wiring for a 3 way light


  #1  
Old 11-30-00, 06:45 PM
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Have new garage and want a light switch at two different locations. need a wiring diagram and ideas. do i need three way wire to do this set up?
 
  #2  
Old 11-30-00, 07:13 PM
J
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There are a lot of ways to wire 3-way switches, depending on where the power comes from, where the lights are and how many of them there are, and where the switches are. I always recommend you go to a home improvement center and pick up a free short pamphlet with all of the options with pictures.

You can look at http://www.handymanwire.com/articles/3wayswitch.html but that web site only shows you one way. Why limit your choices?

If you only have one fixture to wire, you have a choice of any of the following:
(1) Power source -> fixture -> switch -> switch
(2) Power souce -> switch -> switch -> fixture
(3) Power source -> fixture -> separately to each switch
(4) Power source -> switch -> fixture -> switch

If you have more than one fixture, you can choose:
(5) Power source -> switch -> switch -> fixture -> fixture
(6) Power source -> fixture -> fixture -> switch -> switch
(7) Power source -> switch -> fixture -> fixture -> switch
(8) Power source -> fixture -> fixture -> switch, with a separate connection from the first fixture to the other switch.

Decide from your layout which of these works best for you. You'll need both 12/3 and 12/2 cable, or 14/3 and 14/2 cable (I recommend the former). You'll need two 3-way switches. You'll also need wire nuts, cable staples, boxes, and plates. You may or may not also need conduit, depending on local codes and whether or not the cable runs inside or on the surface of the wall.

The web page I gave only shows the wiring for (1). Whenever possible, however, I prefer (2).

Do a little investigation, and then ask any remaining questions.
 
  #3  
Old 12-01-00, 08:11 AM
Gary Tait
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#7 is impossible with current cabling. It can be done with
conduit, since you can pull the required number of wires.

To implement #7 with NM/MC, I recommend running one fixture as a single fixture 3-way circuit, and run any additional
fixtures off of it.
 
  #4  
Old 12-01-00, 10:01 PM
sprky
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hello moocow,
my pefered method of wireing a 3way is power into 1 switch box, switch leg out of same switch box and 3 wire cabel between the 2 switches. heres some links to sites that deal with 3 way switches, and after looing them over im sure things will be more clear. i shuld mention that 1 of these sites shows power being carried on the white wire and since there is a colored wire avalabel this shuld be used. http://www.howstuffworks.com/three-way.htm

http://www.wfu.edu/~matthews/courses/p230/switches.html

 
 

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