Another 3 way switch problem

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

Let's take this a step at a time. I am not an electrician.

I have a light in the middle of a stairwell. (It's actually the foyer landing of a bilevel house.)

The light is controlled by 3 switches: one at the top of the stairs, one at the bottom of the stairs, and one in the middle of the stairs. The top and bottom switches are actually in the same interior wall, while the middle switch is in an exterior wall.

They all worked before I replaced the switches a few years ago. I tried to install the new ones the same way as the old ones, but there were some differences, so I guessed, then when they didn't work, I tried swapping a few things. Now they don't work properly.

I use the top and bottom switches interchangeably and that seems fine. When I start to use the middle switch, the other switches stop working sometimes. I have not isolated the specific behaviors yet.

I'm not sure I bought the right switches. Can anyone tell me what switches I should have and how I can check to make sure they are correct? For example, should I have two 3-way switches and one 4-way switch? If so, where should the 4-way switch be installed?

Can I look at the wires coming out of the walls at each switch and figure out the flow? (Not sure what I am asking here.)

Thanks for any help.

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Comments (3)

User
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
"should I have two 3-way switches and one 4-way switch?"

Yes

"If so, where should the 4-way switch be installed?"

In the box that has 4 conductors to connect to the switch besides the grounds and neutrals.

(The 3 way switches go in the boxes with only 3 wires to hook up to the switch)

"Can I look at the wires coming out of the walls at each switch and figure out the flow?"

Maybe. Here is a basic wiring diagram, but there are several variations to confuse you.

In the boxes with the 3 ways, the travelers are the two wires that come out of the same cable. (All of them may come out of the same cable) The travelers get connected to the screws on the switch that are the same color. The common gets connected to the odd colored screw of the three.

In the box where the 4 way goes there will be 4 wires that are all travelers. The two travelers that come out of the same cable go on the same color screws. The two travelers that come out of the other cable go to the other color screws. It is NOT black wires to black screws and the other color wires to the other screws, REPEAT "NOT".

If all three wires come out of one cable on a 3 way, you may be able to tell which are the travelers by the color of the travelers in the 4 way.

If you can get pictures of the switches pulled out so I can see the wiring, it might help. Some wiring configurations are harder to figure out than this simplified explanation.
Jane thanked User
Jane
Original Author
10 years ago
Wow, thanks! I'm going to have to study this. I think I bought the wrong kinds of switches so I'll start there.
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User
10 years ago
Just in case it is not obvious enough by the description,

3 way

4 way
Jane thanked User