Hi, and thanks for stopping by,

Let's see if I can define the problem so that it makes sense to both of
usŠ

My house, built around 1940, has a split entry entrance. Go 8 steps up
to the upper floor, or, 8 steps down to the lower floor.

The entry landing has one grouping of 4 light switches.
1 to turn on/off the coat closets' light a few feet away.
1 to turn on/off the porch light a few feet away.
1 to turn on/off the entryways' inside light.
1 to turn on/off the light at the bottom of the lower floors'
stairs.

At the top of the stairway there is a group of 2 light switches:
1 to turn on/off the entryways' light
(1 to turn on/off the upper floors' hallways' light.)

At the bottom of the stairway there is a group of 2 light switches.
1 to turn on/off the light at the bottom of the lower floors'
stairs.
(1 to turn on/off the lower floor hallway light.)

Betcha you can guess what the approaching question is. :-)

How in the world do I get them to all work as they should all at the
same time? (For example, the lower floor landing light turns on/off
only if the coat closet light (which doesn't work btw, is set to
off...)

Any and all helpful advice will be cherished. Thank you.

Mike

Practically impossible to tell from your information. You need to know the
cable routing (from which box to which other box) and how the connections
are presently made. A good electrician, on the site, should be able to sort
it out fairly easily.
Best Regards, Don Young

"Mike" wrote in message
...
Hi, and thanks for stopping by,

Let's see if I can define the problem so that it makes sense to both of
usS

My house, built around 1940, has a split entry entrance. Go 8 steps up
to the upper floor, or, 8 steps down to the lower floor.

The entry landing has one grouping of 4 light switches.
1 to turn on/off the coat closets' light a few feet away.
1 to turn on/off the porch light a few feet away.
1 to turn on/off the entryways' inside light.
1 to turn on/off the light at the bottom of the lower floors'
stairs.

At the top of the stairway there is a group of 2 light switches:
1 to turn on/off the entryways' light
(1 to turn on/off the upper floors' hallways' light.)

At the bottom of the stairway there is a group of 2 light switches.
1 to turn on/off the light at the bottom of the lower floors'
stairs.
(1 to turn on/off the lower floor hallway light.)

Betcha you can guess what the approaching question is. :-)

How in the world do I get them to all work as they should all at the
same time? (For example, the lower floor landing light turns on/off
only if the coat closet light (which doesn't work btw, is set to
off...)

Any and all helpful advice will be cherished. Thank you.

Mike

Don's hit the nail on the head. It is probably caused by someone replacing a
switch in the group,incorrectly. A qualified electrician would be able to
see that and easily correct it, but if not, then all the wires have to be
identified to get them connected correctly
"Mike" wrote in message
...
Hi, and thanks for stopping by,

Let's see if I can define the problem so that it makes sense to both of
usS

My house, built around 1940, has a split entry entrance. Go 8 steps up
to the upper floor, or, 8 steps down to the lower floor.

The entry landing has one grouping of 4 light switches.
1 to turn on/off the coat closets' light a few feet away.
1 to turn on/off the porch light a few feet away.
1 to turn on/off the entryways' inside light.
1 to turn on/off the light at the bottom of the lower floors'
stairs.

At the top of the stairway there is a group of 2 light switches:
1 to turn on/off the entryways' light
(1 to turn on/off the upper floors' hallways' light.)

At the bottom of the stairway there is a group of 2 light switches.
1 to turn on/off the light at the bottom of the lower floors'
stairs.
(1 to turn on/off the lower floor hallway light.)

Betcha you can guess what the approaching question is. :-)

How in the world do I get them to all work as they should all at the
same time? (For example, the lower floor landing light turns on/off
only if the coat closet light (which doesn't work btw, is set to
off...)

Any and all helpful advice will be cherished. Thank you.

Mike

If the closet switch controls all the others, sounds like someone wired the
hot feed from the switched end of the closet switch instead of the other
end. You should be able to create a logical flow chart of 'what if', and
figure from there. A multimeter, or a simple voltage detector will help you
understand what's going on. If you're not confident in your abilities, get
an electrician.
"Mike" wrote in message
...
Hi, and thanks for stopping by,

Let's see if I can define the problem so that it makes sense to both of
usS

My house, built around 1940, has a split entry entrance. Go 8 steps up
to the upper floor, or, 8 steps down to the lower floor.

The entry landing has one grouping of 4 light switches.
1 to turn on/off the coat closets' light a few feet away.
1 to turn on/off the porch light a few feet away.
1 to turn on/off the entryways' inside light.
1 to turn on/off the light at the bottom of the lower floors'
stairs.

At the top of the stairway there is a group of 2 light switches:
1 to turn on/off the entryways' light
(1 to turn on/off the upper floors' hallways' light.)

At the bottom of the stairway there is a group of 2 light switches.
1 to turn on/off the light at the bottom of the lower floors'
stairs.
(1 to turn on/off the lower floor hallway light.)

Betcha you can guess what the approaching question is. :-)

How in the world do I get them to all work as they should all at the
same time? (For example, the lower floor landing light turns on/off
only if the coat closet light (which doesn't work btw, is set to
off...)

Any and all helpful advice will be cherished. Thank you.

Mike

Chuckle. I have a similiar problem on a 7 year old house.

This is what the previous owner told me during the tour:
-
The light at the top of the stairs is a 3-way; it has a switch at the
bottom of the stairs, and one at the top of the stairs. There is a third
switch at the end of the hall to switch off the bottom recepticles in
the upper hallway (for small lamps, etc.
-

About 3 months ago the ceiling light at the top of the stairs wouldn't
switch on no matter which of the switches used: the one at the bottom of
the stairs nor the one at the top. Dead as a doornail.

After tinkering, I discovered that the 3rd switch in the hall 'for the
recepticles' actually cut power completely to the ceiling light and both
of it's 3-way switches at the top and bottom of the stairs. Once you
flip the 3rd switch, neither of the other two switchs can turn the light on.

Not only that, but it certainly didn't control any of the recepticles in
the upper hall; it simple cut the power to the ceiling light and it's
other two switches.

Go figure.
:-)

Similar story here that I fixed this week, actually very close to the
OP's problem.

Except my situation had 3 single pole circuits, (2) 3 way circuits, and
another 3 way circuit with (2) 4 ways in it.

My house was built in 1980 though, so I had the advantage of color
coded wires as well as 12/3 cables so that I could make out what most
likely went where. A previous HO had screwed it all up almost beyond
recognition.

I had to sketch out the 4 way circuit a few times before I finally
figured out the only possible way it could work.

Mike - wish I could help ya more, but given the age of your house, it's
unlikely that your wires are colored so that you can at least get some
indication of how things should be.

In your situation, the first thing I would do is identify the hot
leads, then the load leads, and finally the travellers.

Again, made even harder because your neutrals are probaly the same
color as your hots and travellers.

I agree with the other posters.... if you aren't experienced with the
use of a volt/ohm meter and the wiring of multi switch circuits, call a
pro.

But there was one thing that caught my eye in your post - you say the
lower floor landing light only works if the coat closet light is set to
"off".. which I interpret as that switch being in the down position.
Take a closer look at that switch - is it labeled "on" and "off"? I'm
betting it's not, which probably means that the switch for the closet
light (sounds like it should be a single pole) was replaced with the
wrong type of switch at some point (3 way), and some other
misadventures apparently also occured in that box as well.
Would probably be the first place I'd start looking.

In article .com,
Matt wrote:

Similar story here that I fixed this week, actually very close to the
OP's problem.

Except my situation had 3 single pole circuits, (2) 3 way circuits, and
another 3 way circuit with (2) 4 ways in it.

My house was built in 1980 though, so I had the advantage of color
coded wires as well as 12/3 cables so that I could make out what most
likely went where. A previous HO had screwed it all up almost beyond
recognition.

I had to sketch out the 4 way circuit a few times before I finally
figured out the only possible way it could work.

Mike - wish I could help ya more, but given the age of your house, it's
unlikely that your wires are colored so that you can at least get some
indication of how things should be.

In your situation, the first thing I would do is identify the hot
leads, then the load leads, and finally the travellers.

Again, made even harder because your neutrals are probaly the same
color as your hots and travellers.

I agree with the other posters.... if you aren't experienced with the
use of a volt/ohm meter and the wiring of multi switch circuits, call a
pro.

But there was one thing that caught my eye in your post - you say the
lower floor landing light only works if the coat closet light is set to
"off".. which I interpret as that switch being in the down position.
Take a closer look at that switch - is it labeled "on" and "off"? I'm
betting it's not, which probably means that the switch for the closet
light (sounds like it should be a single pole) was replaced with the
wrong type of switch at some point (3 way), and some other
misadventures apparently also occured in that box as well.
Would probably be the first place I'd start looking.

+-+-+

Hello Matt and Christopher,

Thank you both. I really had no illusions of being able to toss a
screwdriver onto the coffee table and say, ³No problem, Dear. That was
easy. Now, about Lisa's calculus homeworkŠ²

And yes, I believe I'll do just that - call a pro.

Thanks again,

Mike

In article , Ken
wrote:

If the closet switch controls all the others, sounds like someone wired the
hot feed from the switched end of the closet switch instead of the other
end. You should be able to create a logical flow chart of 'what if', and
figure from there. A multimeter, or a simple voltage detector will help you
understand what's going on. If you're not confident in your abilities, get
an electrician.
"Mike" wrote in message
...
Hi, and thanks for stopping by,

Let's see if I can define the problem so that it makes sense to both of
usS

My house, built around 1940, has a split entry entrance. Go 8 steps up
to the upper floor, or, 8 steps down to the lower floor.

The entry landing has one grouping of 4 light switches.
1 to turn on/off the coat closets' light a few feet away.
1 to turn on/off the porch light a few feet away.
1 to turn on/off the entryways' inside light.
1 to turn on/off the light at the bottom of the lower floors'
stairs.

At the top of the stairway there is a group of 2 light switches:
1 to turn on/off the entryways' light
(1 to turn on/off the upper floors' hallways' light.)

At the bottom of the stairway there is a group of 2 light switches.
1 to turn on/off the light at the bottom of the lower floors'
stairs.
(1 to turn on/off the lower floor hallway light.)

Betcha you can guess what the approaching question is. :-)

How in the world do I get them to all work as they should all at the
same time? (For example, the lower floor landing light turns on/off
only if the coat closet light (which doesn't work btw, is set to
off...)

Any and all helpful advice will be cherished. Thank you.

Mike

+-+-+

Hello Don, RBM, and Ken

- the same I said to Matt and Christopher,

Thank you guys. I really had no illusions of being able to toss a
screwdriver onto the coffee table and say, ³No problem, Dear. That was
easy. Now, about Lisa's calculus homeworkŠ² :-)

And yes, I believe I'll do just that - call a pro.

Thanks again,

Mike