Troubleshooting 3-Way Switches: Why Does My 3-Way Switch Only Work Sometimes?

Troubleshooting a non-working 3-way switch can be a reasonably large pain in the rear for any electrician or electrical contractor. In the latest episode of Electrician U, Dustin gives some tips that will make the process easier.
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So, you have a 3-way switch that only works from one side when the other switch is in one position or the other. In other words, if one switch is in the up position, the other switch will turn the light(s) on and off. But if you flip that other switch to the down position, the light(s) won’t actuate at all. This generally means that you have the travelers crossed and either the incoming hot or the outgoing switch leg on the wrong screws. A relatively easy fix once you can understand how a 3-way works and can visualize the process. PSA- always turn the power OFF before working on any electrical installation!
First, put on your troubleshooting/service electrician hat (figuratively of course!). A good tip- as you are unscrewing the device and pulling it & the wires out of the box, do it gently and slowly. A non-working 3-way may not be a miswiring issue as the source of your power issues but may in fact be loose wiring connections. If you pull something out to fast, you can change the state of the wiring and end up chasing ghosts! When you do get the device/wires pulled out of the box, check the connections on the device to make sure they are nice and tight. When putting switch/wires back in box, be careful not to pinch wires and make sure the bare ground wire doesn't come into contact with any of the screws on the device (with the exception of the green grounding screw of course!).
You may also want to check the wiring colors attached to the different color device screws. 3-way switches have 4 screws. A green one for the ground, a black/dark bronze one for either the incoming hot or the outgoing switch leg, and 2 brass/gold-colored screws for the travelers. Try to keep in mind that you will be bringing IN the power in one switch box and OUT to the fixture in the other box. Either of these locations will generally be done in a single 12-2 or 14-2 cable. The travelers (the wiring going in between the switches) will generally be done in a single 12-3 or 14-3 cable. So, the cable with the single black wire will go to the black screw on the device and the cable with the red and black wires will go to the brass/gold-colored screws. If you happen to see the single black wire attached to a brass-colored screw, then the travelers are crossed and that will generally be the source of your problem!
Depending on length (either the homerun or the traveler length in between the 2 switches) you may have to run the incoming hot and the travelers in #12 but the final switch leg up to the fixtures can be run in #14 (if it is a 15-amp circuit). So, another tip can be to look at wire size. If you look into the switchbox that is being used as the last box before it goes up to the fixture itself, if you see a #14 wire attached to a gold-colored screw, chances are you have something crossed.
In addition to the internal composition of the switches, you may notice that a 3-way switch does NOT have an ON/OFF label on the switch. Due to the alternating nature of the switches and being able to actuate from 2 different locations, they will change position each time you go in/out of different doors.

[@FSAUDIOGUY]

That has to be the best trouble shooting explanation of 3 way switch on the internet. Your teaching ability is superior. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@thebewitchinghour831]

My dad taught us basic electrical growing up. I always knew it was called a 3-way switch, I knew that's what they did but I never knew WHY it was called a 3-way switch. I always thought it should be called a 4-way switch. You Sir, made it make sense. The guy working on our house recently wired the hallway light leading upstairs and you have to keep the one at the top of the steps flipped to the up/on position in order to use the one at the bottom of the steps that is in the kitchen, to turn the light on. We had always had these switches in that stairwell but after our house fire (of course an electrical fire but not because of this particular switch LOL) the electrician at the time never even put a hall light back in at the top of the steps. So.....with that being said, I now know how to investigate the issue. If he has the wires correct, as you showed, then I'll have to come back and watch a follow up video from you. hahahaha We'll try this trick first because the way you explained it, I followed intently and realized that the problem is in fact the one at the bottom of the stairs in the kitchen and is not the one at the top of the steps that is having the issue. You even made that easy to understand. Easy peezy. BTW....you forgot to act surprised when the light came on at the end. LOL

[@mb42mb42]

You gave me everything I needed to know by saying "My two travelers should be my gold screws". Mystery solved for me and the simple data point I needed to understand 3-way switches. I ran in the house and easily solved my issue by ensuring the gold screws were connected to the two wires in the same sheathing. Thanks!

[@evantyler11]

I was going CRAZY! And didn’t understand anything you said until you explained both travelers are coming out of the same spot…. NOW MY 3way works! Thank you so much

[@kurt_uke]

I was replacing a lot of mercury switches in a 1955-built house. Not all had silver/gold screws , so 3-way was trial and error. The 4-ways were worse... Thanks for the channel! It helps!

[@musicalheart8602]

You are a God send! I didn't even realize I had switched my hot wire and traveler wire around. I had two black wires and one white one and no clue how to figure out what went where. Your very detailed explanation helped me tremendously 😊Now everything works. Thank you so much.

[@_JesseRosa]

Swapping out old 3-ways in a 1964 house I just bought. Was so confused why they weren't working properly after the swap Watched this video & when you said to look at the sheathing to see which one had 1 wire coming out & which one had 2. Thats all I did & now it's fixed good as new! You're the man thanks so much

[@fuzzyfuzzwuz]

as soon as you demonstrated the problematic behavior at the start of the video, I knew that this was exactly the video I was looking for!! I goofed a 2-way switch that sits in a 3 gang box when I was trying to install a dimmer switch and with so many wires in the box I've been trying to understand which wires I goofed up. FINALLY after months, this video helped me restore normal functionality to our 2-way kitchen lights. THANK YOU!!

[@sambulate]

Funnily enough, when I asked my wiring instructor for lessons in troubleshooting, this is what he came up with! It would be awesome if you could do more videos on troubleshooting, as that is not something that has been a priority in my residential wiring classes. I'm especially interested in how basic stuff, and in how we'd go about finding and repairing problems in old houses, but anything would help.

[@timothydecelles]

I wanted to thank you for the great video I had the same problem and now I was able to fix it. So what helped me was when you say the two wires that are coming from the same wiring (the black and red) Ned to go on the silver screws. Not on the black one at all on both 3 way switches. Excellent

[@jluke561]

Thanks Man! I had this exact problem and thanks to this video I learned how to fix it. The important part that allowed me to see what went wrong was where you identified that the 2 travelers needed to be in the same sheath. Great instruction!

[@Bigjoedo66]

Thank you for the Video!! Someone put a red traveler on the hot lug. The other end was wired to a dimming switch. When I took the switches out the hot wire was 12 gauge and the travelers were 14 gauge. I replaced both switchs as you instructed on another video and it works great!!

[@aydahamann6018]

Omg!! THANK YOU! You made me totally understand how ibwired it incorrectly. Especially since the 3way was installed 20 years ago and the new one was configured differently.

[@mikeTHEmanatee]

Dude, the upgraded version of that Milwaukee drill is my most used drill in residential. It's around the same size maybe even more compact (yet looks beefier) but an awesome feature the newer model has is it has 2 speeds, and both a drill mode and screwdriver (clutch) mode. I throw a 6.0 12V battery on that sucker and it'll last all week, but most importantly it has the capability of drilling light holes, in wood, stucco. Really saves the day if ever you're in a pinch or you don't want to have to climb down the attic or back down the ladder and to the truck for a drill driver gun. I Def recommend. Thanks for the videos

[@moelassus]

Just today I was in the middle of swapping all of the switches in my house when I lost track of the wire positions on a 3-way. Initially I panicked but this video helped me resolve it in quick order. Thanks Dustin!

[@robertmiller3987]

This video solved the exact problem I was experiencing. Thank you!

[@treymarcotte8475]

I’m a new apprentice with just a little over 800 hours of experience and I wish I could mess around with switches like this. I feel like playing around with switches like this could be a huge learning experience for me. Great video

[@melvinalicea3234]

I play with mine at home, it's dangerous but thats how you learn, as long there is safety practice, it should be good🤔

[@TeslaRebuilders]

My favorite 3 way problem was mixing it with a fan and light leg from another 3 wire. It's so easy to confuse especially when cutting in the switch box if not labeled well. I started putting each switch leg and traveler in its own position in the box to help prevent mixups. Maybe you could demonstrate a more advanced problem say in a 4 gang box with multiple 3 ways switch legs and a fan leg combination.

[@RichardMelaas-hx8hz]

Great explanation on how to figure out which wires are the travelers and which wire is the hot wire without needing a multi-meter.

[@davidanderson7621]

“Your travelers are always going to be in the same sheathing.” Thank you!! Problem solved.

[@jeffreymoen1440]

I had the exact issue. Watched your video and fixed the issue in a couple of minutes. Thank you!

[@jeremiahzadnichek6760]

Hey bro I really need to say thanks I changed all my light switches in my house. The kitchen light didn't work for 3 day you video cleared it up immediately. Again thx.

[@michaelwells7348]

~ I can see why your content qualifies for continuing Education .... I learn alot from it ~ that I didn’t quite get from my AA Building inspector degree instruction

[@pauldantignac697]

Thanks for the video. I just bought my home and I had that exact problem. With your video I was able to resolve the problem within a few minutes.

[@blueskies4715]

Love this! My first job as an independent, was to troubleshoot and fix ALL of the 3-way switches that had been mis-wired in a 6,500 sqft house in University Park. It was a great learning experience for me and established my regimen for wiring 3-ways. During rough in, I'd give the two travelers a couple of twists together to identify them and leave the common (hot or switch leg) alone. Now I've seen some electricians then coil the common around the travelers and I can see how this would be helpful in multi gang boxes with several travelers (and even multiple commons, a mix of hot(s) and switch legs). For temporary lighting, I might cap the common with a traveler (usually the black) and just install one temporary switch (single pole or 3-way) at the other side. At final trim, I would attach the lonely black to the common, the red traveler to the gold screw on the side of the common and the remaining black to the solo side gold screw. Rinse and repeat on the other end and I've never had a problem. When troubleshooting customer installations, this is the first thing I, reconfigure the wires as I've described. I've never seen a 3-way switch 'fail' however I have found several single poles that have physically stopped working. They normally feel 'squishy' or 'loose' when operated. Only once have I had a 4-way fail on me. The worst experience was my first 4-way installation when the boxed 4-way switch had been replaced with a single pole by some devious customer that wanted to save 10 bucks and rip off the big box store. I lost three hours finding out I had the wrong switch then having to make another run to the store. Now I physically inspect boxed switches before I buy them.

[@sickbassdrop]

But 4 ways have... 4 terminals?

[@blueskies4715]

@@sickbassdrop Yes, they do (well, 4 posts and a ground). Two incoming (line) travelers and two outgoing (load) travelers. No common (hot or switch leg) connection. In a switched network (like a long hallway with multiple bedrooms), it goes something like [Line Hot] - [3-way] - [4-way]- ... - [3-way] - [Load switch leg]

[@sickbassdrop]

@@blueskies4715 I meant you bought and installed the single pole switch out of the 4 way box. Idk how you didn't notice it right away.

[@blueskies4715]

@@sickbassdrop Ah. It was in the box. You can't see the terminals in the box. I did not check as this was the first 4-way switch I had ever purchased on my own. I do now, much to the employees in the aisles bitching at me opening the packages to ensure the right product is in them.

[@CaseDadToo]

@@blueskies4715 I think Kopfjager is trying to understand why it took you three hours to figure out why your circuit wouldn’t work. Your story makes it sound like you installed the single pole, and spent 3 hours figuring out that it wasn’t a 3 way? Do they look so similar in appearance that you wouldn’t know right away that a single pole is not a 3 way? Or did it just take you 3 hours to make the round trip to the store again after opening the box?

[@jivydremsa509]

Helped me rewire a bunch of old switches!

[@CajunGreenMan]

I was just learning about this in SkillMill, so this was a great additional review. Keep up the great work!

[@MikeJuntaman]

50s wiring is insane. I have a 50s house and the wiring is just mind blowing.

[@nickg3748]

Muchas gracias for the very informative electrical 3way connection video. I corrected what I presume was an electrician's hot and travelling wires mixed up

[@Joslemian]

Great video. Got my switches fixed in minutes. Thank you!

[@dreamer541]

I love your content and I asked someone a question and have no answer yet, here it goes, if an old house doesn’t have an earth ground, how do you install one and where do you attach a ground on your house wiring?

[@zman5015]

Thanks Dustin I love these new types of videos can you please make more demonstration videos like this where you show us the wiring. It really puts things into practice and reinforces the understanding.

[@jordanstucki8092]

You don't even know bro. You changed my life! THANK YOU!!

[@dclem8]

The point about the shared sheathing was very useful. Hard to tell which wire is what with a 1930's home. Thanks!

[@christopherderrick2923]

Do you have any videos on motor controls it's still the one thing that gets me every time after 7 years on the field

[@Slattsburgh]

Awesome video. Recently passed my test and want to focus on getting better with troubleshooting.

[@spike2794]

I have the same MIlwaulkee drill. Love it for the light work.

[@loveexpressions25]

That was awsome. That also helps homeowners to not do any mistakes for just starting to learn from professional electricians as yourself. Thanks for your advices and teaching videos.

[@claytonfite3197]

We had a newbie/cub change a broken 4-way switch in a light circuit for six doors in an existing commercial building. The cub messed it up, then removed two more 4 ways. Finally reached out for help. Wired in conduit with black THWN wire no wire labels were used. Traced the travelers and corrected the spaghetti mess. Always fun fixing something someone else did. Easy fix lol

[@megakrab1]

This was a great, informative and simple to follow video. Thank you.

[@InvestmentsForLife]

Literally answered the question that I had for my scenario

[@thechamp34king48]

Great video for troubleshooting 3-way switches! Man i wish Electrician U was available for Florida. But, keep up the great work Dustin!

[@denverheid4604]

Put a word in for Minnesota if you get a chance.

[@waynegram8907]

DUSTIN, Can you make another video showing a 3way switch HOT side problem? since this video was about a 3way switch LEG Side problem

[@Eddy63]

You have inspired me to quit wiring stuff backwards 😂😅🤣 Thx for posting as these are very helpful ...

[@youdontknowme5969]

There used to be these push-button 3-way switches decades ago, so the position doesn't matter, just press. I miss those.

[@Sparky-ww5re]

Those are still available for restoration work, but be prepared to really open up the pocketbook, they are expensive.

[@briansmith7036]

Thank you very much ... I was lost for an hour... I think I flipped wires for about 40 mins... Got it now thanks alot

[@scotts4125]

I had a 4 way not working on all 3. I also had in my head one worked another light added to the mix. I had all the switches out. I thought I had a bad switch but checked for continuity and it was working. After an hour I fixed it by accident. One of the switches was halfway pressed and that made the other two not work. I was glad I didn't fire the parts cannon and also surprised I was dealing with a 4 way not a 3 way. Sometimes when you don't use a switch for a while you forget which light it worked.

[@lockpickingvlad]

Very true! I recently came across a situation where somebody used a 3-way switch instead of a 4-way switch. How you may ask? They attached the extra wire under the common terminal. 😅

[@603Guy]

Brilliant / Articulate.., You have the skill set to run a major real estate team ! Thank You Sir !

[@MariusGiurgi]

Great tip. thanks. btw.. I’m not sure who designed this thing but my wires are not color coded very smart.. a red and a black are bundled together and a white and a black also bundled together... hard to see all the way in the back of the box (where the wires are split into individual ones) to see which ones are bundled together. Also my 3 way switches (LEVITON) have two red plugs for travelers and 1 black for com.. I originally assumed maybe the red/black wire colors were switched so I connected both black wires to travelers and the red wire to com (i did not check for hot wire first .. and maybe i should have). Needless to say it did not work (had the same issue as you are showing in the video). Your helpful tip helped me solve the mystery.. once I looked deep in the back at the box to see which wires were bundled together the fix was immediate. thanks.

[@VeronicaAguillen]

This was exactly my issue! Thanks for your help

[@willfergusson724]

Great video, love hitting the basic stuff sometimes!

[@Marianley]

I wonder what a “Chicago” 3-way is? 😅. I’m troubleshooting multiple 3-ways in single gangs with power coming from different breakers. They did not work since I moved in. I have not used a multimeter in many years. I am determined to get it done. I also found in this house built in CA in 1962, a single gang with 3 switches, one 3-way and 2 regular switches. Why????? Much of it doesn’t work but I’m determined to get the tape off all the switches to be able to use lighting. Your video is great for standard switches. Thanks for making it entertaining. 😊

[@Bapuji42]

These troubleshooting vids are super helpful. Thank you.

[@juliocolon8117]

Great and simple explanation Thank you

[@DP-dz1dp]

I won’t go into all the details but this video helped me figure out how to install x2 3-way switches on my staircase and also keep the lights and outlets on in another room 😂😅

[@iamissamchannel]

YOU ARE THE BEST I had this situation and I solved it after watching your video. 🙏🙏🙏

[@dallasarnold8615]

Dustin thanks for this one. I have battled with this situation a number of times. Usually solve by multiple trial and error. Never thought about checking for the sheathing that they are coming from. Duh on my part for that.

[@larryestrada5418]

If you assume that no one knows anything, it would be nice to see you test from the power source forward. With a explanation of each step. IDEA, a wifi 3 way on one side and wifi on both sides,with an explanation. Thanks, great job as always.

[@Timothy-NH]

So, house built in 1943 with a 3-way for the stair well. Replaced the upstairs switch and now it functions like your's did in it's problem state. When I replaced the upstairs switch, I moved the wires 1-for-1, so I'm thinking the internal of the switch was different in 1943. If I go flip flopping conductors around, there is no danger of shorting anything, correct? It's actually been like this since 2001 now, but we live this light in all the time. I have ignored it because I don't like disturbing the old wires. (MC wire)

[@dhender85]

One of my biggest pet peeves is the or of sync switches. When switches are down, lights should be off. Instead of putting the common and black traveler on one side, and the red alone, on the power side I put the common and black traveler on the one side, and on the switch side I put my common and red traveler. A 4way switch changed it up, but with just two 3way switches, it works great.

[@Justinwhat1]

True, but when both of your switches are UP, the light will also be off.

[@dhender85]

@@Justinwhat1 but when they're both down, they're off. That's more important.

[@lbarocio]

Academy award for acting "Super Surprised" goes to....Dustin!

[@jamesbarca7229]

After going back and forth between different options, that's the exact same screw gun I ended up using. It perfectly fits the bill for what I need it to do.

[@sociopathmercenary]

I have one light with three switches. Two 3-way and a 4-way. The 4-way had to be on for either of the other switches to operate the light. If the light is on, I can turn it off with the four-way. Of course, none of the wires are labeled. I figure I'm probably going to need to get a long piece of wire with clips on each end to do a continuity check to determine which end belongs to which other end. (Power off of course) Maybe then I can sort out where the problem is with the wiring at the switches. Hoping for some tips in this video. 😂

[@gingerhaley4815]

Thank you so much ! You helped me immensely. Understanding the traveler wires was awesome. Yes, I did have them wired just like you did for tutorial. Oops! Lol! Now they work awesome.🎉❤

[@IBBERM]

I did what you suggested (swap swapped what I thought was the traveler ) and still have the same negative result. Could there be another reason?

[@elmo890]

The most important thing with a 3 way setup is you want to make sure you have your power, on the hot side, connected to the common of the switch. Then your travelers run over to the next switch. On the next switch make sure those two same travelers are on the traveler terminals, and the hot wire from the device it is wired to is on the black screw on that side. If all of that is in place, then check to make sure your power is coming in properly on the hot side with a tester. If that's all good, then check from any breaks in line between the two switches, or maybe your power source is being switched from elsewhere in which case I would make sure your pigtail to the switch is tied to a bundle that is always hot. Just some steps you can take to hopefully move further along the troubleshoot process and hope that helps.

[@jessfarias8156]

Thanks for the common comment, the pos 3 way switch I was provided has no blacks screws and no instructions in the box, just two brass screws and a chrome screw. I got it fixed now.

[@binaryglitch64]

I just suggested this video one or two videos ago... that's awesome.

[@righteouswillie]

Thanks so much for this. Was pulling out my hair trying to figure it out

[@gabrielverdiguel3273]

Fixed my issue thanks

[@TR4Ajim]

I remember the first 3-way circuit I installed in my garage many years ago. It was simply two switches and a simple porcelain light socket that I just bought. BTW - It was in the height of summer and it was close to 100 degrees in the garage. I finished the wiring, double checked my work, turned on the breaker, flipped the switches and the light didn’t go on. After running back and forth many times between the panel in the basement and the garage (and sweating like a pig), I tested all the connections and everything seemed fine. I even checked that the light bulb was ok. Finally, it turned out that the brand new porcelain fixture was defective!!🤨 Put in another new fixture and the light went on. Lesson learned.

[@dallasarnold8615]

Jim, I can absolutely identify with you. Years ago I worked for a company installing and maintaining paint booths for body shops. The boss sent me to one that would not come on at all. Just so you know there is a lot of wiring on a paint booth. I started by checking the breaker and working my way through with my multimeter for 4 hours. Everything tested right. I started at the beginning several times. Finally I gave up and called the boss. After telling him the story, his first question was "did you check for any loose wires." Well, no. Everything tested okay. So I start flicking the wires and lo and behold, the incoming wire to the main switch slings out. Turns out, whoever hooked it up stripped the wire too thin and it had burned in two. So, it was pushed up against the contact enough to test good, but not strong enough to supply enough to start the motors. You can bet your butt, now when I open a panel that is my first check, any loose wires.

[@CD-hc5ds]

Im not a electrician but i can muddle my way though it. 3ways have always confused me, so what do you do? Look at a diagram off the net on how to wire a 3way switch. Following the picture i was having a similar problem to what you where explaining, over & over looking at it & confirming its exactly like the picture, well almost. Depending on manufacturer the Black screw may be at the top or bottom of the switch so following a picture & running your wires so the same location may cause you 2hrs of frustration & ruin half your day. Thank your for clearing up the Black screw mystery. LOL

[@ghostwriter310]

Dustin, Thanks for a great channel. I have a question about multiple 3 way switches in the same J-Box. So, when you enter my Tiny House and on the left is a wall switch, with 4 different 3 way switches. Each 3-way switch controls a different operation. One does ceiling lights, the other does Front porch lights, the third 3-way controls the deck lights and the Fourth 3 way switch controls an outlet at ceiling level for a rope light (LED). I know I can run 14/2 from the panel to the J-box and get power to the switches. Here is where I'm a bit unsure! I need to run 14/3 to the other J-Box that has Four 3 way switches that operates the same as the front door J-box. Do I have to run 4 different 14/3 runs? is there a way to combine those runs onto just one run? and if so how might that work? Thanks for your help!

[@calebcaldwell4690]

Question. I’m doing a 3 way switch setup where power comes to the first switch (12/2), meets cable for wires (12/2) and cable for the 2nd switch w/ traveler wire (12/3). At the 2nd switch the traveler wire (12/3) meets the wire at the end of the circuit (12/2) to connect at the switch. Does power need to start at the switch without the wires for lights or does it matter? Connections at both switches will be done via pigtails.

[@stevethomas5849]

Language is different but science is the same. We use the term strappers for travellers, switch live for switch leg and common for common. I generally wire using what we say 3 core and earth ( ground) which consists of a grey(gray) , black and brown in 1.5mm (16AWG). All are Live so the black and grey are over sleeved with brown sleeving as brown means live(hot). Personally the old colours were more appropriate Red (danger) live Black Neutral. Anyway great explanation that you have presented.

[@davidm8371]

My amateur solution would be to undo and redo all of it. I can't wait to learn the right way to do it!

[@andysmith3886]

Thank you. Solved my problem. Been driving me nuts. Thought I paid better attention. Oh well. Whole house and I only messed up 1.

[@masalachaimasta]

0:01 to 7:09 3way troubleshooting 7:10 Dustin self amusement 7:11 Back in business 😎

[@pareidoliarocks]

This is a great video. I just went through this exact scenario a few days ago.

[@Mushroomhaus0001]

Thank you, this made a lot of sense and you explained very well. I couldn’t figure out why the 3 way I replaced was acting oddly - I matched the wiring when I took it out. Turns out that the new Leviton Switch I installed had the common wire screw swapped from the original I took out! Learned a lesson - I can’t just match what I pull out!

[@tommycho9068]

Great point. Thanks.

[@rogerk1710]

8:59 I know it’s obvious to people who know but the same applies to boxes with pipe or MC cable. 2 hots and a neutral will define which wires are travelers mostly. Always good content on your channel Dustin!

[@Peponlikespeson3684]

I would like to see a video on trouble shooting a 208v or a 480v panel involving bad reading when testing neutral lead? I’ve been having this issue where I have power from black to red the voltage is good but from the neutral lead to hot or red the voltage is either 0 or way low on the 20 v or under. Any tips. I’m sure there’s something I’m missing.

[@jeremywatts2768]

Can you do switch loops? I think they stopped using them in the late 80's.

[@Sparky-ww5re]

You legally can, but you must run 14/3. Pretty much pointless now except in unusual situations. For example if I have power coming in one end of a hallway, a light and a receptacle in the middle, and the switch is located on the other end with no other devices it's probably going to be more cost effective in material and labor to run power from the receptacle, to the light, then run a 14/3 from the light to the switch. The convention is to use the red as the switch leg, black as your feed, and place a wirenut or wago connector on the neutral and shove it in the back of the box. As of 2011 with a few exceptions, a neutral must be available at a switch box. Sometimes certain types of electronic switches require a neutral to function. The old method of running power to a light fixture and running a 14/2 from the fixture to a switch, is no longer acceptable.

[@jeremywatts2768]

@@Sparky-ww5re Yeah, I ran into that and it "threw me for a loop" when I was replacing a dimmer. Power was running to the light first. My old 12ga has a white sheath too along with the 14ga. I have a jbox that was putting black and white together so it made it difficult to figure out they were using white it for a hot. I've gone through an replaced nuts with Wago221s to help troubleshoot and map out the circuits. I'm also replacing all the backstabbed stuff as I go along. 80's wiring was a mess. I dont even know if they were trying to save money since this place is piped (horribly) in copper too that I'm replacing with PEX a stick at a time.

[@jeremywatts2768]

Another weird thing is that I have a 200A box outside that has a lot of breaker room, with only like 6 breakers. They put the HWH, Oven and 2 HVAC units in it. One is a 90A for a panel inside the house that runs all of the house room circuits and another is a 100A they sent to to the garage that had an apartment at one time. Its a weird setup, but I like that its flexible since I was considering installing an Electric Tankless.

[@afzalhakeen4941]

this happened to me once, i kept checking every wire and 3 way switches and lights till i just swap an old 3 way switch to a new one after that everything worked great and i just thrown the old 3 way switch as far as i could

[@anthonymwangi1661]

Great piece.

[@AlongtheRiverLife]

Shouldn't the red and black traveler be in the same screw position on each switch? My Levitron switch had the red screw on the bottom left of the switch.

[@Boyo1956]

I watched 4 other videos. This video made sense.

[@jonnydiaz09]

Hey dustin, anyone can correct me if im wrong but i noticed you had 14gauge wire on a 20amp circuit. Isnt that against code?

[@Sparky-ww5re]

Yes, that is a code violation. You however, are allowed 12gauge wire on 15 amp circuits, just not the other way around. In rare cases, 12 or even 10 gauge wire will be used for 15 amp circuits. In very large homes or an addition where the panel is far away (more than 100 feet or so) sometimes we have to oversize our wire to keep voltage under control. If you have several circuits going to a remote area, it's more economical in terms of labor and material, to install a subpanel near the remote area instead of having to oversize all the circuits. Just go to home depot or Lowe's, check out the price of NM wire and you'll see what I mean.

[@andystitt3887]

Can 3 wire cable be identified by looking at it if it has no label?

[@ronlovell5374]

Can you confuse everyone now with a four-way switch video? 😆 They're very common in larger homes now, especially rooms with three entrances and 3 story stair wells.

[@sterlingferguson7234]

4 ways are much easier...

[@mos8541]

Hey HEY bro... YO... Switches BE Trippin!

[@jjbgmb719]

What’s a chicago 3 way lol? We have conduit so I always pull my travelers the same color and group them together

[@Sparky-ww5re]

Chicago 3 way is a method commonly used with knob and tube wiring, and in rual areas, where you have a yardlight between a house and barn, receptacles in barn are hot all the time and three way switches in the house and barn control the yardlight, using only 3 wires not counting the ground. You wire the hot and neutral to the travellers , and the light is switched with the commons , a hot and neutral, light turns on, two neutrals or two hots and the light turns off. Commonly used until the 50s or 60s because you save one wire, although technically had been illegal since 1923

[@jonnyz5758]

Didnt know you could combine different gauge wire into one device

[@ivankrushensky]

I have this exact problem, but there is a white, black and red wire. The white and red are both hot?

[@christopherdekonstrukt444]

Have 2 circuits like these where depending on where one switch is toggled the circuit is off regardless of the position of the other switch.

[@NoNoGSP]

Gotta love the up-side down customer 😂

[@zman5015]

Can you make trouble shooting receptical videos like this also

[@JCWren]

For the 3-way switches in my house, I'll flip the switch or reverse the travelers so that when both toggles or paddles are down, the load is off. It drives me nuts to look down a hallway with 4 or 5 switches on it and see one toggle up when the load is off.

[@Justinwhat1]

If you do that, the switches can also be up with the load off.

[@JCWren]

Of course. It's OK for one switch to be up when the load is on. But if you leave both switches up when the load is off, well, that's as bad as loading toilet paper so it's "under" instead of "over" :)

[@zhallquist28]

Look at Mr Long hallway 😮

[@John_Locke_108]

@@zhallquist28 😂

[@binaryglitch64]

It'll never stay like that. That's the nature of 3-ways.

[@tr1cksh0ts77]

Hey Dustin I watched your grounding and bonding video and I’m new to the trait and I was curious if you could explain and floating neutral or how that works thank you love the videos !

[@jahmazonelectric4901]

In a house, electricity comes from a special place called the power station and flows through wires to different parts of the house. When electricity flows, it needs a path to return back to the power station. This path is called the neutral wire. Normally, the neutral wire is connected to the ground so that everything stays safe. But sometimes, in certain special cases, the neutral wire is not connected to the ground. When this happens, we call it a floating neutral. Imagine you have three friends playing on a see-saw. They should balance each other to keep the see-saw in the middle. But sometimes, one friend becomes heavier than the others, and the see-saw tilts to one side. Similarly, in electricity, the floating neutral happens when the three wires carrying electricity are not balanced. This can make the neutral wire carry more electricity than it should, and it becomes a little different from the ground. To avoid problems, the floating neutral is used in special places where it's needed. But in our homes, the neutral wire is connected to the ground to keep everything safe and balanced.