| Author | Message | ||
     Johnk3 |
I can't get this light to work. 2 wire home run from switch A, 2 wire light into switch A, 3 wire between switch A and B. Black on home run is hot. hot and all blacks pigtailed in switch A and connected to common, all whites pigtailed and connected to traveler post, red connected to other traveler post. Switch B is the same as A; black is common, white to traveler and red to other traveller. When I flip the breaker it shorts out. No obvious ground faults on the pigtails and the switches. I think i have it wired up wrong. Anyone?  | ||
| Loki |
John, At switch A - tie the feed(Black)to the black wire going to the other switch. Then connect it to the common on switch B. At switch B connect the red and remarked white to the traveler terminals. Back at switch A connect the red and remarked white to the traveler terminals. Connect black to the light to the common terminal. Tie the white from the light to the white from the feed wire. In this case you will have two wire nuts with two wires each in them in box A. The rest will be attached to the switches. In short make sure power passes thru switch A's box and heads directly to Switch B. Switch B will then send power back via the travelers to switch A. Connecting the light to the switch A common will pass power to the light. The common from the light will pass thru the switch A box and go on its merry way. | ||
| Johnk3 |
I think I did what you said... the light comes on now but won't go out. This is what I have done now  | ||
| Loki |
almost there. do not tie all the blacks together. Tie the hot(in) to the black from the three conductor only. Just the two wires. Then connect the black from the light to the common terminal on the switch by itself. Try this.  | ||
| Johnk3 |
Loki, thanks for your help. I owe you. You didn't just fix my lights you saved my sanity! | ||
| Loki |
For the next exercise we will make a 4-way work. Just keeps me thinkin. Thinkin about going back to wiring houses for a living. Should have kept at it. | ||
| Johnk3 |
This was a four way, I removed some lights and a switch from the circuit. I'm splitting the lighting in my basement up. My friend chris was running cat5 and rg6 for some contractors/home owners in new construction. He was getting 1200 per house for 6 runs of each to 6 rooms. He was doing that in his spare time... nice part time job! | ||
| Johnk3 |
Loki, how would I add two more lights into switch b?  | ||
| Loki |
Not feasible. As you do not have a neutral or a switched hot. You will need to drag a wire from the current lite to the new add ons or out of switch box A. The lack of a neutral is the real stopper. in this. | ||
| Johnk3 |
what if switch b has a second single pole switch, can I use the neutral from that one? | ||
| Loki |
No way to use a three way on the added lights. Adding an extra single switch can yield a on/off at that box though. You would take the black and make two tails for the switches, retain the 3-way for the one light and give you an on/off for the added lights at box B. The neutral in the box needs something special though. It in some fashion has to get back to the panel. Secondly the hot side of that wire needs one of two things. Either attached to the ckt with the 3-way or on the oppisite phase so as not to overload the neutral wire. The result is no 3-way action for the added lights. I will ping ya with something else tomorrow afternoon. Something I will not opine on in the open. |
