There are two abnormal and rare 3-way systems that may be encountered. How this is all arranged in practice can vary greatly. In simplest terms, every normal multi-switch system needs a neutral at the light box, a constant hot at one switchbox, travelers between it and the final switchbox (passing through any 4-way switches on the way), and a switched leg going from that final box to the light box.
The possibly strange routes these cables take and the various functions the non-traveler wires play does not change anything I have said here or will say. Occasionally a traveler cable will make its way to the next switch by running through the light box itself. Usually, but not always, the cable carrying the travelers has another insulated wire, which may be a neutral, a hot, or an extension of the leg wire (to the light). At most switch boxes there will be other wires serving other purposes - one or two other wires in the travelers' cable itself and wires in other cables. In your mind, play with pivoting the contacts differently and notice that either switch is able to override what the other one did last.īetween each switch box and the next, the travelers will both be contained in the same cable with each other. But here you see a diagram of the layout of 3-way switch wiring and what goes on inside the switches. If you need to review what a circuit is or the function of a neutral wire, seeīackground. Anyway, I refer to these switches, wires, and the lights they control as a 3-way "system" not a 3-way "circuit", because that can be confused with the branch-circuit and breaker that such a system is part of. I think I've noticed some Canadians and others talking about "tree-way switches".
This will all be made clear in the diagrams that follow.īritish perhaps use more common sense in naming these "2-way switches", but in North America we are stuck with more technical terms. At the leg end the wire attached at the common is the one that goes to the light(s). At the hot end, the incoming hot wire is connected to the common terminal. Three-way switches have three terminals, with the one that is not for the two travelers being called the " common". Four-way switches have four terminals to connect two traveler pairs to (the incoming pair and the outgoing pair). If there were any more switches between these two (electrically), they would simply pass hotness along but are able to change which traveler wire the power continues on to do this, these (third, fourth, etc.) switches must be " four-way" type switches, a different animal than the first and last switches in the system. If this next switch is the only other switch, it is also of the 3-way type and can be called the " leg end." It will pass the hotness on to the light(s), but only if its handle happens to be in the position that puts the light's wire in contact with the particular traveler that is bringing the hotness. Hotness (voltage) enters into the system at one " three-way" type switch, which we will call the " hot end." According to the position of its handle, hotness "travels" on to the next switch on one of the two traveler wires. Hotness toward the light on two alternate paths - wires called " travelers". Multiple switches may be located at several approaches to a room in order to turn the room's lights on or off from any one of those locations. Wire Colors in a Multiple Switch System.Generic 4-Way and 3-Way Switch Diagrams.Terminology and How a 3-Way System Works.(Or maybe calling an electrician in your area?)
#3 way switch trial
What is going to be easier - trial and error or understanding the 3 way switch system?. And any defective switch or connection further complicates things. Each 4 way switch in-between would worsen the odds by a factor of 3. Since a 2-switch system has 3 wires to be connected to 3 terminals at each box, it works out that only 1 out of 9 possibilities will work. How complicated can 3 way switch troubleshooting be? Consider this.
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