gary wrote:
My "L"-shaped hallway has a light switch at the end of each leg, a
switch at the intersection of the legs and a ceiling-light the middle
of each leg.

Originally, the ceiling-lights could be turned on/off from each
switch.

I've replaced the original switches with new switches but now only one
switch operates the ceiling-lights.


Gary --

This is not meant as a slam, but you should not embark upon a project
like this witout some note paper, sme white adhesive tape, some black
eletrical tape, and a small digital camera.

Three ways and 4 ways get complicated because of the way the hots and
neutrals " travel", I think is the term.

Let me offer some ideas that could help you, or others, with simlar
projects.
These are slow and clunky methods, which no licensed professonal electician
would use, but these ideas, which I adopted after screwing up several repair
jobs back in the distant past, have saved me from similar errors.

AFTER YOU KILL THE BREAKER and unscrew the wall plate, you unscrew the
swtch
from the box and slowly and carefully pull the switch out of the box.
Pull it far
enough so that the wires are all extended as far as possibleout of the box.

DONT UNSCREW ANY OF THE WIRES FROM THE TERMINALS ON THE SWITCH YET.

Now, with the digital, photograph every aspect of th connections. You
want to see wire colors and screw terminal colors.

Then write down on your pad wire colors and screw terminal colors on
your pad.

Then take the white adhesive tape and start making labels from strips of
tape.
Label each wire with the wire color and the screw terminal color from
the switch.
Also label each scew erminal with a label showing the color of he wire
attached t it.

Now unscrew the wires from the terminals, and wrap each wire end with
electical tape.

Go to your electrical supplier - opefull a real supplier, not the BORG
orLOEWS and
get a replacement switch.

Install the replacment. You have photos of the original installation;
notes and
wire labels. Installation should be relatively easy.

This isn't rocket surgery or brain science, but it can be omplicated for
a beginner.
Thats why going slow, photographing and taking notes, and labeling wires
and
terminals with 3 ways and 4 ways can help so much.

A licensed electician would do it by training, memory and just looking at
the wires. And charge you accordingly and appropriately for that training
and memory.

I'm not that good, so I photo and label before disassembling any 3 way
or 4 way.
With the three ways, I've done enough over the last 40 or so years that
I can sort
of just "eyeball" it by looking at the terminal screw colors and wire
color, but I get
lost with the 4 ways.

Hmmm...just thiking that what we commonly call a "three way" is really a
two way
switch (on off) with three wires and what we commonly call a "4 way" is
still a two way (on - off) with 4 wires.


I can't begin to advise you on how to re fix what you already disassembled.
You have to be there and looking at it to fix it, becauseofthe issues
regarding
terminal screw olors and wire colors.


Should a three-way switch be installed at each end of the hallway and
the four-way switch be installed at the intersection of the legs? If
the answer is "NO", where should the various switches be installed?

How to I determine what wire gets connected to each terminal of each
switch?