You gave me everything I needed to know by saying "My two travelers should be my gold screws". Mystery solved for me and the simple data point I needed to understand 3-way switches. I ran in the house and easily solved my issue by ensuring the gold screws were connected to the two wires in the same sheathing. Thanks!
That has to be the best trouble shooting explanation of 3 way switch on the internet. Your teaching ability is superior. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
My dad taught us basic electrical growing up. I always knew it was called a 3-way switch, I knew that's what they did but I never knew WHY it was called a 3-way switch. I always thought it should be called a 4-way switch. You Sir, made it make sense. The guy working on our house recently wired the hallway light leading upstairs and you have to keep the one at the top of the steps flipped to the up/on position in order to use the one at the bottom of the steps that is in the kitchen, to turn the light on. We had always had these switches in that stairwell but after our house fire (of course an electrical fire but not because of this particular switch LOL) the electrician at the time never even put a hall light back in at the top of the steps. So.....with that being said, I now know how to investigate the issue. If he has the wires correct, as you showed, then I'll have to come back and watch a follow up video from you. hahahaha We'll try this trick first because the way you explained it, I followed intently and realized that the problem is in fact the one at the bottom of the stairs in the kitchen and is not the one at the top of the steps that is having the issue. You even made that easy to understand. Easy peezy. BTW....you forgot to act surprised when the light came on at the end. LOL
Funnily enough, when I asked my wiring instructor for lessons in troubleshooting, this is what he came up with! It would be awesome if you could do more videos on troubleshooting, as that is not something that has been a priority in my residential wiring classes. I'm especially interested in how basic stuff, and in how we'd go about finding and repairing problems in old houses, but anything would help.
as soon as you demonstrated the problematic behavior at the start of the video, I knew that this was exactly the video I was looking for!! I goofed a 2-way switch that sits in a 3 gang box when I was trying to install a dimmer switch and with so many wires in the box I've been trying to understand which wires I goofed up. FINALLY after months, this video helped me restore normal functionality to our 2-way kitchen lights. THANK YOU!!
I was replacing a lot of mercury switches in a 1955-built house. Not all had silver/gold screws , so 3-way was trial and error. The 4-ways were worse... Thanks for the channel! It helps!
Swapping out old 3-ways in a 1964 house I just bought. Was so confused why they weren't working properly after the swap Watched this video & when you said to look at the sheathing to see which one had 1 wire coming out & which one had 2. Thats all I did & now it's fixed good as new! You're the man thanks so much
You are a God send! I didn't even realize I had switched my hot wire and traveler wire around. I had two black wires and one white one and no clue how to figure out what went where. Your very detailed explanation helped me tremendously 😊Now everything works. Thank you so much.
I wanted to thank you for the great video I had the same problem and now I was able to fix it. So what helped me was when you say the two wires that are coming from the same wiring (the black and red) Ned to go on the silver screws. Not on the black one at all on both 3 way switches. Excellent
I was going CRAZY! And didn’t understand anything you said until you explained both travelers are coming out of the same spot…. NOW MY 3way works! Thank you so much
Dude, the upgraded version of that Milwaukee drill is my most used drill in residential. It's around the same size maybe even more compact (yet looks beefier) but an awesome feature the newer model has is it has 2 speeds, and both a drill mode and screwdriver (clutch) mode. I throw a 6.0 12V battery on that sucker and it'll last all week, but most importantly it has the capability of drilling light holes, in wood, stucco. Really saves the day if ever you're in a pinch or you don't want to have to climb down the attic or back down the ladder and to the truck for a drill driver gun. I Def recommend. Thanks for the videos
My favorite 3 way problem was mixing it with a fan and light leg from another 3 wire. It's so easy to confuse especially when cutting in the switch box if not labeled well. I started putting each switch leg and traveler in its own position in the box to help prevent mixups. Maybe you could demonstrate a more advanced problem say in a 4 gang box with multiple 3 ways switch legs and a fan leg combination.
I’m a new apprentice with just a little over 800 hours of experience and I wish I could mess around with switches like this. I feel like playing around with switches like this could be a huge learning experience for me. Great video
Just today I was in the middle of swapping all of the switches in my house when I lost track of the wire positions on a 3-way. Initially I panicked but this video helped me resolve it in quick order. Thanks Dustin!
Thank you so much for all the information. I have been struggling with a 3-way switch in my basement…now I was finally able to fix it! Thank you, I really appreciate the helpful videos!
Thanks Man! I had this exact problem and thanks to this video I learned how to fix it. The important part that allowed me to see what went wrong was where you identified that the 2 travelers needed to be in the same sheath. Great instruction!
Omg!! THANK YOU! You made me totally understand how ibwired it incorrectly. Especially since the 3way was installed 20 years ago and the new one was configured differently.
~ I can see why your content qualifies for continuing Education .... I learn alot from it ~ that I didn’t quite get from my AA Building inspector degree instruction
Thank you for the Video!! Someone put a red traveler on the hot lug. The other end was wired to a dimming switch. When I took the switches out the hot wire was 12 gauge and the travelers were 14 gauge. I replaced both switchs as you instructed on another video and it works great!!
Love this! My first job as an independent, was to troubleshoot and fix ALL of the 3-way switches that had been mis-wired in a 6,500 sqft house in University Park. It was a great learning experience for me and established my regimen for wiring 3-ways. During rough in, I'd give the two travelers a couple of twists together to identify them and leave the common (hot or switch leg) alone. Now I've seen some electricians then coil the common around the travelers and I can see how this would be helpful in multi gang boxes with several travelers (and even multiple commons, a mix of hot(s) and switch legs). For temporary lighting, I might cap the common with a traveler (usually the black) and just install one temporary switch (single pole or 3-way) at the other side. At final trim, I would attach the lonely black to the common, the red traveler to the gold screw on the side of the common and the remaining black to the solo side gold screw. Rinse and repeat on the other end and I've never had a problem. When troubleshooting customer installations, this is the first thing I, reconfigure the wires as I've described. I've never seen a 3-way switch 'fail' however I have found several single poles that have physically stopped working. They normally feel 'squishy' or 'loose' when operated. Only once have I had a 4-way fail on me. The worst experience was my first 4-way installation when the boxed 4-way switch had been replaced with a single pole by some devious customer that wanted to save 10 bucks and rip off the big box store. I lost three hours finding out I had the wrong switch then having to make another run to the store. Now I physically inspect boxed switches before I buy them.
@@sickbassdrop Yes, they do (well, 4 posts and a ground). Two incoming (line) travelers and two outgoing (load) travelers. No common (hot or switch leg) connection. In a switched network (like a long hallway with multiple bedrooms), it goes something like [Line Hot] - [3-way] - [4-way]- ... - [3-way] - [Load switch leg]
@@sickbassdrop Ah. It was in the box. You can't see the terminals in the box. I did not check as this was the first 4-way switch I had ever purchased on my own. I do now, much to the employees in the aisles bitching at me opening the packages to ensure the right product is in them.
@@blueskies4715 I think Kopfjager is trying to understand why it took you three hours to figure out why your circuit wouldn’t work. Your story makes it sound like you installed the single pole, and spent 3 hours figuring out that it wasn’t a 3 way? Do they look so similar in appearance that you wouldn’t know right away that a single pole is not a 3 way? Or did it just take you 3 hours to make the round trip to the store again after opening the box?
Thanks Dustin I love these new types of videos can you please make more demonstration videos like this where you show us the wiring. It really puts things into practice and reinforces the understanding.
That was awsome. That also helps homeowners to not do any mistakes for just starting to learn from professional electricians as yourself. Thanks for your advices and teaching videos.
Hey bro I really need to say thanks I changed all my light switches in my house. The kitchen light didn't work for 3 day you video cleared it up immediately. Again thx.
We had a newbie/cub change a broken 4-way switch in a light circuit for six doors in an existing commercial building. The cub messed it up, then removed two more 4 ways. Finally reached out for help. Wired in conduit with black THWN wire no wire labels were used. Traced the travelers and corrected the spaghetti mess. Always fun fixing something someone else did. Easy fix lol
This is a great video. I am replacing a non-working switch on a three way with a Lutron 3 way dimmer switch for a very high front hall chandelier. This is the second attempt with the 2nd switch I purchased, and once installed, the light fixture glints on for a milisecond, then turns of immediately and never goes back on. Would love your opinion. Thanks!
I love your content and I asked someone a question and have no answer yet, here it goes, if an old house doesn’t have an earth ground, how do you install one and where do you attach a ground on your house wiring?
Muchas gracias for the very informative electrical 3way connection video. I corrected what I presume was an electrician's hot and travelling wires mixed up
Great tip. thanks. btw.. I’m not sure who designed this thing but my wires are not color coded very smart.. a red and a black are bundled together and a white and a black also bundled together... hard to see all the way in the back of the box (where the wires are split into individual ones) to see which ones are bundled together. Also my 3 way switches (LEVITON) have two red plugs for travelers and 1 black for com.. I originally assumed maybe the red/black wire colors were switched so I connected both black wires to travelers and the red wire to com (i did not check for hot wire first .. and maybe i should have). Needless to say it did not work (had the same issue as you are showing in the video). Your helpful tip helped me solve the mystery.. once I looked deep in the back at the box to see which wires were bundled together the fix was immediate. thanks.
I had a 4 way not working on all 3. I also had in my head one worked another light added to the mix. I had all the switches out. I thought I had a bad switch but checked for continuity and it was working. After an hour I fixed it by accident. One of the switches was halfway pressed and that made the other two not work. I was glad I didn't fire the parts cannon and also surprised I was dealing with a 4 way not a 3 way. Sometimes when you don't use a switch for a while you forget which light it worked.
Very true! I recently came across a situation where somebody used a 3-way switch instead of a 4-way switch. How you may ask? They attached the extra wire under the common terminal. 😅
One of my biggest pet peeves is the or of sync switches. When switches are down, lights should be off. Instead of putting the common and black traveler on one side, and the red alone, on the power side I put the common and black traveler on the one side, and on the switch side I put my common and red traveler. A 4way switch changed it up, but with just two 3way switches, it works great.
So, house built in 1943 with a 3-way for the stair well. Replaced the upstairs switch and now it functions like your's did in it's problem state. When I replaced the upstairs switch, I moved the wires 1-for-1, so I'm thinking the internal of the switch was different in 1943. If I go flip flopping conductors around, there is no danger of shorting anything, correct? It's actually been like this since 2001 now, but we live this light in all the time. I have ignored it because I don't like disturbing the old wires. (MC wire)
Dustin thanks for this one. I have battled with this situation a number of times. Usually solve by multiple trial and error. Never thought about checking for the sheathing that they are coming from. Duh on my part for that.
If you assume that no one knows anything, it would be nice to see you test from the power source forward. With a explanation of each step. IDEA, a wifi 3 way on one side and wifi on both sides,with an explanation. Thanks, great job as always.
Language is different but science is the same. We use the term strappers for travellers, switch live for switch leg and common for common. I generally wire using what we say 3 core and earth ( ground) which consists of a grey(gray) , black and brown in 1.5mm (16AWG). All are Live so the black and grey are over sleeved with brown sleeving as brown means live(hot). Personally the old colours were more appropriate Red (danger) live Black Neutral. Anyway great explanation that you have presented.
After going back and forth between different options, that's the exact same screw gun I ended up using. It perfectly fits the bill for what I need it to do.
The most important thing with a 3 way setup is you want to make sure you have your power, on the hot side, connected to the common of the switch. Then your travelers run over to the next switch. On the next switch make sure those two same travelers are on the traveler terminals, and the hot wire from the device it is wired to is on the black screw on that side. If all of that is in place, then check to make sure your power is coming in properly on the hot side with a tester. If that's all good, then check from any breaks in line between the two switches, or maybe your power source is being switched from elsewhere in which case I would make sure your pigtail to the switch is tied to a bundle that is always hot. Just some steps you can take to hopefully move further along the troubleshoot process and hope that helps.
Option 1: wire travelers identically on both switches. Light is ON when switch positions match (both up, or both down). Option 2: reverse traveler colors on one switch. Light is ON when switch positions mismatch (one up, one down).
I wonder what a “Chicago” 3-way is? 😅. I’m troubleshooting multiple 3-ways in single gangs with power coming from different breakers. They did not work since I moved in. I have not used a multimeter in many years. I am determined to get it done. I also found in this house built in CA in 1962, a single gang with 3 switches, one 3-way and 2 regular switches. Why????? Much of it doesn’t work but I’m determined to get the tape off all the switches to be able to use lighting. Your video is great for standard switches. Thanks for making it entertaining. 😊
Thank you so much ! You helped me immensely. Understanding the traveler wires was awesome. Yes, I did have them wired just like you did for tutorial. Oops! Lol! Now they work awesome.🎉❤
Question. I’m doing a 3 way switch setup where power comes to the first switch (12/2), meets cable for wires (12/2) and cable for the 2nd switch w/ traveler wire (12/3). At the 2nd switch the traveler wire (12/3) meets the wire at the end of the circuit (12/2) to connect at the switch. Does power need to start at the switch without the wires for lights or does it matter? Connections at both switches will be done via pigtails.
Thanks for the common comment, the pos 3 way switch I was provided has no blacks screws and no instructions in the box, just two brass screws and a chrome screw. I got it fixed now.
For the 3-way switches in my house, I'll flip the switch or reverse the travelers so that when both toggles or paddles are down, the load is off. It drives me nuts to look down a hallway with 4 or 5 switches on it and see one toggle up when the load is off.
Of course. It's OK for one switch to be up when the load is on. But if you leave both switches up when the load is off, well, that's as bad as loading toilet paper so it's "under" instead of "over" :)
I remember the first 3-way circuit I installed in my garage many years ago. It was simply two switches and a simple porcelain light socket that I just bought. BTW - It was in the height of summer and it was close to 100 degrees in the garage. I finished the wiring, double checked my work, turned on the breaker, flipped the switches and the light didn’t go on. After running back and forth many times between the panel in the basement and the garage (and sweating like a pig), I tested all the connections and everything seemed fine. I even checked that the light bulb was ok. Finally, it turned out that the brand new porcelain fixture was defective!!🤨 Put in another new fixture and the light went on. Lesson learned.
Jim, I can absolutely identify with you. Years ago I worked for a company installing and maintaining paint booths for body shops. The boss sent me to one that would not come on at all. Just so you know there is a lot of wiring on a paint booth. I started by checking the breaker and working my way through with my multimeter for 4 hours. Everything tested right. I started at the beginning several times. Finally I gave up and called the boss. After telling him the story, his first question was "did you check for any loose wires." Well, no. Everything tested okay. So I start flicking the wires and lo and behold, the incoming wire to the main switch slings out. Turns out, whoever hooked it up stripped the wire too thin and it had burned in two. So, it was pushed up against the contact enough to test good, but not strong enough to supply enough to start the motors. You can bet your butt, now when I open a panel that is my first check, any loose wires.
I have one light with three switches. Two 3-way and a 4-way. The 4-way had to be on for either of the other switches to operate the light. If the light is on, I can turn it off with the four-way. Of course, none of the wires are labeled. I figure I'm probably going to need to get a long piece of wire with clips on each end to do a continuity check to determine which end belongs to which other end. (Power off of course) Maybe then I can sort out where the problem is with the wiring at the switches. Hoping for some tips in this video. 😂
I won’t go into all the details but this video helped me figure out how to install x2 3-way switches on my staircase and also keep the lights and outlets on in another room 😂😅
Also, The replacement 3 way switch looks different than the original. There is a green grounding wire coming from the back. Whereas the original has a loop that you put under the screw.
8:59 I know it’s obvious to people who know but the same applies to boxes with pipe or MC cable. 2 hots and a neutral will define which wires are travelers mostly. Always good content on your channel Dustin!
Dustin, Thanks for a great channel. I have a question about multiple 3 way switches in the same J-Box. So, when you enter my Tiny House and on the left is a wall switch, with 4 different 3 way switches. Each 3-way switch controls a different operation. One does ceiling lights, the other does Front porch lights, the third 3-way controls the deck lights and the Fourth 3 way switch controls an outlet at ceiling level for a rope light (LED). I know I can run 14/2 from the panel to the J-box and get power to the switches. Here is where I'm a bit unsure! I need to run 14/3 to the other J-Box that has Four 3 way switches that operates the same as the front door J-box. Do I have to run 4 different 14/3 runs? is there a way to combine those runs onto just one run? and if so how might that work? Thanks for your help!
Im not a electrician but i can muddle my way though it. 3ways have always confused me, so what do you do? Look at a diagram off the net on how to wire a 3way switch. Following the picture i was having a similar problem to what you where explaining, over & over looking at it & confirming its exactly like the picture, well almost. Depending on manufacturer the Black screw may be at the top or bottom of the switch so following a picture & running your wires so the same location may cause you 2hrs of frustration & ruin half your day. Thank your for clearing up the Black screw mystery. LOL
You legally can, but you must run 14/3. Pretty much pointless now except in unusual situations. For example if I have power coming in one end of a hallway, a light and a receptacle in the middle, and the switch is located on the other end with no other devices it's probably going to be more cost effective in material and labor to run power from the receptacle, to the light, then run a 14/3 from the light to the switch. The convention is to use the red as the switch leg, black as your feed, and place a wirenut or wago connector on the neutral and shove it in the back of the box. As of 2011 with a few exceptions, a neutral must be available at a switch box. Sometimes certain types of electronic switches require a neutral to function. The old method of running power to a light fixture and running a 14/2 from the fixture to a switch, is no longer acceptable.
@@Sparky-ww5re Yeah, I ran into that and it "threw me for a loop" when I was replacing a dimmer. Power was running to the light first. My old 12ga has a white sheath too along with the 14ga. I have a jbox that was putting black and white together so it made it difficult to figure out they were using white it for a hot. I've gone through an replaced nuts with Wago221s to help troubleshoot and map out the circuits. I'm also replacing all the backstabbed stuff as I go along. 80's wiring was a mess. I dont even know if they were trying to save money since this place is piped (horribly) in copper too that I'm replacing with PEX a stick at a time.
Another weird thing is that I have a 200A box outside that has a lot of breaker room, with only like 6 breakers. They put the HWH, Oven and 2 HVAC units in it. One is a 90A for a panel inside the house that runs all of the house room circuits and another is a 100A they sent to to the garage that had an apartment at one time. Its a weird setup, but I like that its flexible since I was considering installing an Electric Tankless.
Very good! People tend to pretend that they know the basics. Sometimes you need to put your arm around the shoulders and explain it even though they insist that they know it. Pride can be tiring.
Can you confuse everyone now with a four-way switch video? 😆 They're very common in larger homes now, especially rooms with three entrances and 3 story stair wells.
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You gave me everything I needed to know by saying "My two travelers should be my gold screws". Mystery solved for me and the simple data point I needed to understand 3-way switches. I ran in the house and easily solved my issue by ensuring the gold screws were connected to the two wires in the same sheathing. Thanks!
That has to be the best trouble shooting explanation of 3 way switch on the internet. Your teaching ability is superior. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
My dad taught us basic electrical growing up. I always knew it was called a 3-way switch, I knew that's what they did but I never knew WHY it was called a 3-way switch. I always thought it should be called a 4-way switch. You Sir, made it make sense. The guy working on our house recently wired the hallway light leading upstairs and you have to keep the one at the top of the steps flipped to the up/on position in order to use the one at the bottom of the steps that is in the kitchen, to turn the light on. We had always had these switches in that stairwell but after our house fire (of course an electrical fire but not because of this particular switch LOL) the electrician at the time never even put a hall light back in at the top of the steps. So.....with that being said, I now know how to investigate the issue. If he has the wires correct, as you showed, then I'll have to come back and watch a follow up video from you. hahahaha
We'll try this trick first because the way you explained it, I followed intently and realized that the problem is in fact the one at the bottom of the stairs in the kitchen and is not the one at the top of the steps that is having the issue. You even made that easy to understand. Easy peezy. BTW....you forgot to act surprised when the light came on at the end. LOL
Funnily enough, when I asked my wiring instructor for lessons in troubleshooting, this is what he came up with! It would be awesome if you could do more videos on troubleshooting, as that is not something that has been a priority in my residential wiring classes. I'm especially interested in how basic stuff, and in how we'd go about finding and repairing problems in old houses, but anything would help.
as soon as you demonstrated the problematic behavior at the start of the video, I knew that this was exactly the video I was looking for!! I goofed a 2-way switch that sits in a 3 gang box when I was trying to install a dimmer switch and with so many wires in the box I've been trying to understand which wires I goofed up. FINALLY after months, this video helped me restore normal functionality to our 2-way kitchen lights. THANK YOU!!
I was replacing a lot of mercury switches in a 1955-built house. Not all had silver/gold screws , so 3-way was trial and error. The 4-ways were worse...
Thanks for the channel! It helps!
Swapping out old 3-ways in a 1964 house I just bought. Was so confused why they weren't working properly after the swap
Watched this video & when you said to look at the sheathing to see which one had 1 wire coming out & which one had 2. Thats all I did & now it's fixed good as new!
You're the man thanks so much
You are a God send! I didn't even realize I had switched my hot wire and traveler wire around. I had two black wires and one white one and no clue how to figure out what went where.
Your very detailed explanation helped me tremendously 😊Now everything works. Thank you so much.
I wanted to thank you for the great video I had the same problem and now I was able to fix it. So what helped me was when you say the two wires that are coming from the same wiring (the black and red) Ned to go on the silver screws. Not on the black one at all on both 3 way switches. Excellent
I was going CRAZY! And didn’t understand anything you said until you explained both travelers are coming out of the same spot…. NOW MY 3way works! Thank you so much
Dude, the upgraded version of that Milwaukee drill is my most used drill in residential. It's around the same size maybe even more compact (yet looks beefier) but an awesome feature the newer model has is it has 2 speeds, and both a drill mode and screwdriver (clutch) mode. I throw a 6.0 12V battery on that sucker and it'll last all week, but most importantly it has the capability of drilling light holes, in wood, stucco. Really saves the day if ever you're in a pinch or you don't want to have to climb down the attic or back down the ladder and to the truck for a drill driver gun. I Def recommend. Thanks for the videos
My favorite 3 way problem was mixing it with a fan and light leg from another 3 wire. It's so easy to confuse especially when cutting in the switch box if not labeled well. I started putting each switch leg and traveler in its own position in the box to help prevent mixups.
Maybe you could demonstrate a more advanced problem say in a 4 gang box with multiple 3 ways switch legs and a fan leg combination.
I’m a new apprentice with just a little over 800 hours of experience and I wish I could mess around with switches like this. I feel like playing around with switches like this could be a huge learning experience for me.
Great video
I play with mine at home, it's dangerous but thats how you learn, as long there is safety practice, it should be good🤔
Just today I was in the middle of swapping all of the switches in my house when I lost track of the wire positions on a 3-way. Initially I panicked but this video helped me resolve it in quick order. Thanks Dustin!
“Your travelers are always going to be in the same sheathing.” Thank you!! Problem solved.
Thank you so much for all the information. I have been struggling with a 3-way switch in my basement…now I was finally able to fix it!
Thank you, I really appreciate the helpful videos!
Thanks Man! I had this exact problem and thanks to this video I learned how to fix it. The important part that allowed me to see what went wrong was where you identified that the 2 travelers needed to be in the same sheath. Great instruction!
Omg!! THANK YOU! You made me totally understand how ibwired it incorrectly. Especially since the 3way was installed 20 years ago and the new one was configured differently.
~ I can see why your content qualifies for continuing Education .... I learn alot from it ~ that I didn’t quite get from my AA Building inspector degree instruction
Thank you for the Video!! Someone put a red traveler on the hot lug. The other end was wired to a dimming switch. When I took the switches out the hot wire was 12 gauge and the travelers were 14 gauge. I replaced both switchs as you instructed on another video and it works great!!
Love this! My first job as an independent, was to troubleshoot and fix ALL of the 3-way switches that had been mis-wired in a 6,500 sqft house in University Park. It was a great learning experience for me and established my regimen for wiring 3-ways. During rough in, I'd give the two travelers a couple of twists together to identify them and leave the common (hot or switch leg) alone. Now I've seen some electricians then coil the common around the travelers and I can see how this would be helpful in multi gang boxes with several travelers (and even multiple commons, a mix of hot(s) and switch legs). For temporary lighting, I might cap the common with a traveler (usually the black) and just install one temporary switch (single pole or 3-way) at the other side. At final trim, I would attach the lonely black to the common, the red traveler to the gold screw on the side of the common and the remaining black to the solo side gold screw. Rinse and repeat on the other end and I've never had a problem.
When troubleshooting customer installations, this is the first thing I, reconfigure the wires as I've described. I've never seen a 3-way switch 'fail' however I have found several single poles that have physically stopped working. They normally feel 'squishy' or 'loose' when operated. Only once have I had a 4-way fail on me.
The worst experience was my first 4-way installation when the boxed 4-way switch had been replaced with a single pole by some devious customer that wanted to save 10 bucks and rip off the big box store. I lost three hours finding out I had the wrong switch then having to make another run to the store. Now I physically inspect boxed switches before I buy them.
But 4 ways have... 4 terminals?
@@sickbassdrop Yes, they do (well, 4 posts and a ground). Two incoming (line) travelers and two outgoing (load) travelers. No common (hot or switch leg) connection. In a switched network (like a long hallway with multiple bedrooms), it goes something like [Line Hot] - [3-way] - [4-way]- ... - [3-way] - [Load switch leg]
@@blueskies4715 I meant you bought and installed the single pole switch out of the 4 way box. Idk how you didn't notice it right away.
@@sickbassdrop Ah. It was in the box. You can't see the terminals in the box. I did not check as this was the first 4-way switch I had ever purchased on my own. I do now, much to the employees in the aisles bitching at me opening the packages to ensure the right product is in them.
@@blueskies4715 I think Kopfjager is trying to understand why it took you three hours to figure out why your circuit wouldn’t work. Your story makes it sound like you installed the single pole, and spent 3 hours figuring out that it wasn’t a 3 way? Do they look so similar in appearance that you wouldn’t know right away that a single pole is not a 3 way? Or did it just take you 3 hours to make the round trip to the store again after opening the box?
You helped so much with this video. House was built in the 60's and i was struggling to get the 3 ways working again after a remodel
Thanks Dustin I love these new types of videos can you please make more demonstration videos like this where you show us the wiring. It really puts things into practice and reinforces the understanding.
I had the exact issue. Watched your video and fixed the issue in a couple of minutes. Thank you!
I was just learning about this in SkillMill, so this was a great additional review. Keep up the great work!
This video solved the exact problem I was experiencing. Thank you!
That was awsome. That also helps homeowners to not do any mistakes for just starting to learn from professional electricians as yourself. Thanks for your advices and teaching videos.
0:01 to 7:09 3way troubleshooting
7:10 Dustin self amusement
7:11 Back in business 😎
Hey bro I really need to say thanks I changed all my light switches in my house. The kitchen light didn't work for 3 day you video cleared it up immediately. Again thx.
There used to be these push-button 3-way switches decades ago, so the position doesn't matter, just press. I miss those.
Those are still available for restoration work, but be prepared to really open up the pocketbook, they are expensive.
DUSTIN, Can you make another video showing a 3way switch HOT side problem? since this video was about a 3way switch LEG Side problem
We had a newbie/cub change a broken 4-way switch in a light circuit for six doors in an existing commercial building. The cub messed it up, then removed two more 4 ways. Finally reached out for help. Wired in conduit with black THWN wire no wire labels were used. Traced the travelers and corrected the spaghetti mess. Always fun fixing something someone else did. Easy fix lol
Thanks for the video. I just bought my home and I had that exact problem. With your video I was able to resolve the problem within a few minutes.
Great explanation on how to figure out which wires are the travelers and which wire is the hot wire without needing a multi-meter.
Great video, love hitting the basic stuff sometimes!
50s wiring is insane. I have a 50s house and the wiring is just mind blowing.
This is a great video. I am replacing a non-working switch on a three way with a Lutron 3 way dimmer switch for a very high front hall chandelier. This is the second attempt with the 2nd switch I purchased, and once installed, the light fixture glints on for a milisecond, then turns of immediately and never goes back on. Would love your opinion. Thanks!
I have the same MIlwaulkee drill. Love it for the light work.
I love your content and I asked someone a question and have no answer yet, here it goes, if an old house doesn’t have an earth ground, how do you install one and where do you attach a ground on your house wiring?
Academy award for acting "Super Surprised" goes to....Dustin!
Great video. Got my switches fixed in minutes. Thank you!
Thank you very much ... I was lost for an hour... I think I flipped wires for about 40 mins... Got it now thanks alot
Muchas gracias for the very informative electrical 3way connection video. I corrected what I presume was an electrician's hot and travelling wires mixed up
Awesome video. Recently passed my test and want to focus on getting better with troubleshooting.
Do you have any videos on motor controls it's still the one thing that gets me every time after 7 years on the field
Great tip. thanks. btw.. I’m not sure who designed this thing but my wires are not color coded very smart.. a red and a black are bundled together and a white and a black also bundled together... hard to see all the way in the back of the box (where the wires are split into individual ones) to see which ones are bundled together. Also my 3 way switches (LEVITON) have two red plugs for travelers and 1 black for com.. I originally assumed maybe the red/black wire colors were switched so I connected both black wires to travelers and the red wire to com (i did not check for hot wire first .. and maybe i should have). Needless to say it did not work (had the same issue as you are showing in the video). Your helpful tip helped me solve the mystery.. once I looked deep in the back at the box to see which wires were bundled together the fix was immediate. thanks.
You don't even know bro. You changed my life! THANK YOU!!
I had a 4 way not working on all 3. I also had in my head one worked another light added to the mix. I had all the switches out. I thought I had a bad switch but checked for continuity and it was working. After an hour I fixed it by accident. One of the switches was halfway pressed and that made the other two not work. I was glad I didn't fire the parts cannon and also surprised I was dealing with a 4 way not a 3 way. Sometimes when you don't use a switch for a while you forget which light it worked.
These troubleshooting vids are super helpful. Thank you.
Great video for troubleshooting 3-way switches! Man i wish Electrician U was available for Florida. But, keep up the great work Dustin!
Put a word in for Minnesota if you get a chance.
This was a great, informative and simple to follow video. Thank you.
Helped me rewire a bunch of old switches!
The point about the shared sheathing was very useful. Hard to tell which wire is what with a 1930's home. Thanks!
This was exactly my issue! Thanks for your help
Literally answered the question that I had for my scenario
Very true! I recently came across a situation where somebody used a 3-way switch instead of a 4-way switch. How you may ask? They attached the extra wire under the common terminal. 😅
One of my biggest pet peeves is the or of sync switches. When switches are down, lights should be off. Instead of putting the common and black traveler on one side, and the red alone, on the power side I put the common and black traveler on the one side, and on the switch side I put my common and red traveler. A 4way switch changed it up, but with just two 3way switches, it works great.
True, but when both of your switches are UP, the light will also be off.
@@Justinwhat1 but when they're both down, they're off. That's more important.
Brilliant / Articulate.., You have the skill set to run a major real estate team ! Thank You Sir !
You have inspired me to quit wiring stuff backwards 😂😅🤣 Thx for posting as these are very helpful ...
If you swap the travelers on the one switch that's up when the light is off you can have both switches on the off position when the light is off
So, house built in 1943 with a 3-way for the stair well. Replaced the upstairs switch and now it functions like your's did in it's problem state. When I replaced the upstairs switch, I moved the wires 1-for-1, so I'm thinking the internal of the switch was different in 1943.
If I go flip flopping conductors around, there is no danger of shorting anything, correct?
It's actually been like this since 2001 now, but we live this light in all the time. I have ignored it because I don't like disturbing the old wires. (MC wire)
YOU ARE THE BEST
I had this situation and I solved it after watching your video. 🙏🙏🙏
Dustin thanks for this one. I have battled with this situation a number of times. Usually solve by multiple trial and error. Never thought about checking for the sheathing that they are coming from. Duh on my part for that.
If you assume that no one knows anything, it would be nice to see you test from the power source forward. With a explanation of each step. IDEA, a wifi 3 way on one side and wifi on both sides,with an explanation. Thanks, great job as always.
Great and simple explanation Thank you
Language is different but science
is the same. We use the term strappers for travellers, switch live for switch leg and common for common. I generally wire using what we say 3 core and earth ( ground) which consists of a grey(gray) , black and brown in 1.5mm (16AWG). All are Live so the black and grey are over sleeved with brown sleeving as brown means live(hot). Personally the old colours were more appropriate Red (danger) live Black Neutral. Anyway great explanation that you have presented.
After going back and forth between different options, that's the exact same screw gun I ended up using. It perfectly fits the bill for what I need it to do.
I did what you suggested (swap swapped what I thought was the traveler ) and still have the same negative result.
Could there be another reason?
The most important thing with a 3 way setup is you want to make sure you have your power, on the hot side, connected to the common of the switch. Then your travelers run over to the next switch. On the next switch make sure those two same travelers are on the traveler terminals, and the hot wire from the device it is wired to is on the black screw on that side. If all of that is in place, then check to make sure your power is coming in properly on the hot side with a tester. If that's all good, then check from any breaks in line between the two switches, or maybe your power source is being switched from elsewhere in which case I would make sure your pigtail to the switch is tied to a bundle that is always hot. Just some steps you can take to hopefully move further along the troubleshoot process and hope that helps.
Option 1: wire travelers identically on both switches. Light is ON when switch positions match (both up, or both down).
Option 2: reverse traveler colors on one switch. Light is ON when switch positions mismatch (one up, one down).
I wonder what a “Chicago” 3-way is? 😅. I’m troubleshooting multiple 3-ways in single gangs with power coming from different breakers. They did not work since I moved in. I have not used a multimeter in many years. I am determined to get it done. I also found in this house built in CA in 1962, a single gang with 3 switches, one 3-way and 2 regular switches. Why????? Much of it doesn’t work but I’m determined to get the tape off all the switches to be able to use lighting. Your video is great for standard switches. Thanks for making it entertaining. 😊
Thank you so much ! You helped me immensely.
Understanding the traveler wires was awesome. Yes, I did have them wired just like you did for tutorial. Oops! Lol! Now they work awesome.🎉❤
Question. I’m doing a 3 way switch setup where power comes to the first switch (12/2), meets cable for wires (12/2) and cable for the 2nd switch w/ traveler wire (12/3). At the 2nd switch the traveler wire (12/3) meets the wire at the end of the circuit (12/2) to connect at the switch. Does power need to start at the switch without the wires for lights or does it matter? Connections at both switches will be done via pigtails.
Thanks for the common comment, the pos 3 way switch I was provided has no blacks screws and no instructions in the box, just two brass screws and a chrome screw. I got it fixed now.
Didnt know you could combine different gauge wire into one device
Fixed my issue thanks
For the 3-way switches in my house, I'll flip the switch or reverse the travelers so that when both toggles or paddles are down, the load is off. It drives me nuts to look down a hallway with 4 or 5 switches on it and see one toggle up when the load is off.
If you do that, the switches can also be up with the load off.
Of course. It's OK for one switch to be up when the load is on. But if you leave both switches up when the load is off, well, that's as bad as loading toilet paper so it's "under" instead of "over" :)
Look at Mr Long hallway 😮
@@zhallquist28 😂
It'll never stay like that. That's the nature of 3-ways.
Thanks so much for this. Was pulling out my hair trying to figure it out
Hey HEY bro... YO... Switches BE Trippin!
I remember the first 3-way circuit I installed in my garage many years ago. It was simply two switches and a simple porcelain light socket that I just bought. BTW - It was in the height of summer and it was close to 100 degrees in the garage.
I finished the wiring, double checked my work, turned on the breaker, flipped the switches and the light didn’t go on. After running back and forth many times between the panel in the basement and the garage (and sweating like a pig), I tested all the connections and everything seemed fine. I even checked that the light bulb was ok. Finally, it turned out that the brand new porcelain fixture was defective!!🤨 Put in another new fixture and the light went on. Lesson learned.
Jim, I can absolutely identify with you. Years ago I worked for a company installing and maintaining paint booths for body shops. The boss sent me to one that would not come on at all. Just so you know there is a lot of wiring on a paint booth. I started by checking the breaker and working my way through with my multimeter for 4 hours. Everything tested right. I started at the beginning several times. Finally I gave up and called the boss. After telling him the story, his first question was "did you check for any loose wires." Well, no. Everything tested okay. So I start flicking the wires and lo and behold, the incoming wire to the main switch slings out. Turns out, whoever hooked it up stripped the wire too thin and it had burned in two. So, it was pushed up against the contact enough to test good, but not strong enough to supply enough to start the motors. You can bet your butt, now when I open a panel that is my first check, any loose wires.
I have one light with three switches. Two 3-way and a 4-way. The 4-way had to be on for either of the other switches to operate the light. If the light is on, I can turn it off with the four-way.
Of course, none of the wires are labeled. I figure I'm probably going to need to get a long piece of wire with clips on each end to do a continuity check to determine which end belongs to which other end. (Power off of course)
Maybe then I can sort out where the problem is with the wiring at the switches.
Hoping for some tips in this video. 😂
I won’t go into all the details but this video helped me figure out how to install x2 3-way switches on my staircase and also keep the lights and outlets on in another room 😂😅
I just suggested this video one or two videos ago... that's awesome.
Also, The replacement 3 way switch looks different than the original. There is a green grounding wire coming from the back. Whereas the original has a loop that you put under the screw.
Great point.
Thanks.
My amateur solution would be to undo and redo all of it. I can't wait to learn the right way to do it!
This is a great video. I just went through this exact scenario a few days ago.
8:59 I know it’s obvious to people who know but the same applies to boxes with pipe or MC cable. 2 hots and a neutral will define which wires are travelers mostly. Always good content on your channel Dustin!
Dustin, Thanks for a great channel. I have a question about multiple 3 way switches in the same J-Box. So, when you enter my Tiny House and on the left is a wall switch, with 4 different 3 way switches. Each 3-way switch controls a different operation. One does ceiling lights, the other does Front porch lights, the third 3-way controls the deck lights and the Fourth 3 way switch controls an outlet at ceiling level for a rope light (LED). I know I can run 14/2 from the panel to the J-box and get power to the switches. Here is where I'm a bit unsure! I need to run 14/3 to the other J-Box that has Four 3 way switches that operates the same as the front door J-box. Do I have to run 4 different 14/3 runs? is there a way to combine those runs onto just one run? and if so how might that work? Thanks for your help!
Great piece.
Gotta love the up-side down customer 😂
Im not a electrician but i can muddle my way though it. 3ways have always confused me, so what do you do? Look at a diagram off the net on how to wire a 3way switch. Following the picture i was having a similar problem to what you where explaining, over & over looking at it & confirming its exactly like the picture, well almost.
Depending on manufacturer the Black screw may be at the top or bottom of the switch so following a picture & running your wires so the same location may cause you 2hrs of frustration & ruin half your day.
Thank your for clearing up the Black screw mystery. LOL
Can you do switch loops? I think they stopped using them in the late 80's.
You legally can, but you must run 14/3. Pretty much pointless now except in unusual situations. For example if I have power coming in one end of a hallway, a light and a receptacle in the middle, and the switch is located on the other end with no other devices it's probably going to be more cost effective in material and labor to run power from the receptacle, to the light, then run a 14/3 from the light to the switch. The convention is to use the red as the switch leg, black as your feed, and place a wirenut or wago connector on the neutral and shove it in the back of the box. As of 2011 with a few exceptions, a neutral must be available at a switch box. Sometimes certain types of electronic switches require a neutral to function.
The old method of running power to a light fixture and running a 14/2 from the fixture to a switch, is no longer acceptable.
@@Sparky-ww5re Yeah, I ran into that and it "threw me for a loop" when I was replacing a dimmer. Power was running to the light first. My old 12ga has a white sheath too along with the 14ga. I have a jbox that was putting black and white together so it made it difficult to figure out they were using white it for a hot. I've gone through an replaced nuts with Wago221s to help troubleshoot and map out the circuits. I'm also replacing all the backstabbed stuff as I go along. 80's wiring was a mess. I dont even know if they were trying to save money since this place is piped (horribly) in copper too that I'm replacing with PEX a stick at a time.
Another weird thing is that I have a 200A box outside that has a lot of breaker room, with only like 6 breakers. They put the HWH, Oven and 2 HVAC units in it. One is a 90A for a panel inside the house that runs all of the house room circuits and another is a 100A they sent to to the garage that had an apartment at one time. Its a weird setup, but I like that its flexible since I was considering installing an Electric Tankless.
Great video, thanks!
Nice! Thank you!
I watched 4 other videos. This video made sense.
Very good! People tend to pretend that they know the basics. Sometimes you need to put your arm around the shoulders and explain it even though they insist that they know it. Pride can be tiring.
Can you make trouble shooting receptical videos like this also
Thank you. Solved my problem. Been driving me nuts. Thought I paid better attention. Oh well. Whole house and I only messed up 1.
Great video!
Can you confuse everyone now with a four-way switch video? 😆 They're very common in larger homes now, especially rooms with three entrances and 3 story stair wells.
4 ways are much easier...