Am doing a 'remodel'. Discovered the 2 lights in the basement (3 way switched) received their power - from a wired outlet.
Outlet has been elimenated. Installed 'Junction Box' ran the power wire, and both switch wires plus the remaining branch of existing outlets.
Have not hit upon the right combination of wires to get both 3 way switches to work. Have not triped a breaker as yet, nor lit up my eyes. I know it is not rocket science. 3 ways always give me trouble. Help!
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Well you have to make sure of three things with three way switches...where your power comes in, where your power goes out, and that your travelers are not mixed up. Lets talk about a normal three way circuit. Power comes in to your first switch. You attach your power wire to the common terminal, usually a different color than the other terminals. The other two are your travelers, if your switches work partially you probably have these mixed up. The color traveler you have on one switch terminal has to go on the exact terminal on the other switch. Also check that your neutral is not swapped with a traveler, this will cause your eyes not to light. In between switches there is most of the time three wire cable (2 travelers and a neutral---while two wire cable is used before the switches and after it going to the light). The power then goes out of the common terminal of your second switch. If all wiring is good, I would take your switches out and check them with a continuity tester to see if they are bad. Check continuity on each switch between the common and each traveler terminal.
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