3 Way Switch

[@briancochran4526]

Thanks!

[@askthebuilder]

You're welcome, Brian! I appreciate the nice tip!

[@vipersquad]

Great tutorial! No "ummmms", circular explanations, or off-topic comments like in many of the other amateur wiring videos on KZbin. Yours is straight to the point, you've got a good speaking voice, and your explanations are really helpful. I learned the most about three-way wiring from your video in just six minutes.

[@jvida41]

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I am a novice to electrical work. I cycled through several websites and videos here including professional broadcast channels like DIY and yours was the only one that explained it so clearly, along with a great visual demonstration that some one with limited knowledge could easy follow. I have lived in my house for about 6 years and finally fixed the 3 way switch. The house was built in the 1950's & the switches looked pretty old, so not sure how long they were wired wrong.

[@bradsb2g]

Tim, I really respect the fact that you're not afraid to respond to comments, even if they're negative. That gives me the impression that you're an honest, straightforward man- a good quality in a contractor.

[@STRUMMERBOY1975]

Tim !! I have gone through,i don`t know how many websites to find CLEAR information on how to connect a 3 way switch , But Tim..... Yours Take the Cake ! There is nothing left to guessing,,,,,, Bravo ! & Thank-You Very Much ! :)

[@askthebuilder]

Thanks for the input. You should read many of the comments above from homeowners. Many have used this video to do the work safely.

[@askthebuilder]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@orionmec]

Tim, Thank you. You do a fantastic job of showing this. I was never totally clear on how to wire a three way because I could not see the internal switch circuitry. This is a problem for a guy that is paranoid about making a mistake.... I check and re-check! However, you were so clear it gives me the confidence to just wire the sucker up. Also, knowing the proper terminology. Did not know the Black and Red were called Travelers. Wired and working! Thanks! Mark E. Crum

[@askthebuilder]

Yes. Most electricians here just use regular two wire which has the white neutral and black hot. I prefer to use the 3-wire between switches as the red wire makes it nearly impossible to mess things up.

[@astyles51]

best explanaion on the internet this dude is a good teacher. I watched all these newer videos and they didn't explain it as you did. thank you.

[@askthebuilder]

God gave me that gift. I honed it explaining how things worked on my jobs to my customers. I found it relieved their anxiety about what we were doing. Check out the *THANKS* text link under all my videos if you really want to thank me! It helps me make more videos faster.

[@askthebuilder]

Cool. I'm a semi-professional electrician. I can tell you for a fact that everything in this video is pretty much accurate. Will the code change over time and make parts of the video wrong? You bet. But as for the theory and how the switches work here in the USA - this video is bulletproof. All you have to do is read the countless Thank You Tim comments from people I've helped. And they're all still alive - no shocking deaths. :->>>

[@wordwarrior42]

As a professional contractor it amazes me how many "professionals" think an average person cannot learn something new...If you're a pro. electrician, good for you, but the teaching on this video is simple and can help a lot of people who can run wire and turn a screw... Gets old when people think they know it all and their crap don't stink! Thanks AsktheBuilder for the vid!!

[@garylapointe]

This really helped! My house had the 4-way, I removed it a decade ago and put in X-10 remotes and wanted to switch it back to 4-way (so I could use florescents) but couldn't figure it out. After looking at many diagrams and trying different configs (but never blowing the breaker!?!) I finally found your 3-way and 4-way videos. They helped me to figure out the problem quite quickly!!!

[@askthebuilder]

Yes. I believe I covered that in an annotation that plays during the video. The white cable is a 25-year-old piece of 12-3 that was in my basement from when I wired my home. Back then, there was no color requirement for cables. Great question, BTW.

[@askthebuilder]

You are 100% correct. It is a code violation to use undersized wire on a circuit.

[@leerayray]

Thank you so much! I followed your instructions to the T. This video saved me a lot of time and frustration as I am a newbie when it comes to electrical wiring around the home.

[@alwaysthetomboy]

i had to watch it a couple of times cuz he says the word wire an awful lot, LOL, but it was the easiest explanation for a 3-way switch i have ever seen. thank you.

[@askthebuilder]

Good point. It was some older cable I had in my scrap pile.

[@liquidthex]

Unfortunately I'm not a handyman (hence why I watch your channel), but your point is well taken. Please don't misunderstand my comment as overly critical, I do love your videos; they are very informative for a laymen such as myself and formatted in an easy to understand and follow way. I just felt this one in particular could have been a bit shorter, but as I am not a video producer myself I am offering an opinion from the viewpoint of an observer. In any case, thank you for the video.

[@TheJGOV]

This is the most comprehensive video I've found thus far regarding 3 Way switches. I purchased a new house 6 months ago with a set of these that don't work always. When I turn it off from one switch it doesn't turn back on from the other one. It only turns on and off from one of the switches. I don't know what could it be and I am not an electrician. But at least this video will motivate me to turn off the power and see if any of the wires are loose. Thanx.

[@eriksj01]

Thank you! I've been trying to research how to do this on a project I'm working on and the more I read, the more I've been dreading this step. After watching this, I feel much more confident that it's not as complicated as I thought!

[@TheGrappler2]

Great video. Thank you soooooo much. I had a stairway which got the wiring screwed up by a handyman and I finally fixed it after I watched your video with the great detail in your explanation. Thanks again.

[@rudyrangel5910]

14 years later and this is still helpful. Thanks homie.

[@askthebuilder]

Yep. It will be helpful for the next 200 years. The design and function of the switch will not change. Just like pulleys.

[@askthebuilder]

I have been waiting on the Cavalry to show up! Many thanks for coming to the rescue.

[@smfb8]

The 3 Way Switch video had me wiring up my flood lights in no time. Thanks for the help.

[@scotie100]

thank you thank you thank you you made this problem in my life go away. I had so much trouble with this 3 way switch hook up before i watched you video. you made it fast and easy to understand. thanks to your video my 3 way switch is working perfectly and with confidence. you have an amazing video here so thumbs up again and again!!!!!!

[@southeast40]

PLC's are pretty wild. i spent 8 years wiring conveyor systems all over the country. they're difficult to grasp at first, but once you've got the idea of how things work it's amazing how your mind wraps itself around it!

[@askthebuilder]

No problem. I answered this, I believe, farther up or down in the comments. All the wire/cable in this video is 12 gauge. The 12/3 cable is about 20-years old taken from my basement from a partial roll.

[@ryanmaharaj4365]

This electrician is the most generous and he made it very simply explanatory with his information.

[@vamnews]

Thanks for explaining the three way switches in an easy to understand manner. I have had the hardest time conceptualizing this, until now. Thanks again and again.

[@askthebuilder]

@TheJGOV Thanks for your kind words. You'll be able to fix your switches in no time when you take them apart and quickly see that the one traveler is mixed up.

[@askthebuilder]

@MrDeepthoughts Thanks for you comment. No need to ground these boxes. They are plastic. Not conductive.

[@askthebuilder]

I don't know if I understand your question. But I think you need to know that the black wire in a circuit is the one that is to be connected to a fuse or breaker.

[@bzn46]

Absolutely, the sequence you were asking can be done , switch light switch this is term as light fixture at the center / middle of the run then we have the light fixture at the start of the run and light fixture at the end of the run Thanks hope this help

[@yu128715]

Great! So the most important thing I learnt was that the black wire from the box goes to the common screw on the first switch, and from the common screw on the second switch goes to the light. Sweet.

[@joannesmallheer5937]

I am a single 65 year old woman and thanks to this video i was able to repair a 3way switch safely . thank you for the video.

[@askthebuilder]

Congrats Joanne! We may have been born within minutes of one another!!!! TNX for commenting and it's so great to hear success stories!

[@askthebuilder]

The answer is in the video. Watch it again. Pay attention to the path and purpose of each wire.

[@askthebuilder]

Many thanks for your comment! I LOVE comments like yours. What I would hope you would now do is tape the Three-Minute 3-Way Switch video to show us *how* to condense all that info in a clear way into that amount of time. Please come back here and reply to this comment when you have the video complete and at your channel.

[@Stuartiamyourhorse]

Very Informative video. Here in Australia we call them 2 way switches because there is 2 switches controlling the light. If there is more than 2 switches controlling the light then the additional switches become intermediate switches. Our 2 way switches also have the 3 terminals the same as yours and naturally all intermediate switches have 4 terminals. Our neutral cable in black or blue, our active is red or brown and our earth cables must be insulated with combined green \ yellow insulation

[@verbatin01]

You explained that very well. How many texts are out there that you buried in under 10 minutes! Most people just need a simple demo for things like this and bingo! Good work - you're a credit to this world, which is so often overcomplicated.

[@mzagrodzky]

Thanks. This was very straight forward and easy to understand. Successfully replaced a broken switch thanks to you

[@askthebuilder]

Easy. Most high-quality ceiling fans have 3-way switches offered as an option. Most of the ceiling fans sold at the big box stores don't offer this. Go look at the most expensive ceiling fans and you'll see the 3-way switch accessory.

[@askthebuilder]

Yes. It can be done. I'll be teaching this LIVE on PowHow. Go to that dot com website and sign up now for my class announcements. As soon as I set up the class, you'll get an announcement so you can sign up and discover how to set up your 3-way switches.

[@solallein]

Thank you very much for this perfectly clear video. I'm trying to figure out how to replace the wiring in my home from the 40's and this video was incredibly insightful. Oh and don't pay any mind to the little people who make silly comments, better for your health :)

[@askthebuilder]

@ElectricMan726 You bring up a great point. You're an apprentice and know the bare minimum about wiring. Yet you're allowed to work. Why would you think it's crazy for homeowners to do their own wiring if they know 100 times as much about wiring as you do - whether or not it needs to be inspected? So you know, MOST states permit homeowners to do their own wiring - it just needs to pass the same inspection YOU need to pass. I'm sick of people who want to monopolize work.

[@askthebuilder]

You are correct. It is a 20 amp circuit. All the cables in the video are 12 gauge.

[@askthebuilder]

Yes. I will tape it right at the same location so it makes sense. It will be done in a few days.

[@Averie294]

This is a great video. Thanks. I'm on my way to Lowes right now to buy the things I need. No more running up the basement stairs to shut off the lights. Again thanks!

[@askthebuilder]

You're most welcome. Glad to be of service.

[@1Goveggie]

thank you so much, watched twice the 3 and 4 way video and in 4 min or less I had the switches installed and works perfect.

[@askthebuilder]

Of course they did! Congrats on your victory!

[@askthebuilder]

Connect the black wire to the brass screw and the white wire to the silver screw. Ground to green.

[@askthebuilder]

The first part of the above post is true, but not the part about a master's license. For example, here in my city - Cincinnati - I can wire any structure without a master's license. I just have to pass the inspection by the IBI. They are the agency licensed by UL. In other cities, I absolutely agree you have to be a master, but not *all* cities.

[@stayjit1]

I often do basic wiring on small jobs because neither me nor the customer wants to justify 'SkilledEddies' min 4 hr call to hang a potlight. I don't do three-ways that often, but a vid like this is a great refresher. Thanks.

[@MrDJB63]

Thank you! I managed to mess up my 3-way switch wiring when I tried to DIY dimmer switches. This helped immensely to get the original wiring corrected.

[@askthebuilder]

You're welcome. Imagine how much money I saved you from calling in an electrician. Maybe you can do what Brian did. Click the text *THANKS* link under the video to support my efforts.

[@askthebuilder]

You have the common on the wrong screw. Watch the video once more and test to see what wire either is continuously hot from the panel or goes to the light fixture.

[@adazzu]

THANKS SO MUCH!! This video told me everything I needed to know to wire in a replacement switch in an existing 3-way switch system. The wires had me so confused, and I had been trying to wire it to a regular two-way switch! now I know what to buy, and I know exactly how to do it!

[@dannyfinance]

I'm taking basic electrical class at the moment and this video helped me a lot with this subject. Thanks for the video. :)

[@askthebuilder]

Thanks! I had fun taping it. You should watch my 4 Way Switch video to really get up to speed.

[@markmantle5220]

thanks a million.my 3-way switch was only working off of 1 switch. thanks to you 3-way video i succesfully fixed by problem. your the best.thanks again

[@barrydebski2636]

Awesome explanation. I had to convert a three way leviton dimmer to a simple 3 way. The leviton dimmer had extra wires all over the place. By sticking to the basics outlined in this video, I got the dimmers replaced with simple three ways in no time at all! Thanks.

[@lilgutta9]

Great video i'm training for on call maintenance for my job and i'm reading this book called WIRING 1-2-3 its good but i pick up more from looking at people do it this will help me in the long run.

[@debacus]

Followed directions in this video, and it worked perfectly!!! Thanks so much for this video, the books i had did not come across as easily!!

[@askthebuilder]

You're most welcome. Be sure to go to my website to read the columns about the same topic.

[@askthebuilder]

Shawn Breshears You nailed it. That was an older piece of 12/3 I had from when I built my house.I thought I had an annotation in this video mentioning it. I'll go put it in now if not.

[@askthebuilder]

Commander, you need to take up your complaint with the National Fire Protection Agency here in the USA. They author the NEC.

[@IndependentView7]

Your tone and speed made it easy to follow.

[@askthebuilder]

Get unlimited FREE tips like this each week by subscribing to my newsletter at www.AsktheBuilder.com

[@askthebuilder]

Bill, correct. My writing infers that I did lump you all together. The issue is you're the *first* union member to show up that feels the opposite way. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking you all are lockstep on an issue. Glad my video was able to help your rookie friend. Tell him to watch my 4 Way Switch video too. That one's got a little humor in it.

[@AntiochKen]

Awesome i got a diagram off the internet and spetnt 2 hours dealing with it and it still didnt work right followed yours and VOILA IT WORKED thanks so much

[@nikkirambo]

Best and easiest explanation of a 3 way swith. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

[@loverofsith]

Very easy to understand, especially as the current is explained clearly. Good stuff...

[@blackcobra4494]

Hmmm, very nice video. Fairly simple for someone who will just be doing the odd job around the house to understand. I would have run 3 conductor from the hot to the light, then from the light to the switched switch, to save wire, but for those who don't know much about switches and wiring this was very simple.

[@askthebuilder]

I respect your opinion. I didn't say it wasn't a big deal. I said people who have licenses don't always do quality work. You and I *both* know that for a fact. You can't work on other peoples' houses here without a plumbing license. But electric is different. I don't make the rules.

[@nn432100]

When I was in kuwait we used the same color standards blu,brwn and yel/grn.When I went to electrical training it always seemed like things were so much harder than they had to be. So when I got to kuwait I was right cause things are so much more simpler there. all the outlets have their own switch and it even tells you where to put the wires. Also in the states the wire gauge goes down for the more amps it handles where as overseas the wire gauge goes UP for the more amps it handles.

[@askthebuilder]

You are most welcome. There are hundreds more of my videos you can watch. She will think you are a superhero!

[@askthebuilder]

I just knew it would..... Congratulations on your success!

[@askthebuilder]

@Thorncage Thanks for your comment. Sounds like you know about this topic. My suggestion is for you to tape a video of your own about this and expand on the topic. Talk about all the NEC rules and note in your video that in three years or less the regs could be different. :->

[@askthebuilder]

Thanks! Be sure to watch my 4-Way Switch video.

[@johnburt9436]

Tim, thank you for making a great video. I love wiring but only have done 3 way switches a few times. You make it so easy to understand. I watched a few other videos before finding yours. I wasted my time on those videos. Very poor videos to make the average man understand. Thank you again for making it so easy.

[@askthebuilder]

John, you're most welcome. I had lots of fun taping this video. Many thank to my son-in-law for his videography skills and splicing together all the footage.

[@OsoGP]

I'm not interested by lighting but found this fascinating! Very good job explaining everything!

[@TheVincent68]

Very informative video! I have a three way scenario similiar to your demo. One switch at the top and one at the bottom of the staircase. The problem is one switch will not work unless I toggle the other one, then the original switch will work fine.

[@askthebuilder]

Thanks!

[@askthebuilder]

It is in post production.

[@Flickchaser]

inshanbling-A-If there is only one path for current flow, that is a series circuit(ckt.) If there is more that one path, that is a parallel ckt.B-Current will follow the path of least resistance (Res.)W/ an illuminated sw. there is a high Res.path(the tiny light(Lt.) of the sw.) in parallel with a low Res. path-the sw.contact.When sw. contact is closed(low Res.)current&full voltage pass to light socket.When sw.contact opens current&voltage must pass thru high Res.&tiny Lt. to get to socket.>>

[@softcellelectrical]

Excellent video Tim. Think I am going to do a three way back fed half hot for my next vid but I might have to resort to my 'paint' graphics because of too many wires in the box might confuse the viewer. What are your thoughts on the matter?

[@askthebuilder]

Commander, the proof is in fire statistics. How many electrical fires per capita do you have in the UK vs. over here in the USA.

[@MrSKE1972]

Thank you this was very helpful and WILL solve my problem as I was not using the proper switch.

[@askthebuilder]

Correct. I was showing a two-way switch to compare it to a 3-way.

[@maxcedeno01]

Muchas gracias por este video, me fue muy util para mi trabajo en casa. Great job, and congratulations...!!!

[@InevitableScrewUp]

Simplest explanation ever - thank you.

[@askthebuilder]

You just have to watch the video again several times until you understand it. It's that easy.

[@manxman5000]

Excellent video, best explanation I have seen yet! Great job Tim!

[@jmack1717]

Your four way switch video just saved my butt. Thank you so much it helped so much

[@askthebuilder]

WOO HOO! I sure hope you clicked through to the Quick Start Guide. Did you? What did you think of it?

[@ronthunders6124]

thank you very much for helpful me with this:) im learning construction and i really appreciate people that know how to make these things comprehendable

[@askthebuilder]

YW as we say in Morse. SUBSCRIBE now to my FREE newsletter at www.AsktheBuilder.com

[@prestonearle4110]

Big thanks, you made it very simple and easy for me and my mom to understand.

[@askthebuilder]

Thanks! You might want to do two things: 1. Subscribe to my FREE newsletter at www.AsktheBuilder.com 2. Start watching my LIVE streaming videos! Lots of fun and you get to ask me questions in real time. Be sure to turn on NOTIFICATIONS about when I go LIVE.

[@askthebuilder]

Congrats! You're most welcome.

[@ProcciAccount]

Great instructional video for the apprentice. I'm going to have my new guys watch this.

[@jbelectric777]

3 VA (watts) per square foot divided by 120V (US only) NEC Like the other fellow said other countries have a complete different color code and usable voltage. Example: 3800 square feet X 3 (11,400VA) / 120V = 95 Amps demand 95 amps / 15 = 6.3 or 7 15 amp circuits required. Or 95/20= 4.75 or 5 20 amp circuits required. Thats for determining required branch circuits, not calculating service or feeder sizes. Hope that helps.

[@binhminh417]

Great tutorial video! I followed your instruction, checking 3-way switches & wire connections. They're all good, but the working-light is still not on. Appreciate all your help.

[@askthebuilder]

So maybe you need to read this column since you're convinced the wiring is perfect: www.askthebuilder.com/light-bulbs-burn-out-quickly/ There's a 1:1,000,000 chance the switch is broken.

[@TarekFaham]

Excellent video you're awesome! How to identify the neutral from the ground wires using a voltage tester not by the colors/shape of the wires.

[@ArcanePath360]

Thanks so much for clearing this up. I'm fed up of looking at countless wiring diagrams that don't seem to transpose to real life.