So I'm replacing a 2 three way switches because one failed. Worth noting the switches probably 60 years old. I disconnected them and reattached in the same way and only one switch works. I disconnected the switches and using a non contact volatile tester i discovered that there is a hot wire in both boxes when there should only be one between the two. I'm no electrician but I'm pretty good at wiring but this one has me stumped and I could use some help on how to proceed. Thanks

On Wed, 21 Dec 2016 07:03:18 -0800 (PST), wrote:

So I'm replacing a 2 three way switches because one failed. Worth noting the switches probably 60 years old. I disconnected them and reattached in the same way and only one switch works. I disconnected the switches and using a non contact volatile tester i discovered that there is a hot wire in both boxes when there should only be one between the two. I'm no electrician but I'm pretty good at wiring but this one has me stumped and I could use some help on how to proceed. Thanks

Are both of the switches in the same circuit or are these in different
circuits?

On Wed, 21 Dec 2016 15:09:57 +0000, Stormin' Norman
wrote:

On Wed, 21 Dec 2016 07:03:18 -0800 (PST), wrote:

So I'm replacing a 2 three way switches because one failed. Worth noting the switches probably 60 years old. I disconnected them and reattached in the same way and only one switch works. I disconnected the switches and using a non contact volatile tester i discovered that there is a hot wire in both boxes when there should only be one between the two. I'm no electrician but I'm pretty good at wiring but this one has me stumped and I could use some help on how to proceed. Thanks

Are both of the switches in the same circuit or are these in different
circuits?

If they are both in the same circuit, take a look at these images.
Odds are you will find a visual that will assist you.

http://bit.ly/2iat9dz

On 12/21/2016 09:03 AM, wrote:
So I'm replacing a 2 three way switches because one failed. Worth noting the switches probably 60 years old. I disconnected them and reattached in the same way and only one switch works. I disconnected the switches and using a non contact volatile tester i discovered that there is a hot wire in both boxes when there should only be one between the two. I'm no electrician but I'm pretty good at wiring but this one has me stumped and I could use some help on how to proceed. Thanks



That's correct. there should always be one hot wire.

The question is, if you toggle the first switch, will the hot wire
change in the second?

In article ,
says...

So I'm replacing a 2 three way switches because one failed. Worth noting the switches probably 60 years old. I disconnected them and reattached in the same way and only one switch works. I disconnected the switches and using a non contact volatile tester i discovered that there is a hot wire in both boxes when there should only be one between the two. I'm no electrician but I'm pretty good at wiring but this
one has me stumped and I could use some help on how to proceed. Thanks

Sometimes the non contact detectors will 'lie' to you. There can be
enough voltge picked up off wires that are in parallel with each other
to set them off.

Look at the old switches and compair them to the new ones. The actual
screw terminals may be in the same physical place, but elecrically in
different places.

Sounds like you just have the wires in the wrong places.

On 12/21/2016 10:03 AM, wrote:
I disconnected them and reattached in the same way and only one switch works.

Obviously you got the wires mixed up.

"Stormin' Norman" wrote in message
...

On Wed, 21 Dec 2016 15:09:57 +0000, Stormin' Norman
wrote:

On Wed, 21 Dec 2016 07:03:18 -0800 (PST), wrote:

So I'm replacing a 2 three way switches because one failed. Worth noting
the switches probably 60 years old. I disconnected them and reattached in
the same way and only one switch works. I disconnected the switches and
using a non contact volatile tester i discovered that there is a hot wire
in both boxes when there should only be one between the two. I'm no
electrician but I'm pretty good at wiring but this one has me stumped and
I could use some help on how to proceed. Thanks

Are both of the switches in the same circuit or are these in different
circuits?

If they are both in the same circuit, take a look at these images.
Odds are you will find a visual that will assist you.

http://bit.ly/2iat9dz

3-way switches drive me crazy. I think that is because, as your website
link shows, there are many different ways that they can be wired. Sometimes
the "feed" or power first goes to a switch, sometimes first to a fixture, or
the fixture can be between the switches or before the switches or after the
switches. I often see and hear people suggest one wiring solution and they
say "that's how 3-way switches are wired". But, they often don't take into
account that from a distance there is no way to know what the wiring pattern
is on any particular location. And, since the wires are in the walls and/or
ceiling etc. there is usually no easy way to figure out what the particular
wiring pattern is.

I once saw an explanation online about how to figure out the actual wiring
pattern once the 3-way switches are apart and the user can't figure out how
to reconnect the wires. Unfortunately, I don't remember where I saw that.
But, I think the trick (once the 3-way switches are already off) may have
been to: 1)turn the power off; 2) disconnect ALL of the wires from both
switches and any fixtures (lights?) that they control; 3) turn the power
back on; 4) find the "hot" wire out of all of those -- and that is the
"feed" or power to the circuit. Then, reconnect that wire and look for the
next "hot" wire from there, and so on. It's hard to explain.

But, my point is that despite what I have seen others say or write about
3-way switches, there is no one right way to rewire them without knowing how
the circuit is laid out.


--
I found this free and safe WLM QuoteFix program:
WLMail QuoteFix - http://www.dusko-lolic.from.hr/wlmquotefix/

On 12/21/2016 9:03 AM, wrote:
So I'm replacing a 2 three way switches because one failed. Worth
noting the switches probably 60 years old. I disconnected them and
reattached in the same way and only one switch works. ...

Good possibility (even probable) the switch terminal location of the
common isn't the same physical location on the new switch as the old;
they're not even necessarily the same for new switches from different
vendors.

The common will be marked distinctively from the carrier terminals;
check vis a vis the removed one for "who's who in the zoo" and reconnect
following function, not location on the switch body.

On Wednesday, December 21, 2016 at 10:29:44 AM UTC-5, Ralph Mowery wrote:
In article ,
says...

So I'm replacing a 2 three way switches because one failed. Worth noting the switches probably 60 years old. I disconnected them and reattached in the same way and only one switch works. I disconnected the switches and using a non contact volatile tester i discovered that there is a hot wire in both boxes when there should only be one between the two. I'm no electrician but I'm pretty good at wiring but this
one has me stumped and I could use some help on how to proceed. Thanks

Sometimes the non contact detectors will 'lie' to you. There can be
enough voltge picked up off wires that are in parallel with each other
to set them off.

Look at the old switches and compair them to the new ones. The actual
screw terminals may be in the same physical place, but elecrically in
different places.

Sounds like you just have the wires in the wrong places.

+1

Or get a tester that will measure actual voltage. If it's a high
impedance one, he still might get some phantom voltage showing,
but it won't be full 120V. Or temporarily jumper a lamp between
the suspected hots and a neutral or ground to see if it lights.

On Wednesday, December 21, 2016 at 11:24:27 AM UTC-5, dpb wrote:
On 12/21/2016 9:03 AM, wrote:
So I'm replacing a 2 three way switches because one failed. Worth
noting the switches probably 60 years old. I disconnected them and
reattached in the same way and only one switch works. ...

Good possibility (even probable) the switch terminal location of the
common isn't the same physical location on the new switch as the old;
they're not even necessarily the same for new switches from different
vendors.

The common will be marked distinctively from the carrier terminals;
check vis a vis the removed one for "who's who in the zoo" and reconnect
following function, not location on the switch body.

+1

Assuming he still knows which wire went where on the old switch.
Another good question is how did he wind up with two switches
replaced at the same time? Assuming it was still working, I would
have replaced one at a time, limiting the scope of potential
screw-ups.

On 12/21/2016 7:13 AM, Stormin' Norman wrote:
On Wed, 21 Dec 2016 15:09:57 +0000, Stormin' Norman
wrote:

On Wed, 21 Dec 2016 07:03:18 -0800 (PST), wrote:

So I'm replacing a 2 three way switches because one failed. Worth noting the switches probably 60 years old. I disconnected them and reattached in the same way and only one switch works. I disconnected the switches and using a non contact volatile tester i discovered that there is a hot wire in both boxes when there should only be one between the two. I'm no electrician but I'm pretty good at wiring but this one has me stumped and I could use some help on how to proceed. Thanks

Are both of the switches in the same circuit or are these in different
circuits?

If they are both in the same circuit, take a look at these images.
Odds are you will find a visual that will assist you.

http://bit.ly/2iat9dz



the one labelled "Fig. 6" might be it. Weird to me, but it will work.

On 12/21/2016 09:03 AM, wrote:
So I'm replacing a 2 three way switches because one failed. Worth noting the switches probably 60 years old. I disconnected them and reattached in the same way and only one switch works. I
disconnected the switches and using a non contact volatile tester i discovered that there is a hot wire in both boxes when there should only be one between the two. I'm no electrician but
I'm pretty good at wiring but this one has me stumped and I could use some help on how to proceed. Thanks


I have one 3-way circuit where there are both hot and neutral connected
to each switch. The light is connected between the common terminals.
People call this unsafe (light may be hot when switched off) but it works.

--
4 days until the winter celebration (Sunday December 25, 2016 12:00:00
AM for 1 day).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Theology is the effort to explain the unknowable in terms of the not
worth knowing." -- H.L Mencken

In article , lid says...




I have one 3-way circuit where there are both hot and neutral connected
to each switch. The light is connected between the common terminals.
People call this unsafe (light may be hot when switched off) but it works.

Lots of things "works" but that does not mean they are correct or safe.

On Wed, 21 Dec 2016 22:47:50 -0500, Ralph Mowery
wrote:

In article , lid says...




I have one 3-way circuit where there are both hot and neutral connected
to each switch. The light is connected between the common terminals.
People call this unsafe (light may be hot when switched off) but it works.

Lots of things "works" but that does not mean they are correct or safe.



The only one that is really unsafe is a corruption of the "coast"
circuit that switches the neutral. It is used (illegally) because you
can do it with 2 wires between 3 ways.
The ones in that Wiki all look legal to me.

On 12/21/2016 09:47 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
In article , lid says...

I have one 3-way circuit where there are both hot and neutral connected
to each switch. The light is connected between the common terminals.
People call this unsafe (light may be hot when switched off) but it works.

Lots of things "works" but that does not mean they are correct or safe.

The important point is that it is something you may find.

--
3 days until the winter celebration (Sunday December 25, 2016 12:00:00
AM for 1 day).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"To talk intelligibly about modern physics, we have to admit the
possibility of uncaused events." Taner Edis, Is Anybody Out There?