I would like to say hello to everyone as this is my first post here. My wife has me changing out all of the outlets and switches in the kitchen and I seem to have run into a problem by not paying close attention.

There is a switch box with two light switches in it. The left one controls the light over the table and the right one controls the light over the entire kitchen. I bought a 12 pack of switches and went to work on the left one first. I noticed that the switch on the left did not have a ground. So I swapped out the switch on the left and then tried it and it worked fine. On to the switch on the right and my problems began. First there are 3 wires here for this switch. Two of them are coming out of the same sleeve and (they are white and black) and the other one (black) is all by itself. I hate to say that in my haste I have forgotten where the 3 wires went on the switch. I assumed that the single black was the ground wire and the other two went to the screws on the side of the switch. So I connected it like this and the light did not turn on. I thought maybe the switch was bad and tried another one but no go. I reversed the wires and still nothing. I then put the old switch in and the light worked fine. I connected the single black wire as the ground and the other two on the screws. I still was unsure as to why my new switch would not work though. Well across from this switch is another box with 2 switches in it. The left one turns on the outdoor light and the to be honest, Ive never used the right switch in twenty years, if you can believe that. I believe that maybe it controlled one of the outlets but im not sure. So i went to turn on the outdoor light and it shut the light off over the table and the switch on the right now turns on the outdoor light! So I believe that how I connected those three wires has changed something. Ive also read about 2-3 and 4 way switches but Im not sure if I need one of those. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am lost. Thanks to all.

 

First a black should never be on a ground screw.

It sounds like the one switch might have been a three way. Is there another switch that controls the same lights? Does the switch say on and off?

 

There is no other switch that controls those lights and the switch does say on/off. So both of the screws that are on the same side of the switch should be black wires and the ground is white?

 

No, white is never a ground and if it is a switch loop you will have black and white on the switch. What is the wiring at the light?

 

I have not taken the light apart so I am not sure of the wiring at the light. So the two screws on the left side of the switch does it matter which one is white and which one black? I would still have a leftover black wire that I was using as the ground. I really should have been more careful. I am appreciating your help.

 

We can't know how to wire the light till we know what the wiring at the light is.

 

How was the old switch wired? With 2 wires or 3 wires?

 

That's where I blew it. I honestly don't remember.

 

You said you could put the old switch in and get it to work?

Did the old switch have 3 screws or 2 screws on the sides (not including the green or silver ground screw on the top or bottom of the switch)

 

It has 2 screws on one side and one on the other side. There are also 3 wires. A white and black in the same sleeve and a black all by itself.

 

If that's the case then you will need a 3-way switch to replace the old switch to get everything to work correctly, that will get you a step closer.

 

How do I wire that switch? The other switch, the switch on the left that I have replaced, it only has 2 wires. Does it need to be a 3 way switch also?

 

The switch on the left is working correctly, right? If so then you are done with that one, then on the right you have a feeder wire that should be connected to the common screw on the 3-way switch--probably the single black wire goes to the single screw side, the other two go one to each terminal on the other side (doesn't matter which is which).

 

I'm confused. You wrote:Now you write:But bottom line if cable and no red wire then it is not a 3-way. Back to my question. What is the wiring at the light. Also at the switch do you have two or more whites connected only to each other. And finally is there any other light or receptacle or half of a receptacle that no longer works?

 

Is the black all by itself coming from the switch next to it? You say it says on and off but are describing a three way switch by the number of terminals.