta smart dimmer switch in a four way switch line that has two 4-way switches and the obvious two three-way switches. I want to put the dimmer in place of one of ...
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3answers
42 views

Flickering CFL on 3-way switch

2 three way switches control two cfl fixtures (2x13W) in stairwell. 1 Switch and light at top and 1 of each at bottom. Power(black) into to Switch 1, then Red and Black to Switch 2, then black to ...
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2answers
61 views

3-way switch issue

I'm having an issue with a 3-way switch that I have not gotten around to fixing in many years. When I use switch A to turn on the light and then use switch B to try to turn it off, it flickers off and ...
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2answers
171 views

Wiring 3-way switch (power at light and switches meeting in junction box)

Always have trouble wrapping my head around 3-way switches. I have a good book that I usually turn to, but didn't see a diagram for this pattern when a junction box is in the middle. How can I wire ...
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3answers
101 views

3-way light switch mysteriously works, then stops working, then starts working again

I have a three-way light switch that is exhibiting really odd behavior. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. For example, just now the following happened. Lights are off. I go to switch A ...
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1answer
46 views

Hallway Smart Switch help

I’d like to change my hallway switches to Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmers but I’m not sure how to proceed. I’ll preface with I’ve done pretty basic electrical (swapping to GFCI outlets, changing junction ...
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3answers
2k views

Connecting a Leviton 3-Way Dimmer Switch to new 3-Way Circuit

I have wired a new 3-way circuit in a bunk-house exactly as shown in the following diagram, with wire types and colors matching those in the diagram 100%: I have a 2-pack of Leviton 6674 Dimmers, ...
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1answer
46 views

Adding lights to a 3-way switched circuit

I currently have a circuit that goes like this: Panel -> 3-Way switch -> 3-Way switch -> light I have the wiring run through 2 additional boxes between the switches and I'd like to add ...
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3answers
103 views

How do I fix this 3 way switch mess?

I just moved into my house and replacing switches and receptacles when I come across a 3 way circuit not working correctly. I pulled the 2 switches to find someone had replaced one with a single pole ...
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1answer
72 views

Replaced lights & switches on 3 way switch circuit; not sure if I have wiring problem or product problem or both

Project description: Replaced 2 ceiling light fixtures with 4 recessed LED lights on 3-way circuit. Also replaced (2) 3-way switches, one with dimmer and one standard, and (1) standard 2-way switch ...
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1answer
49 views

Light switch wiring rats nest

Fixing some switches and adding Wifi switches to a home I just bought. I pulled out some old style switches from this box and added 2 WiFi switches plus a 3 way paddle on the right. I believe a 3-...
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3answers
5k views

3-way switches no longer serving their purpose

I apologise if there is an answer to my question in one of the other multiple 3 way switch questions, but if there is I couldn't find it. I just bought an old house, built in 1967. I'm replacing the ...
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2answers
482 views

Light Fixture Stopped Working After Replacing Its Three-Way Switch

I have a halogen light fixture that is powered by a three-way switch at the top of the stairs and another three-way switch at the bottom of the stairs. After I replaced both switches with new 3-way ...
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0answers
65 views

replaced fan - stuff gets weird

I installed a new ceiling fan that has a remote switch box. Everything worked fine. I couldn’t tell what colors the wires were in the ceiling, but followed the wiring that was already there. Now, the ...
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1answer
489 views

Help with 2 Dimmer Switches and bad wiring

Two dimmers in one "box", each going to a separate room. One set of lights started to flicker, so I figured I needed to replace the switch. I've done dimmers before. But when I opened the box, whoever ...
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1answer
60 views

Three way switch with intermittent light functionality

I have a fluorescent light fixture in my kitchen that works intermittently. Or, rather, has been working intermittently, but now has stopped working. I suspected that one of the three way switches ...
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1answer
83 views

3-way switch and top only hot outlet troubleshooting

We're trying to fix some electrical issues done by our house's previous owners and while doing so, somehow we lost the ability to control the top half of our outlets using a light switch. Long story ...
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2answers
72 views

Wiring new light switch

I am trying to install a motion activated light switch in my basement of my condo in the United States. On the switch it states that it's max load is 500 watts which should be plenty since the switch ...
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1answer
86 views

Do I need a neutral on the other end of a three-way switch?

I'm looking at adding a three-way switch to a room. I'll probably drop the hot and neutral into Box #1, but 12/2/2 (hot, 2x travelers and a neutral) is fairly esoteric cable (nobody locally sells it ...
2
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1answer
359 views

Swapped out light switch and now WIRES have no power?

We’ve been swapping out all our outlets and switches in our house....with minimal problems until today. In our living room we have a dimmer switch on one wall that controls our overhead light. On ...
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0answers
89 views

Fixing the wiring with a three way and a single pole combination

I am having a little difficulty fixing the wiring in my house. I have a stairwell with a 3 way at the bottom and at the top is my upper bedroom. There, I have a combination switch with a single pole ...
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5answers
1k views

Are all switches in a 4-way circuit the same?

I have a four way switch in the house (I assume that is the correct term, 4 switches all controling the same light; flipping any one of them toggles the light; no other lights are affected). I am ...
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1answer
83 views

No neutral in metal switch box for three-way switches in an older 1930's home

This is a 1936 home in Virginia with BX wiring and metal switch and outlet boxes. We went to replace original three-way light switches located at the top and the bottom of the stairs controlling a ...
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2answers
54 views

Wiring ceiling fan/light properly on 2 different floors

I have a room with a cathedral ceiling and a mezzanine. On the ceiling I installed a ceiling fan with a light. I want to be able to control "three-way style" the fan and the light from the 2 floors (...
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2answers
62 views

Need help wiring a 3 way switch

So my wife and I moved into a new-to-us house with almond switches/outlets and we wanted to change them to white. Everything has been going swimmingly until my wife decided to do a 3-gang light switch ...
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2answers
498 views

wiring of occupancy switch in 3-way situation (odd-looking instructions)

I'm looking to replace one of the two switches (wired in a standard 3-way configuration) which control an overhead light in a utility room, with an occupancy sensor switch. The room is small enough ...
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0answers
41 views

Installing Levitron Digital Dimmer with Matching Remote

I have a Levitron Digital Dimmer (DDL06-1LZ) and matching remote (DD00R-DLZ). Dimmer is at bottom of the stairs and the remote at the top. Wire it all according to the diagram and dimmer doesn't ...
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1answer
65 views

Extending circuit from dead-end 3-way switch

I have a dead end 3-way switch in a 2-gang box. The switch is fed with a 14/4 cable using black as common, red and blue travellers, and white as a capped neutral per code. I would like to add a ...
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2answers
180 views

Wiring a 3 way Leviton VPT24-1PZ Vizia 24-Hour Programmable Light Switch

I'm trying to install a Leviton VPT24-1PZ Vizia 24-Hour Programmable light switch replacing an existing 3 way switch. the electrical box for this switch only has a black wire, white wire, red wire ...
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1answer
95 views

3-way chandelier switch strange behavior

I have a chandelier with 12x 100w incandescent bulbs and controlled by 2 3-way dimmers. I was going to replace the bulbs with LEDs, and I didn't think the dimmers were rated for LEDs, so I decided to ...
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2answers
65 views

Installing one way light switch

I accidentally bought a one-way switch for a receptacle that is wired for a three-way switch. I found that the only way it works so far is: Connect the two black wires from the wall to the black wire ...

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