On 2/20/2012 7:38 PM, Metspitzer wrote:
On Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:49:55 -0500, wrote:

On 2/20/2012 6:38 PM, wrote:
In my mother-in-law's house there were some very old wall switches
that were 3-way. I needed to replace them for what safety reasons. So
I picked up a couple of Leviton 3-ways from the HOME.

I replaced them connecting the red/white/black wires to the same
terminals as the old one on both ends. Problem is - only one switch
controls the power. Kind of defeats the purpose of the 3-way.

So, before I go crazy trying to figure this out with a meter and a
long jumper wire I thought I would ask here for some guidance for an
easier way to figure this out.

Anyone??? Thanks

You should always test the system after each switch replacement. This

Take a picture of each switch before disconnecting them. (Yeah I know
that advice is a little late)

way you immediately know where you screwed up. At this point, remove
both switches and disconnect the 3 wires from each and isolate them from
each other. With a test lamp, pig tail socket, or volt meter, test all
six wires, testing between each wire to ground. One of the six wires
will be hot. That hot wire will go to the common terminal of one switch.
The common terminal will be the odd colored one. The other two wires go
to the remaining terminals on the switch in any order. Once this has
been safely connected, check the three wires at the second location. One
wire will be hot. That wire goes to either of the two same colored
terminals of the second switch. Go back to the first switch and flip it.
Now go back to the second switch and test the remaining two wires. One
will be hot. That hot wire goes to the second of the two same colored
terminals. The remaining wire goes to the common of this switch, and voila.

These days, with cheap digital cameras and cell phone cameras, I take
pictures of everything, especially things I'm going to disassemble and
reassemble.