I'm faced with a dilemma...I'm wiring my basement right now and all is fine, except for my living room. I want to have a 3-way switch setup, but with four light fixtures. I've already ran 3+ground wires in this order...Breaker box - Switch A - Fixture 1 - Fix. 2 - Fix. 3 - Fix. 4 - Switch B. I have done regular 3-way switches in the past, without much trouble, but I have no idea how to wire this, so well-explained instructions would be perfect.Thanks so much!
i hope i can give you good instructions. you have 2 switches you want to operate the lights. first. pull a feed or wire that will be hot probarly from your panel box to the easiest switch to get to. this wire should have 1 black 1 white and one bare copper or green. second pull a three wire from one switch to the other. this wire should have one black one white one bare copper or green and one red wire in it. now there are 2 different ways to go from here. one way. pull a wire from the switch opposite of the switch with the feed in it. this wire would be called a 2 wire it should have 1 black 1 white 1 bare copper or green, to the first light you want to operate. then you can pull a 2 wire from that light to any other light you want to operate from the switches. you do not need to pull any more wires from the lights to the switches. in the first switch with the feed take the white wire from the feed and tie it to the white wire from the 3 wire going to the other switch. take your grounds and tie them together. leave a wire from your grounds so you can tie it to the switch. put you white wires back into the box. you should have 2 blacks 1 red and 1 ground wire sticking out. when you install your switch a three-way switch has 4 screws on it. the ground goes to the green screw. now you have one black screw and 2 gold screws. the black wire from your feed wire ties to the black screw. the red and black wire from your 3 wire ties to the gold screw. one wire to on screw the other wire to the other screw. does not matter which. the opposite switch hooks up the same. the 2 white tie together and go into box. the grounds tie together and then tie to the green screw. the black wire going to your lights ties to the black screw and the red and black wires from the 3 wire go to the gold screws. remember if you are using 14 wire you can only put 12 amps on it that would be about 1400 watts. 12 wire you can put 16 amps on it which is 1900 watts.
A normal three way has two wires switch to switch and one wire from each switch to the single light. All you have to do is wire the lights in parallel, Each wire will go to one side of all three lights. The light to light wiring is no different then any other multiple light on one switch wiring. Except in this situation the two wires are coming from two different switches.
feels like in case you have sparks popping out of the breaker container you may desire to surrender what you're doing and step returned. A breaker container isn't a place for the susceptible at heart. That container is warm, electric powered clever. you probable have 220 volts coming in the suited of the container to the main which shuts each little thing off. i think of it could be clever to attend till day after today and flow to domicile depot. they have books on easy wiring.
