I have instaled a cieling fan in my living room and have the wiring all run but not hooked up yet. I am going to try to put the switch next to an existing 3 way switch that is connected to my hall way lights, one switch at either end of the hall. Now my question is can I pick up the power for the cieling fan from the switch at the end of the 3 way set up? And how would I wire the new switch?? Tahnk you in advance for any help!!!

 

Probably not. That phrase "end of the 3 way set up" doesn't sound promising.

Tapping power from any switch is always a crap shoot. Tapping power from a 3-way switch has even lower odds.

Look at the switch. If there is a white wire connected to it, then you're certainly out of luck. This means that there is no neutral in the box, and there's no continuous power there either.

If there are two cables, one black/white and one black/red/white, then your chances are 50/50. You need to figure out if that black/white cable is the power feed, or the cable to the light. If the latter, you're out of luck again. If the former, then can you tap power here.

If there are more than two cables in the box, then you can probably do it too. Please describe.

Most of the time, people would be better off ignoring switches when they look for a source of power.

 

Ther is one cable coming in to the box with three wires, one of each black/red/white.

At one point I was thinking of using an existing switch that runs an outlet (rewiring so that the outlet is always on and the switch runs the light) but it is an outside wall and there is not much space to work in the attic. Should I return to my original plan???

Any other ideas would be appreciated!!!
And thanks for your reply!!!