I have a room with two sets of lights. One set is controlled by a
single pole switch. The other set is on a three way switch. How do I
combine them so that all the lights are controlled by the 3-way
switches?

Conveniently, the single pole and one of the three way switches are
double-ganged in the same switch box.

Also I have power from different circuits running to each of switch
boxes (one is for the single, the other is for the three-way).

wrote:
I have a room with two sets of lights. One set is controlled by a
single pole switch. The other set is on a three way switch. How do I
combine them so that all the lights are controlled by the 3-way
switches?

Conveniently, the single pole and one of the three way switches are
double-ganged in the same switch box.

Also I have power from different circuits running to each of switch
boxes (one is for the single, the other is for the three-way).


Assuming the circuit powering the three-way lights has sufficient
ampacity to safely handle adding the "other" lights and whatever else
may be on that circuit, the job could be either very easy or a real PIA,
depending on how lucky you are with how the job was originally wired.

What I'd do is connect a test lamp between the arm of the three-way
switch and the neutral of that circuit and see if that test lamp goes on
and off with the existing three-way lights when either switch is operated.

If it does, you're in luck, and all you'd have to do is move the
switched lead from the single pole switch (feeding it's lamps) to the
arm of the three-way switch and move the neutral going to the lamps from
it's present connection to the neutral of the circuit feeding the
three-way lamps.

If the test lamp doesn't follow the present three-way lights, but stays
on all the time, chances are you're SOL unless you're willing to to pull
some new leads. And that's likely what you'll find if the power for that
three-way circuit enters the box those switches are in.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.

On Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:36:56 -0400, Jeff Wisnia
wrote:

wrote:
I have a room with two sets of lights. One set is controlled by a
single pole switch. The other set is on a three way switch. How do I
combine them so that all the lights are controlled by the 3-way
switches?

Conveniently, the single pole and one of the three way switches are
double-ganged in the same switch box.

Also I have power from different circuits running to each of switch
boxes (one is for the single, the other is for the three-way).


Assuming the circuit powering the three-way lights has sufficient
ampacity to safely handle adding the "other" lights and whatever else
may be on that circuit, the job could be either very easy or a real PIA,
depending on how lucky you are with how the job was originally wired.

What I'd do is connect a test lamp between the arm of the three-way
switch and the neutral of that circuit and see if that test lamp goes on
and off with the existing three-way lights when either switch is operated.

If it does, you're in luck, and all you'd have to do is move the
switched lead from the single pole switch (feeding it's lamps) to the
arm of the three-way switch and move the neutral going to the lamps from
it's present connection to the neutral of the circuit feeding the
three-way lamps.

If the test lamp doesn't follow the present three-way lights, but stays
on all the time, chances are you're SOL unless you're willing to to pull
some new leads. And that's likely what you'll find if the power for that
three-way circuit enters the box those switches are in.

Jeff

If they lights are on separate circuits you would have to use a relay

On Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:33:55 -0500, Buy1get1free
wrote:

On Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:36:56 -0400, Jeff Wisnia
wrote:

wrote:
I have a room with two sets of lights. One set is controlled by a
single pole switch. The other set is on a three way switch. How do I
combine them so that all the lights are controlled by the 3-way
switches?

Conveniently, the single pole and one of the three way switches are
double-ganged in the same switch box.

Also I have power from different circuits running to each of switch
boxes (one is for the single, the other is for the three-way).


Assuming the circuit powering the three-way lights has sufficient
ampacity to safely handle adding the "other" lights and whatever else
may be on that circuit, the job could be either very easy or a real PIA,
depending on how lucky you are with how the job was originally wired.

What I'd do is connect a test lamp between the arm of the three-way
switch and the neutral of that circuit and see if that test lamp goes on
and off with the existing three-way lights when either switch is operated.

If it does, you're in luck, and all you'd have to do is move the
switched lead from the single pole switch (feeding it's lamps) to the
arm of the three-way switch and move the neutral going to the lamps from
it's present connection to the neutral of the circuit feeding the
three-way lamps.

If the test lamp doesn't follow the present three-way lights, but stays
on all the time, chances are you're SOL unless you're willing to to pull
some new leads. And that's likely what you'll find if the power for that
three-way circuit enters the box those switches are in.

Jeff

If they lights are on separate circuits you would have to use a relay

That should read...

If "them" lights are on separate circuits you would have to use a
relay