Turn off the power at the circuit breaker remove the 3 wires from each of the switches and make sure that none. In this step you will be turning the power back on do not touch any of the wires previously removed with.
3 Wire Switch Schematic Wiring Diagram
3 way switch wiring troubleshooting. In this case the traveler wire and load wire were swapped and. Touch the other probe to the colored wires one by one. After completing three way switch wiring it sometimes happens that the connection fails. You may have turned the circuit back on and made sure the bulb was new but for whatever reason there is a break in the circuit. How to troubleshoot an improperly wired 3 way switch step 1. There are many ways that a three way switch can be wired but usually power or the light fixture connect to the load.
The wire that registers voltage is the hot wire and the common wire for this box. 3 way switch troubleshooting the two travelers are in the same cable with each other. Set your multimeter to at least 110 volts. Hold one of the probes on a known ground such as a metal outlet box or a bare ground wire. When wiring a 3 way light switch youll need to find the common wire and connect it to the. Youll also need to locate the ground wire and connect it to the switch too.
Any pair of switch screws or dimmers wires that are the same color as each other are for a traveler pair. The only wire in a multiple switch system that is hot all the time when all the switches of. Scott first gives an explanation of the three way switch two switches that control one light fixture. At the first 3 way switch the black wire that leads up to the light fixture is connected to the black wire of the 3 wire cable. Troubleshooting three way switches will involve determining whether the switch is bad or not. Common problems with 3way switches and how to fix them.
Using a continuity tester check continuity between the common black terminal and each of the traveler terminals. There should be continuity between the. Remove the two 3 way. You can use a voltage tester to find out. Installing a 3 way switch. If this is the case you will have to do some troubleshooting of the wiring in order to determine where the problem lies.
Its not as simple as you think finding the common wire. Grounding the 3way switches the ground wires are all bonded together and one of the ground wires is attached to the ground screw found on each 3 way switch frame. How three way switches work a three way switch will always have power at two poles. Test a 3 way switch turn off power to the switches at the circuit breaker and using a tester make sure power is off.
Gallery of 3 Way Switch Wiring Troubleshooting
