On Nov 10, 6:44*am, "RBM" wrote:
"dd" wrote in message

...



Let me explain the situation.

There are 4 floors - base, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Each floor has a light
fixture. The previous owners used a timer to control all the lights.
To save energy my friend decided to install two 3-way light switches
at each end (base and 3rd floor) and two 4-way light switches on the
middle floors (1st and 2nd). This is an old building so all wires are
colored black and each floor also has pre-existing wiring for the
light switches but was sealed with a wall plate. We opened the wall
plate and tried to identify the wires on each floor using a non-
contact volt meter and wired the light switches but here's the
problem.

The light switches work on each floor meaning it will either turn some
lights on and some off but when you switch any switch, lights for the
base, 1st and 3rd floors will turn on and the 2nd floor light is off.
When you flip any switch again only 2nd floor light will turn on and
the others lights are off. So the lights keep working in opposite
directions. We shut the circuit breaker off and on and tried to turn
on the lights from 2nd floor and all lights turned on and off fine for
one time. But when tried to turn on the light on another floor, only
the base, 1st, and 3rd floors work and 2nd floor is off. *When you
flip the switch again, 2nd floor light is turn on and the others off.

Does anybody know how to fix this wiring issue?
Thanks

Unless the original wiring was set up to turn all lights on and off from
every location, you won't have the necessary wiring to do it now. You really
have to ring out and identify all the wires to each switch and light
location first, and do it using a continuity tester not a proximity voltage
tester, which are very unreliable


+1...

If the lights in this stairwell were originally wired so that each
switch
controlled only its light and none of the others than you won't have
enough wires to properly control all of the fixtures from each of the
four locations...

Three-way switches require two traveler leads between each side
of the switch loop... When you put four-way switches in between
three-way switches in a switch loop, each four-way switch needs
two sets of travelers, a pair coming from the three-way at the end
of the loop and a pair continuing to the next four-way or the other
end of the loop...

Now adding into the consideration that you have to provide
switched power from one end of the loop to all four locations
and a neutral to complete the power circuit and you now require
those two additional conductors to properly operate your
switch loop and the desired loads...

So unless each switch has four conductors plus a grounding
conductor running between each location, you can not do
what you are attempting... Without knowing more about
how many wires there are in each switch box and how the
lights are being fed, realistic advice on how to fix this issue
once and for all can not be given...

Others have stated that you need to trace and identify each
conductor to determine what it is connected to...

Also, deciding to change from a timer to switches to "save
some money" is a foolhardy endeavor at best and a huge
personal injury liability lawsuit or insurance claim at worst...

Use "cheaper" fixtures with a lower wattage lamp...
Someone will leave the lights on when you have four locations
from which to control them, possibly leaving them on all day if
someone forgets to shut them off in the morning...

What type of occupancy this building is being used for
and the number of units within it should guide your choice
of solution here... What are your requirements for egress
path lighting from your AHJ... Some AHJ's require 24 hour
lighting on egress paths from buildings with a certain
number of units in them...

You just haven't provided enough useful information on
how to correct this problem nor adequately defined the
specific situation of your building which depending on
the number of units it contains additional rules and
considerations might apply...

~~ Evan