THREE WAYS 3-WAYS CAN BE (3way Switch Wiring - ILLEGAL AND LEGAL METHODS)

Did you know that there are multiple different ways to wire 3-way switches? Some of them are dangerous and "illegal" but they do exist, you might come across them, so you should know what they are and how they work.
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Normal 3-way Switch Wiring
A Typical 3-way switch is wired using one box/device as the hot side and the other as the leg side. On the hot side you bring your incoming hot and neutral, on the leg side you bring your switch leg and switch leg neutral. Then between the two devices, you run travelers.
Carter 3-way Switch Wiring
A Carter three-way is an old-school wiring method that was outlawed in the early 1900's as it allows a switch in polarity at the screw-shell of a lamp/luminaire. It doesn't have a hot side and a leg-side, instead, it utilizes both travelers as hot and neutral, then the common screws of both devices are connected to either side of the luminaire/screw shell. When switching occurs, the hot feeds in one way and the neutral feeds the other, then when either of the switches are flipped it reverses polarity, making the neutral the hot, and the hot the neutral - at the lamp/luminaire. This is a shock hazard, and wiring should not be done this way. It is only for educational purposes in the event you come across a setup like this in the future.
California 3-way Switch Wiring
California three-way switching came about because of a local code restriction in parts of California. There was a situation where putting more than three conductors in a certain type of conduit was not allowed, so the electricians had to become a little creative with wiring. So the Cali 3way looks very similar to the Carter, however, it does not switch the neutral, rather it bypasses everything with the neutral like modern three way switching does today. This means there is no reversing of polarity like the Carter setup.
Dead-End 3-way Switch Wiring
I've called a dead-end three way a California 3way for a long time, and that is not correct. A lot of southerners call a deadend a cali because they both work on the philosophy of using 3 conductors - but it is not accurate to call it such. A deadend threeway is when you have both the incoming power and the switch leg in the same box on one side of a room. If you need to add a second 3way switch at the other end, you simply pass three conductors down to the other side and utilize the white as a switch leg and re-identifying it black.
#3wayswitch #threewayswitch #wiring

[@khybersafi9137]

Here's a future video idea: How to do a re-wire or replace a home-run most efficiently with minimum amount of drywall damage. Any tips and tricks you've learned over the years that would be helpful to new guys getting into the field. Thanks.

[@glennreynolds962]

Depends on what is above or below and where you can fish from. Sometimes you have to go up over and down. I worked in a split level that had the walls been open would take 50 ft of wire from the panel to new AC. Because we had to drill and fish up over and down it took almost a full roll of 10/3 NM

[@Blackbypopulardemand305]

I would love to see a video about this uuf

[@TheChadavis33]

Agree. I’m always wanting to do the minimum amount of damage, and obviously still get the job done quickly and efficiently

[@rileybolling761]

This would be tremendously helpful.

[@tay13666]

I can tell you that re-wiring without opening the walls uses a whole lot more wire. You can't do it efficiently without opening up walls. If you don't open walls you use lots of junction boxes in the basement and attic, and a lot of dead end runs. But that is the trade off for not damaging original plaster in an 1890 house. First floor isn't as bad if you have a basement, not nearly as much wasted wire going from underneath to wall outlets. Going up to the attic, then dropping down the wall for each receptacle on the second floor burns through wire pretty quick though.

[@dakotagarcia3772]

The Code Time segment really sets this channel apart. I feel your channel is very underrated and want to say thank you for inspiring me in part to persue this career!

[@JmanRx81]

Indeed!

[@dannyrondeau7873]

Can I double thumb up this vid? It took me an hour to figure out a repair on a dead end threeway last month. One of the switches had died, but seeing that hot neutral in the light box with no ID tape on it left me so confused until I drew it out on the table. Your video makes it so clear so quickly. Great info!

[@richaw42]

When I was a kid, my father replaced a 3-way switch, and as soon as we flipped the switch, it blew the fuse! Huh? Well, it was (as I now know) a Carter 3-way, and the replacement switch was a mercury switch, and flipping the switch momentarily connected all three terminals, shorting the power, and blowing the fuse! Minneapolis, not too far from Chicago :)

[@sambulate]

Dude, thank you SO much for this! The way you've animated this, and how you've illustrated the connections are SO helpful. The physical connections and interactions between the components are what I have struggled with, and this helps me visualize it better than I ever have. More, please!

[@youdontknowme5969]

Perfect timing!! I encountered a strange 3-way delimma over the weekend at a 90 year old house. I bet it's a Chicago 3-way...

[@timlabarr6131]

Totally thought this was gonna be another repeat video. BUT It wasn't that's awesome because I didn't know about the Chicago 3 ways or the Cali 3 way really except that Kelly 3 ways were dead in 3 ways as well. Thanks for the knowledge dude and nice animations.

[@bj2448]

I really appreciate your explanations as you drew these diagrams. I encountered a situation where whoever wired this house ran the load and neutral wires from the light into Switch A, and connected the incoming hot line to the white wire along with the travelers, essentially bypassing Switch A to run the power directly to Switch B. This configuration was not represented in any of the standard wiring diagrams I was able to find, but your drawings in combination with some voltage and continuity tests (plus lots of head scratching) revealed the situation....and I was able to fix the 3 way circuit in my dining and add a functional dimmer. Thanks!!!!

[@juanlorenzo7341]

im a journeyman electrician , i know this stuff but for some reason i cannot stop watching your videos, thank you for the videos your doing keep up the great work

[@vlad1889]

IS NEC certified same as Journeyman? Taking exam at your local village or other local jurisdiction but it just states licensed electrical contractor not journeyman. So journeyman is specifically for union electricians?

[@jimmac1185]

@@vlad1889 Nope, where I live there is 4 classes of electricians, licensed by our state, union or not. Class A: Master Class B: Journeyman Class C: Systems Contractor Class D: Systems Technician I currently hold a Class A and B licenses, since for some reason your not actually allowed to do electrical work with s Class A. Weird huh?

[@steve-o6413]

@@vlad1889 state licensed for general electrical contractor is the same as journeyman...

[@johnsandlinjr]

@@steve-o6413 in DE a journey needs to work under a master still. Only a master can pull a permit.

[@jamesmarshall1993]

Hey Dustin. As a Canadian studying the electrical trade in our code books (CEC 2018 24th edition) Section 4-022-2 states that a Neutral conductor is required in every switch box. It reads as "The identified conductor shall be installed at each location of a manual or automatic control device for the control of permanently installed luminaires at a branch circuit outlet."

[@andycopeland7051]

Fantastic video brother! Learned a lot about the two odd-ball wiring methods. Your animations were perfect. Thanks a lot man keep it up

[@nicholsconstruction1]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Just working on my house today, moving switches and ran into a Chicago 3way. It was kicking my butt. But after watching this video it went back together as you described. 3 way back up and working.

[@imdeplorable2241]

BINGO!! It was a "Chicago 3-way" design. While merely replacing an old 1920s porcelain 3-way in a friend's 1905 house, I blew 4 Edison base fuses. What the...? So, I had to run a wire from a water pipe to determine what wires were hots or neutrals using my Wiggy. Yes, there was a neutral (!!??) on the switch. NOW I KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON THERE. "Chicago 3-way." Thank you so much for this tutorial. Neither of those systems was taught in my apprenticeship.

[@Ibuildit2817]

THIS was exactly what I was looking for! We recently did a simple switch disconnect/reconnect but I was trying to wire the traditional way but as it turns out, we were dealing with a Dead End 3-way. totally confused me. We did finally figure it out but this explains so well why 99% of 3-way wiring videos out there do not show dead end wiring. THANKS! I needed this!

[@SuperVstech]

I have worked on thousands of houses from the turn of the century and I’ve NEVER seen a Chicago 3Way… and I’m glad of it! Wow, who’d a thunk of that…

[@wizard3z868]

try living on the east coast especially New england where K&T is still widely present i ran into a cple of times. now word is out to call me when modern bulbs are burning up or just not working lol (im not a professional or licensed but i get a lot of calls from some asking to dble chk for a carter system lol

[@ryanwashburn1804]

You should make a video about trouble shooting them on service calls.

[@jamesdannibale3065]

I agree Ryan even if it’s not a true service call

[@Aepek]

One easy way if troubleshooting a 3-way on a service call and KNOW it is the issue…..undo all wires and rewire; find easier then trying to spend the time searching and looking and testing everything (and yeah, might end up doing anyway), but undoing all the wiring and doing over tends to be fastest and able to “see” what’s happening, imo. Everyone does service calls diff, so, this might work great for me etc…so, everyone has there techniques and steps for dealing with troubleshooting service calls😉 Cheers✌🏻

[@that1electrician]

@@Aepek When you say undo all the wires and re-wire, do you mean re landing the correct wires where they're actually supposed to go? I'm a little confused about what you mean here.

[@Rishnai]

@@that1electrician Easier to tell where things really go if not hidden / biased by the old known-wrong wiring

[@jeromewilliams4516]

I only see this NEC 2020 "neutral at switch boxes" applying to completely new switch circuits as in a rewire or new construction. As a practice, I try to always (especially in residential) have my switch legs go up to a fixture outlet from a wired switch box rather than than down. and this practice was influenced from my early electrical maintenance days (mostly service work), whereas I hated having to fool with a light fixture to troubleshoot a problem such as bad splices. Another great video for sure...

[@newenglandman2413]

You just solved a 29-year mystery in my world. It was that long ago that I was unable to figure out the wiring of a 3-way switched light in an old house retrofit with K&T (had been gas lit) that had then been plastered-over. For the love of God nor money could I figure this thing out. Of course, I could not see the wiring paths behind the walls and all wires were the same color black. It was, I see now, a Chicago/Carter method. Thank you.

[@rosskeenum4413]

Thank you Dustin! I'm just a DIYer but had a situation where I had a misbehaving 3 way setup. Turned out to be a miswired dead end 3 way. I suspect it has never worked correctly for the 10 years since the house was built.

[@danan9037]

I really learn a lot from your vids and appreciate your producing them. Great explanation of three ways. Another way to wire a dead end 3-way and have a constant hot and neutral in the leg box is using 12-2-2 or 14-2-2. Method: From the line-side, send the hot (black) to the load (black screw) of the leg switch. Use the red and red/white conductors for travelers and cap off the neutral (for future). In the line-side box, connect the light's black wire (load) to the load post (black screw) and splice your neutrals there. We had to do this where we had a huge barring post in the way making other paths difficult.

[@Roy-ij1wq]

Great video. You just helped me solve a problem I was working on today with two dead end 3 way switches that control the garage light from the kitchen door and garage door. Saved me the trouble of having to call for help. Update - Section 404.2c was changed in 2020 and now prohibits a "dead end" three-way in a remodel if there is no finish on the wall and the wire is readily accessable and can be changed. I ran into this on my remodel when I exposed an old dead end three-way and had to add a neutral. The reason for this is that many modern "smart" switches require a neutral. If the neutral isn't used, it is capped for future use. I'm also having to upgrade some single pole switches to 14/3 wire because the home runs are to the junction box for the light. Again, the unused neutral is capped for future use.

[@chuckster134]

Outstanding video. Excellent, interesting instructor. Clearly explained, and the diagrams are awesome! Finally solved the "Dead End 3 Way Switch" issue that had perplexed me for years in my home. Thanks a bunch!

[@jurassicsparks5220]

Ok, so terminology is different as I’m a licensed Electrician in both Australia and UK. But the first 3 way and the dead end 3 way is generally what we would use… the dead end is wired slightly differently but the principle is the same. Enjoying your vids and the different words we use.

[@joshuaarellano6600]

Would you mind recommending some electrical channels similar to this from one of those countries? I'm interested on learning more about how things are wired in a 240v system.

[@jurassicsparks5220]

@@joshuaarellano6600 Check out Artisan electrical and Tom Nagy

[@tadonplane8265]

An old electrician who wired many California three way circuits explained it to me like this. On a three way switch you have a common and two throws, not a common and two travelers. The wires are travelers not the terminals. A traveler is a wire that connects two switches together and no matter how many boxes that wire goes through nothing else gets connected to it. A conventional three way (straight, loop, dead end) has two travelers. A California has one traveler between the commons, nothing else is connected to that wire. While the throws are wired together too, those conductors are not travelers because in every box they go through, one is a hot and the other is a switch leg. In a Carter there is no traveler. Each switch gets hot and neutral on its throws and the lamp is wired between the commons. It’s illegal because it can break the neutral leaving both sides of the lamp shell hot, with the lamp being off. The benefit of the California is when a three way is needed to control a string of lights, it saves a conductor in the run compared to a conventional three way. It’s totally legal under 404.2 because it only breaks the hot. Save yourself some wire, use the California when you have multiple loads on a three way.

[@chris2884]

Love your video and have come back several times to watch the variations. One variation of the three-way switch I’m having a really hard time finding is one where the power comes into the switchbox, and then both the three wire to the other switch, and the two wire to the lights come out of that same box. Might be a great video for someone as I can’t find it anywhere

[@Sparky-ww5re]

What you're describing is the dead end three way, actually a commonly used variation. Technically still a code compliant 3-way since the box with the incoming power has an available neutral. Especially useful in renovations where you need to convert a single pole switch into a pair of 3 ways with minimal work.

[@darinsmith9468]

I encountered this Cali 3-way crap on my 70s house in the Dallas area. They apparantly didn't want to spring for 12/3 cable, so they used 12/2 everywhere. Tied to a separate circuit's neutral & that's how I discovered it. Had the hallway circuit on for extra light, while working on a bedroom circuit--breaker switched off and confirmed. Unwired the neutral bundle in the bedroom switch box and got bit & hallway light turned off. Go switch off that circuit and open up the hallway boxes to find this mess. So my simple bedroom switch replacement turned into a run to the hardware store to buy some 12/3 and fix that crap. I checked the other 3-way setup for the garage & yep, same crap.

[@w1swh1]

Excellent Dustin! I like your emphasis on code. As often happens, ignore the code until the house burns down or worse a demise, and then remorse, "if only I had followed the code"

[@blueyesterday3920]

Excellent content!!! The only two three ways I’ve ever known were the regular and dead end. I always heard the dead end called the “old way”.

[@benjaminhoskins5733]

This video answered a lot of my questions. The white board and diagrams made it simple. Much appreciated.

[@yopappy891]

Very helpful video, I ran into a dead-end recently on a non working 3 way switch repair. Dustin your awesome Thank you.

[@Bloated_Tony_Danza]

Two year helper here, boss's son has "ten-thirteen years experience". It's amazing how well he cites code to explain something and be absolutely wrong. Not just wrong, but like holy hell I'd be so screwed if I listened to you wrong. Destroyed equipment wrong, it's actually astounding. He's convinced himself of absolute absurdities and he's trying to teach them to me, only to be stopped dead in his tracks and told to shut up

[@timlouie5484]

Your explanation and diagram of the dead end 3way perfectly described the hot mess I was seeing in switch boxes. Thank you so much!

[@markied2873]

Any way to make it work to an outlet?

[@rockhouseoutdoors75]

Thank you man. I’m in vocation school right now and was really stumped on the dead end. My instructor kinda just told me to figure it out as he sees it as a better alternative of learning as hik showing us.

[@eldenboy11]

This was soo helpful. I just found out about the neutral code requirements and wasnt sure, about how to handle until watching this video. Thank you!!

[@Sparky-ww5re]

Can be especially confusing for traveling electricians because often local jurisdictions have stricter requirements than the NEC and while one county for example, may allow dead end three ways, the next county may not, or they may allow 14-4 or two runs of 14-2 so as to have a neutral at all switch boxes, for example.

[@billweare2146]

Thanks for your video. I ran across this Carter/Chicago style 3 way on a repair job that the customer had put in new switches and it was very helpful!

[@Sparky-ww5re]

Lol did it take you some time to figure out what they had running? If so how long. Luckily I have personally never ran into a Chicago/carter 3 way, I have only heard of them and apparently they have been illegally installed decades after they became illegal in the mid 1920s. A fairly common application, was on older farms , and homes in rural areas, where you had a home, a yardlight and an outbuilding, and some receptacles in the outbuilding that are to remain constant hot, and 3 way switches in the home and outbuilding controlled the yardlight using only 3 wires instead of four with or without ground.

[@steve-o6413]

Great explanation for 3ways didn't know about the Chicago 3way even after many years in the Trade you can still learn new things...

[@aristotle56]

The 'Dead End 3-Way' is what I would use based on my 45 years in electronics, though I would run the 14/3 red & black from the travelers on the first hot switch plus the neutral straight into the ceiling box, then strip off the outer jacket, cut the white wire and fasten it onto the shell screw, then put black tape onto the other end of the white and connect it to the screw hooked to the bottom light socket contact. Then I would continue the cable over to the other 3-way switch, and hook red and black to the travelers, and white to common with a black tape band added. The down side is pulling the wire all the way through the box. BUT, I know the way we would do things in electronics does not always satisfy code, though it would save on wire nuts and wire. Thanks for your informative videos. I learned a bunch of this stuff from my dad a long time ago, but he went to trade school to be an electrician in the 1930s. Much has changed!

[@Sparky-ww5re]

Wonder if your dad learned the carter 3 way method, because it allowed power on both ends of a three way using 3 wires instead of 4 not counting the ground, and the economic hardships of the time forced many people to get creative and make do with the least amount of material. Actually ran across a carter 3 way a little while back on a farm with a yardlight between the house and barn with a single conductor running from the house and barn to the light pole, controlled by 3 way switches from different panels. House and barn were built c. 1910 and got electricity in the late 40s.

[@glenmartin2437]

Thank you. I repaired a 3-way in my folks home years ago. I had to diagram it out to do the repair. This video really helped. Also, thanks for the code discussion. I started studying AC circuits and the code as a graduate student when an electrician told me 240 single phase was the same as 208 3-phase. Even as a professor, I get confused by the words in the NEC. So do the electricians and inspectors. Thanks again.

[@ianshay2664]

the same? in what context?

[@mrromantimothy]

that's what makes our American system so good, 240 3 wire is a single phase Edison type circuit, and used in mostly residential, and 208 is two circuits of a three phase delta boat sharing a neutral, electricity can flow more freely through our grid without big differences in voltage, they are the same in regards to the equipment you are running, but they are very different in a lot of other ways. 208 in a three-phase wye system is a single pole stinger leg.

[@gilbertaguillen9981]

This video was perfect, just what I needed.- the "dead end" wiring. And described also perfectly! Thank you!

[@ian_snyder]

Amazing video! I’ve been helping a friend with some electrical work and I’m pretty sure they’ve got a dead end 3-way but didn’t know enough about it, so this was perfect info for me 👍 Subbed! 💪

[@ElectricianU]

Thanks for the sub!

[@ethanerwin8649]

Thanks so much. I’ve never heard of the dead end 3-way. Literally saved me hours of work.

[@heroknaderi]

Very Cool and detaied information i appricciate it. the dead end method you showed at the end of the video looks like the one i used before I once did a 3 way setup to control some recessed lights in my bedroom to control from 2 spots.😎

[@DapperChe]

Thank you for this channel and these jewels! I’m constantly learning something new with every video! Thank you again!

[@fredericklangbein635]

On the dead ends, I always did the white and red for the travelers and kept the black for the switch leg. I always stripped my common for the other people working on the finish. You need to show the fed at light with 2 dead ends, very useful in an old work situation.

[@neilspell8727]

I know of another type of "3-way" switch. A smart switch (Alexa- or Google Home- capable, for example -- also, some dimming 3-ways) uses the three wires as 1) Hot 2) Ground and lastly 3)"data/communication". I was baffled until I finally got it right. Then I realized what was happening. Both switches need to be "on" to respond, so a hot and ground are needed. But the switches also need to know what the other one is doing, therefore one of the wires is used for communication.

[@adampatterson9404]

Very cool! I've been a sparky for over 20 years and I've never seen or heard of a Carter or a Cali 3way. My company is strictly Lutron lighting controls so I completely agree on having a neutral in all the switch boxes especially with all of the modern-day LED loads. Most devices require a neut.

[@techtastisch7569]

Funny enough: the Californian 3 Way circuit is (in my opinion) the most popular one here in germany

[@raymondchow8722]

I recently did a kitchen/house remodel. I ended up scrapping all my 3 way switches. I had three 3-way (kitchen, hallway, & stairs) switches and replaced them with the Lutron smart switches. I know you are a electrician and it is less profitable for you to install wireless switches. But these Lutron Caseta switches/dimmers are legit. I even convert a existing 3 way situation into 4-ways by simply adding the wireless receivers. I have also convert the living room and family room single pole switches into 3 way Lutron dimmers. The great thing about the Lutron line is that the switches do not require neutral wire which mean you can easily upgrade your older houses into modern smart homes.

[@steveloux4709]

Hey Dustin, one thing you mentioned parenthetically was the dubious use of #6 and smaller white conductor used instead as an ungrounded circuit conductor, and that doing so was not compliant, but that most AHJs would not cite this as a violation. Just a reminder that cable assemblies are discussed in Article 200.6 and even white wires #6 and smaller may be re-purposed as ungrounded circuit conductors by way of phase tape or other effective means. For cable assemblies, there is no code violation.

[@darbyl3872]

Good info. Thanks.

[@comingtofull-ageinchrist6736]

basically, if you are running Romex, then the neutral needs to be in the outlet box. If it's EMT, and you can add it later then you don't have to run it; it can be added later if it's needed. This is basically why, in Oklahoma, they stopped letting us use the white wire to send a switch leg to the other 3 way and mark it with some red tape to identify it as hot. As an apprentice in open shop, I worked with a Journeyman that liked to use the white wire in a 12/3 to send the switch leg to the other side. He argued it uses less wire and saved on overhead. People were calling that a California 3 way for years until we had an electrician from California come along and tell some people that this wasn't a California 3 way. This is the first time I ever seen someone describe a California 3 way, and it is definitely different from what Journey were calling one back then. I have never seen the Carter 3 way but that looks kind of sketchy! I wonder who dreamed that up?

[@Sparky-ww5re]

Jimmy Carter lol😂😂

[@Turbo.M777]

I was going nuts trying to figure out how to replace a three way switch setup in my house. It didn’t make sense looking at how the existing wiring was. Until I found this video! apparently it was a “cali” three-way. Thanks!

[@martytruelove5026]

He is a Great Teacher...understandable explanations.

[@Audey]

Goddamn dead end 3-ways finally just clilcked for me. Describing it as just bringing the switch leg over to the 2nd box via the white wire in a 3-wire cable makes so much more sense than any other way it's been explained to me. Thank you!

[@kaseyatwell1640]

Congrats, I finally understand it when I used my red and whites as Travelers instead of red and black. For some reason, Black wires always going to common side of switch always made more sense to me rather than using the white as a common.

[@KameraShy]

Always very interesting and informative. I am in Chicago and never heard of a Chicago 3-way. At least in the electrical context.

[@williamsnyder6514]

Hey bro love your content just an FYI 200.6(E) (exc) allows you to re-identify a white conductor as long as it's part of a cable assembly. You do correctly interpret 404.2(C) keep up the good work!

[@crimestoppers1877]

Excellent presentation! Bravo!

[@bulldog_504]

I just came across a California three way replacing a light switch in my house and I didn’t understand how three ways worked until I watched your video thanks for explaining how they work

[@jacobplank]

Good video! You sure make it plain and simple!! I have come across an older house outside light fixture (4 way ) where all the travelers and hot wire was all joined in the light box. Now that was a mess, we needed to come off the switch loop to add can lights on porch, so I traced down the set of travelers to the only location they needed a switch and reconfigured the light box as a junction box and dead ended the remaining wires. What would this 4 way system been called? Just curious!

[@foddermott9532]

Perfect! The dead-end 3-way is just what I had been searching for. I want to convert a switch inside the attached garage into a 3-way with the second switch on the other side of the wall that has a pilot light so I can tell if the garage light is on or not without opening the door. Wiring the pilot into the dead-end shouldn't be a problem? Thanks for the video.

[@AM-hf9kk]

Sending this to my Father-in-Law. The previous owner of his place had some hack install a "three way" circuit in the living room, one switch at the front door and one at the kitchen. Unfortunately, it's only 14/2 throughout and uses single-throw switches. Dude got it right in that both switches WILL turn the light off... but if you turn it off at the front door, the kitchen switch won't work. If you turn it off at the kitchen, then the front door doesn't work. The hack just put two switches in series, then installed a ceiling fan with a pull switch, which is what my in-laws end up using. It pains me greatly and I end up walking around in the dark rather than dick with it. I'm dreading replacing that mess because my Father-in-Law thinks the attic is unsafe and hasn't agreed to let me look at it yet.

[@happyfrybreadbushcraftands8637]

Up here in Canada I've seen 3 ways done a different way. You use 4 wire cable, red, black, white and ground. You run such a wire from the wall switch up into the ceiling light fixture and then down to the other wall switch. You can bring a hot 3 wire into any of the 3 boxes to power the circuit with with slight variations. I'll use an example of running the hot wire into one of the switches. You connect the hot black wire to the common pole. You then connect the black and red from the 4 wire to the other two poles. In the light fixture box you connect the black and red so they run on to the other switch. At the end switch you connect to black and red to the same poles as the first fixture and the white wire running back to the box to the common pole. This makes the white running back to the light a hot wire, mark it with black tape at both ends. Now just connect the hot white to the base connection of the bulb and the white going back to the start to the neutral side. At the first switch connect the white from the 4 wire to the white 3 wire power in line. And of course all the ground wires in all boxes are connected together. There's a bit of variation you can figure out yourself when the hot 3 wire is brought into the light fixture box in the ceiling. This set up seems to make it simpler and easier to wire 3 ways. There's no mystery 3 wire running in the walls along a different path. Overall it reduces wire costs and stringing for most jobs. It's also a lot easier to fish a single wire in a repair or retrofit scenario in a finished home. I notice now there is no neutral in the last box which isn't current code. If I had to install a smart switch in an existing box without a white neutral I would connect the neutral pole to the bare copper ground wire. The electronics in the switch don't return juice down the neutral. They just need it as a reference ground voltage. The ground wire should serve. Not sure if this acceptable under code??? It should be safe if the smart switch is made properly. I've seen electricians do this back in the day for old 240 volt electric stove circuits that didn't have a bare ground wire. They would connect the newer stove's ground wire to the white neutral going back to the panel. As we all know the ground and white neutral eventually connect to the same piece of metal in the panel. All the neutrals and grounds are electrically continuous, connected, in a home. And you'd likely get a better ground voltage reference from the bare copper wire than a neutral which could get thrown off by juice inputs elsewhere along the neutral circuit. I think the makers of such switches made an unnecessary mistake in choosing the neutral instead of the bare ground for a reference ground voltage. Or perhaps to accommodate older wiring with no bare ground wire. Or maybe I misunderstand the need for a neutral in smart switches. I would think the bare ground would be preferable when available. Somebody should check into this, see if technically the bare ground is ok and safe to use and the makers say it fits with their design intent. This would make meeting code requirements easier and cheaper Just a note of caution here when using fixtures and switches made in or for Canada. Canada is bilingual, French and English. As a result laws require labeling in both languages. That creates a mistake that's easy to make. In French white is spelled "blanc". If you're not paying attention or in poor lighting it's very easy to mistake the "blanc" label on components for "black". You'll connect the hot wire to the wrong pole. Heads up on this eh! I've seen some weird things the text books don't describe in AC wiring and I've come to believe there is very little or no current or voltage from a device down the neutral wire. I've seen houses where someone stole the bare #6 ground wire from the panel to ground to sell the copper. The new tenant or owner is unaware and the electrical in the house seems to work, more or less. There's no connection to ground anywhere in the system. It's all running on capacitance instead of grounding. It's wonky and likely dangerous but most of it still works. Of course I immediately tell the owner they need to put back the bare #6 ASAP.

[@user-assoul_]

Man, I remember the days when it first started as an apprentice doing residential electrical work and I would always come across these and the California version as well. A lot of exciting 💥moments for me back then😅.

[@samuelcrossland1101]

This was very informative. I can't say I have seen the Chicago or California 3 way locally. But the one I didn't see is the hybrid 3 way. I use it mostly for entry halls. But to save that additional 2 wire switched leg, we run 3 wire from a switch box with power to say an entry chandelier box, then 3 wire back down making a dead end on the other side of the hall. Neutral comes from the power switch box. Switch leg is the common at the dead end. And yes you have to change the color of the travelers in the ceiling box to avoid having two white wires at the fixture.

[@jleslie246]

I think this is what I have in my house.I have a foyer light with stairs. switch at bottom and switch at top. The bottom switch has a common/hot, neutral and two "travelers". the top switch has only one traveler and one neutral (coming from wire nut with 3 or 4 other white wires going who knows where). Im trying to wire up a smart switch but cannot get the top switch to work. Any ideas? and yes, I am not an electrician.

[@samuelcrossland1101]

@@jleslie246 if there multiple neutrals in the box at the top of the stairs that tells me there at one point was a pig tail coming from the "hots" in that same box to feed the circuit. This is more akin to the California 3 way described in the video. In older homes a neutral is a neutral to older electricians. Neutral and switched leg comes from the bottom of the stairs and you have a black and white pair of "travelers" at the top of the stairs and a hot wire in the switch at the top is the common.

[@samuelcrossland1101]

If you're wondering where how power gets to the switched leg, it's the travelers, all the switch does is alternate between the two travelers as paths. Commons are source and load.

[@jleslie246]

@@samuelcrossland1101 the only wires connected at the top of the stairs are the traveler and neutral. it worked with the old switch but the new smart switch i put in at the bottom wont work with the top switch connected.

[@samuelcrossland1101]

@@jleslie246 it needs a companion switch of the same type.

[@sqrlllc8704]

I have come across another version of the dead end 3way where the power (via 14/2) was coming in to the ceiling jbox .running from their to each 3way switch was a 14/3. The neutral from the supply directly hooked to fixture ,the hot from supply to one white 14/3 , the other white 14/3 to the fixture hot, and both travelers capped together in ceiling j-box.

[@jackallen3994]

Most of the 3-way switches in my house are like this, which means you cannot install a smart-switch that requires a neutral. One solution I found was to install a smart-relay in the light fixture box. The problem with that is if you have to press the smart-relay reset button, you have to remove the light fixture to get to it. Does anybody have an acceptable way to use the existing wires, repurpose them in some way, so a smart-switch can be installed?

[@jakesully5402]

@@jackallen3994 It sounds like it’s time to replace the 3-wire with a 4-wire at the “hot” location. If you can’t attach a 4-wire to the 3-wire and pull through, well, I’ve learned from experience that they make drywall and mud everyday 🤪

[@joshuaarellano6600]

Anyone know the name for this type of three-way?

[@kaseyatwell1640]

I always called this Cali 3 way, except red and whites pass through light box as Travelers and 1 black is hot, the other black is switch leg. Same thing just different color travelers.

[@feelingtardy]

every 3 way i've ever tried has been a dead end

[@gumerzambrano]

Love your content! I want to be an electrician in my hometown of Los Angeles 🙌🏼

[@TheHellKnight]

seriously considering a career as an electrician now. thank you very much, brother.

[@CrazyDude1705]

If you want more than 3 switches for 1 light (let's say in the staircase of an apartment building), just use a relay in the breaker panel with a push button circuit as switches. Standard practice in Germany. :D

[@schowers]

Im used to seeing the "cali" three way in Houston (in new residential construction mind you) where they used/repurposed the white/"neutral" wire as a traveler.

[@fdMT_EnGy]

Ok, this might seem like a dumb question and you might have mentioned it. In the first example, how would you run the ground? I've seen two ways. Coming from the panel, bypass the outlet and switch, straight to the fixture, then from the second switch to the fixture. Basically just one continuous wire from the panel to the fixture, grabbing a tail from the second switch. The second way I've seen is from the panel meeting up with a tail from the outlet and each switch then up to the fixture. So basically grounding everything along the way to the fixture. I hope that all makes sense.

[@Aussieknuckleheads]

Here in Australia that's a 2 way switching. Here a 3 way has 3 switches & so on.

[@allenblackmer9583]

You’re a hell of a teacher and extremely knowledgeable so I guess I’m saying you’re a real deal electrician. You should be teaching somewhere this whole draw the situation while explaining it and having the drawing come to life while explaining it man shits fun. I don’t know what it is about electrical but for some reason it’s oddly satisfying and highly addictive and extremely interesting. I wish I would of realized how interesting a lot of shit like this was when I was younger and put my ass to work learning everything in the trade I could better late than never I guess. Definitely be sharing your videos. Anyone out there who reads this mainly you younger cats find a trade that interests you as early on as possible and stick with it shadow under professionals put forth a real effort and earn one of those said professionals respect a d you may come to slowly realize he’s taken you under his wing without you noticing. I promise you you’re future self will not regret it or be upset you did so. Remember that future self version of you is already watching through your eyes you just don’t realize it yet but one day it will all make sense and he will either be happy or annoyed wishing he would of realized some shit sooner than later. Value time, I promise you have less than you think!

[@mikieboyblue]

Great video as always. I know this was posted awhile ago but I am trying to find a wiring diagram to understand how you would wire a pair of three ways that control a pair of reciprocals, where one receptacle is at each switch location. Pointers to any material would be appreciated!

[@dalee580]

The animations were helpful. Finding out a variation of a dead end 3 way is okay for now was helpful. Mine had the travelers go like normal and the hot travel from the power source to the dead end through the white wire on the 12/3. The other switch common went to the light.

[@garbo8962]

Wired up a huge house that had 5 seperate doors leading in the place. Had several hallways that criss crossed another hallway. Had at least 14 three way switches and maybe 6 four way switches. Sparky working with me never wired in a 4 way switch and screwed up wiring them. As long as you are using 2 NM cables for each 3 or 4 way very easy to wire them. Liked to put a piece of black tape on wire that feed switches.

[@tidwellelectric]

So many right ways to wire 3-way and 4-way switches! Check this out, I always use the WHITE and RED for my travelers for efficiency. Yes I have to phase but you would anyway if your pulling switch legs and/or power out of 4-way locations. Also when your running a dead end 3-way (just one 14/3 in a box) you must have to use the white for the common and phase it. Mainly its nice to have options on a long 4-way run to put light leg and power where you want to along the run without being confused by the splice. Just make sure your crew is all doing them the same way!

[@JohnSmith-lw2bm]

Put multiple 4 ways between the 3 ways. You’ll blow someone’s mind.

[@youdontknowme5969]

😈

[@Bremend]

I have a 3 way in my basement with three 3 way switches, no clue how it works, I tried to adjust it and it stopped working, I undid my work and just left it as it was...

[@Nick-bh1fy]

@@Bremend u can’t mix up the pairs or else the lights won’t go on and off as supposed to. Either tone the wires to find the right pairs or call an electrician

[@hj8607]

Actually that is exactly how you build a four,five,six, etc. switching . First three way chooses A or B path , Final switch Chooses A or B . ALL the four ways in between simply reverse A & B in to A&B out or B&A out . All the 'reversing' the traveler switches are in the middle . This allows for each and every switch to be an on/off switch.

[@hj8607]

@@Bremend So two of the three actually are a three way t(hat act like a three way ) powers the third three way . If you turn off the last (third)three way AND then switch one of the first two nothing happens AND you have to turn on the last and one of the first two to turn the light back on .(my Dad did this in a basement , drove me nuts)

[@jockenese5031]

Liked the video. I get so many calls especially from one handy man friend that he’s removed a switch and can’t remember what he did. As you know it’s not easy trying to help him figure out what he’s done if there are multiple switches at the same location. Going to refer him here for the future. Anyway is a 3 way really a 3 way and is a 4 way really a 4 way??? A 3 way has a common terminal (let’s for simplicity say an input) and two other terminals which dependent on switch position are in connection with the common, throw the switch and those connections change. 1 way or the 2nd way, thus 2 ways. No matter how you bring power in it can only leave 1 of 2 ways. Same for a 4 way, power is always coming in on one terminal of two and leaving on one of two others on the opposing side, 3 1/2 way maybe?. Lol just messing. Using the amount of terminals as the WAYS doesn’t work, otherwise a 1way should be a 2way Being a euro trained spark living in the US for over 20yrs I’ve messed with a lot of my colleagues over the years. Typically we call a 3way a 2way and a 4way an intermediate (it intermediately intersects the travelers). I’d be interested to hear other thoughts on how switches got the names we use. Keep up the interesting lectures 👌👍

[@GuiltyPleasures]

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you !

[@robertapreston4200]

your graphics are getting better every video. Love it❤👍👍 Rock your stuff... thank you for ALL you do👍👍😎

[@TannerEskew]

Conductors that are apart of an assembly are permitted to be re Identified regardless of size Source: my brain!! Also you make excellent content! I am a local (to you) master and I enjoy sharing your videos with my apprentices because you take the time to be incredibly informative!

[@darbyl3872]

I just checked the NEC Handbook (2017), Article 200.7(C)(1). Another commentor is correct. For cables (MC, Romex), the white wire can be used and re-identified as ungrounded, if a switch supply or traveler in a single pole 3-way / 4-way switch loop, but not a switch leg. Interestingly, it doesn't prohibit all switch legs from being white wire (from a cable). Some people will say the switch leg should never be white, but that's not in the code (2017).

[@Sparky-ww5re]

Also the white wire can be used and re-identified as a hot, when used to power a straight 240V load, such as a water heater, baseboard heater, or a NEMA 6-20R typically used for larger window AC units and larger electric heaters.

[@darbyl3872]

@@Sparky-ww5re Yep, if it's cable.

[@dpendergras3546]

I was told that it was ok to re-identify the white conductor for power in but not for use as a switch leg. 200.7 (c) 1. Im probably misinterpreting it, but in school, we were told to never do this. love your channel.

[@jamesmcalister813]

Appreciate the knowledge dude!

[@andevipertraderpfeiffer8787]

Holy s*** dude tons of thanks this is the only video to diagnose a California 3-way in a 50 year old house

[@lgninjalo]

Conductors can be reidentified if smaller than #6 if part of a rated cable assembly. Thanks for explaining the cali three way.

[@MichaelRGlatfelterJr]

Both of my three ways I have in my home are the dead end type. Both are for controlling lights from two different floors. So, I have a normal 3-way downstairs for an outdoor lamp and upstairs a smart 3-way for the same lamp. The other is similar, smart 3-way upstairs for outdoor stairwell and normal 3-way downstairs. I only have and need neutrals where the smart switches are and the normal 3-ways don't go to any outlets, so neutral is not necessary.

[@robertstovall7195]

Thank you for the Dead end 3 way lesson! Nobody else showed it.

[@steinravnik8692]

I had a 1926 rowhouse in Washington DC that had a 3 way wired with the Carter method. It wasn't working right when I bought the house. It took quite some time for an electrician to get it working right. The house wiring was Greenfield, and I did not want to rewire the area where the switch was. Due to the wiring being old, it was hard to distinguish between the colored fabric coating.

[@wecsam]

My newly constructed house (in 2022) had two dead-end three-ways in it, except that the hot side was at the dead end in both cases. To install smart switches, I had to flip the hot and leg sides so that the hot side was in the same box as the neutral wire.

[@mikieboyblue]

I've done the same in my 1972 house. Basically "undid" the dead end three way and capped the red.

[@darbyl3872]

Great instruction, as always.

[@r4trnyc718]

Thank you man I needed this video 💡💪🏾

[@kevinchang4962]

Awesome video , was looking for a explanation for a dead end 3 way wiring without using recepticals in your explanation. Just a dead end 3 way using the 2 switches and the light

[@robfahey1349]

Never heard of or saw the Carter 3 way. Only encountered the dead end and typical 3 way though I always had the dead end referred to as the California 3 way. So I guess I never saw a California 3 way either as you've described it. The dead ends I've encountered the feed was in the light with 3 wire down to the switches and all splices made in the light box.

[@piros44]

I laughed at your description of arguments about The Book as literary discourse. Imagine the whole Book writing as literature like a Shakespearean epic poem. Or as Limericks or maybe a bunch of haiku. It’d make classroom time more engaging!

[@sghantous]

Had a 4-way in a previous home. Needed to figure it out in a pre-KZbin era. If you want to use smart dimmers in a 3-way setup, neutral will be required in both dimmer locations.

[@winstonwright3613]

Out here in SoCal, I've mostly seen Dead End Style 3-Ways in older homes.. If they wanted the hot and neutral to go on in the circuit, they were wire nutted off that way in the back of the box to travel on.

[@carloscouret5286]

Loved this instructional video.

[@swervomatic]

Excellent video with applicable code references

[@eyewood1]

I really enjoyed the logical way you explained the different 3way switch configurations. I am having a bit of trouble with the wiring for a particular 4way switch setup though. I understand the wiring for what I would consider a traditional 4way setup where the power comes into the 1st 3way switch through the 4way switches and out to the 3way switch at other the end and then out to the light or other device. I am hoping you can describe/diagram a 4way setup where the power comes into the 1st 3way switch and the leg that goes to the light or other device also comes out of the 1st 3way switch box. Would this be considered a dead end 4way? I think I have it diagramed correctly but none of the diagrams I've found online address this configuration Thanks Jeff

[@josealfaro1089]

Thanks for sharing! I am subscribed.

[@AdamSmith-ze6gl]

Amazing descriptions, thanks. First video that helped me explain the dead end method for a remodel I'm doing. What is the best practice to re-identify a white (on dead end) to hot?

[@ElectricianU]

Good to hear! To answer your question: Tape. Field identification for switch loops and re identification for HVAC systems is allowed. Just can't identify an ungrounded conductor as grounded.