3 way switches

Call a qualified electrician and have him fix the problem for you.

Either wiring or switch(es). Its more likely that a switch has one bad position. Or a bad connection at one switch. It might be the wiring, particularly of you've drilled a hole or driven a nail into the wall lately. Try the switches first. They're easier to replace.

Find a 'How to wire for dummies' book and make sure you understand how three way switches work before doing it yourself (with the breaker off, of course).

Least likely. If the outlet were bad, flipping the switches wouldn't turn anything on or off.

Sounds like whoever wired it used normal switches, not 3 way switches. If _either_ switch is off, the outlet is off, but only if both switches are on is the outlet on. Correct?

To correct this would require not only replacing both switches with

3 way switches but running wiring between them. If you have to ask, you really should call an electrician.

I suppose another possibility is they are 3 way switches, just miswired.

Did it ever work? If so then it is one of the switches.

You will have a hot connection on one switch, and two travelers to the other switch. The other switch has the switch leg to the fixture(s) and the two travelers. One terminal is usually dark(hot/switch leg) and the other two are bright brass (travelers). I have not gotten into all the combinations that can happen. I hope this helps.

"Eric and Megan Swope" wrote on Saturday (20/12/2003) :

The wiring will be like this:-

o----------------o -------------o--__ __--o--------- o----------------o live in Sw 1 Sw 2 switch wire to light.

Great ascii art!!!

Just remember "switch wire to light" might be folded back to the box where "live in" resides and you won't be bringing the neutral along so the white wire is hot.

I think you have it here SQ....if it worked before..than the switch is the problem...the wiring..well that's pretty simple. An extra wire....though sometimes the simple can become complicated..... :) ..Ross

correct...but not neccesarily the only way. it could be:

live in |---------o----------------o\ o\--------------------\o \o----------------o-------------|switched live to light. Sw 1 Sw 2

or even the infamous glasgow 2-wire.......the guts of which i will not include as it is highly dangerous......

Danny

Yes, it is theoretically possible to do it that way, but it is not done that way. Here's why: (count the wires)

c c Black-------0 0------Black---------0 0-----Light-----+ \ / | 0-------Red----------0 | Switch 1 Switch 2 | | White---------WN-------White-------WN----------------+

The above uses 3 wires between the junction boxes "hosting" the switches. (c is the common terminal on each switch)

VERSUS

Black----------WN-+ | | o +---Black------o\ o\--------White--------\o \o-------Red-------o--------light--+ Sw 1 Sw 2 | | White--------WN-----White--------WN----White-----+

The above uses 4 wires between the junction boxes "hosting" the switches. It also requires an extra wire nut (WN) & jumper in the Sw 1 box. You can't put 2 wires under one screw on the switch (illegal), so you have to connect three blacks in a wire nut, and run the added third wire to the switch.

The proper method is the first one - the second method would take more time to install, and use more wire and an extra wire nut and jumper. Electricians don't do that.

Here is the way you wire a 3-way switch. keep in mind that the white wire running between the swithes is not a nuetral. It is a hot wire when energized. the reason we use a white here is, Romex cable has 3 wires (black, red, white) and we need three hot wires to make the circuit thus, we use the white for a hot.

B| |w l| |h a| |i Hot c| Nuetral |t k| |e | | | | 0|----| | | s | | | w | | | 1 | | -----0|----|0--- | | |W | R| |h | e| |i | d| |t | |----0|----|0--|e | | s | 0---| | w | | 0 | | 2 | | 0 | |----|0----------0---| Black

1) IF you have two conductor cable (red/black/white) the only time you need to use white as "hot" is when you have a "switch loop" whereby you send the "hot" to a distant 3 way switch on a WHITE wire and bring it back on black or red depending upon the position of the 3-way switch. The intent is to eliminate the need of connecting a fixture (lamp) to two white wires. 2) in the original problem, it looks from here like the two switches are in series. This will happen in someone doesn't properly identify the common leg on the 3-way switch. (I ALWAYS use the multimeter to ensure I know what 3 way switches are doing.) Also, when there is a problem is 3-way/4-way switches and you are new to the scene, DISCONNECT the switches and start over. Don't ASSume anything about the connections. (Been there, done that!) Just do simple tests to chek out the wires, other simple tests to check out the switches, make a diagram, and then re-connect.