Three Way Light Switch Not Working Properly

Remove the two 3 way switches so you can access the switch terminals the wire connections do not have to be removed.

Three way light switch not working properly.

If one breaks or you wish to replace them with more decorative switches you can often confuse the wires. Virtually every house has at least one set of three way switches. You need 2 traveler wires for a 3 way switch to work properly. Often they can be found at either end of a hallway.

When your three way light isn t working and you have ruled out problems with the bulb outlet cord and plug replacing the three way switch can be done quite inexpensively by any relatively handy. So to turn the light on she carefully negotiates the stairs to the top and flips on the switch. Countless homes across the country are plagued by miswired 3 way circuits causing not only inconvenience but a. Existing 3 way switches.

Our dining room light is controlled by two 3way switches. In this scenario the light will turn on only when both switches are trying to power the same in this case the upper traveler leg. Then the black or darkest terminal is connected to a black wire that feeds to the light fixture to get connected on the hot contact on the fixture while the white. These are the runners of the circuit.

The third wire is the common wire that feeds the light fixture and is connected to the black screw on the switch. Using a continuity tester check continuity between the common black terminal and each of the traveler terminals brass colored of each 3 way switch. The dang 3 way switch isn t working. 3 way circuits can be a formidable opponent.

There are many ways that a three way switch can be wired but usually power or the light fixture connect to the load side of the switch and traveler wires run between traveler screws on both switches. How to wire a 3 way switch video. One has a black white red wire and the other has a black white red wire and another wire with a black and white wire. Connect these wires to the switch 1 wire on each of the brass colored screws.

That s just not the way it s supposed to be is it. 3way light switch wiring electrical question. 3 way light switch problem 1. They may be at the bottom and the top of stairways.

Test a 3 way switchturn off power to the switches at the circuit breaker and using a tester make sure power is off. My dad has a light switch that will not work in his dining room. Touch the probes to the 3 wires removed from the switch until you get a reading on the tester indicating continuity. In your description i only hear about 2 wires per switch as i tried to show in the diagram.

From the first 3 way switch through a 3 wire cable the two travelers from the first switch are connected to the travelers on the second switch through the black and the red wires.