replacing old lighting switches
 

Hello, I am in the process of replacing all the light switches in my home.
Some of the old switches have the 2 wires connected and some have three. The
switches I bought have only the 2 wire connectors for hot and cold wires.
What do i do if the outlet has the 3 wires? Are there switches that have the
ground on them as well, to accomodate 3 wires in the outlet?
thanks

--

On Mon, 3 Jan 2005 18:19:26 -0500, "dude"
wrote:

Hello, I am in the process of replacing all the light switches in my home.
Some of the old switches have the 2 wires connected and some have three. The
switches I bought have only the 2 wire connectors for hot and cold wires.
What do i do if the outlet has the 3 wires? Are there switches that have the
ground on them as well, to accomodate 3 wires in the outlet?

Yes, they are called "3-way" switches, used when you want to be able
to turn the switch on/off from two locations. When you get into more
than two locations you will need one or more "4-way switch(es)" in the
middle.

When replacing, be sure to wire the new switch identically to the old
one.

Do a Google search on "3 way switch wiring" for the operating
principles and wiring options.

thanks

DJ

"DJ" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 3 Jan 2005 18:19:26 -0500, "dude"
wrote:

Hello, I am in the process of replacing all the light switches in my home.
Some of the old switches have the 2 wires connected and some have three.
The
switches I bought have only the 2 wire connectors for hot and cold wires.
What do i do if the outlet has the 3 wires? Are there switches that have
the
ground on them as well, to accomodate 3 wires in the outlet?

Yes, they are called "3-way" switches, used when you want to be able
to turn the switch on/off from two locations. When you get into more
than two locations you will need one or more "4-way switch(es)" in the
middle.

When replacing, be sure to wire the new switch identically to the old
one.

Be sure you find the 'common' terminal on the old 3 way switches and mark
the 'common' wire with a piece of tape or something before disconnecting the
wires. The 'common' terminals may not be in the same phyical postion on the
old and new switches. BTDT... The common termininal screw is usuaally
marked in some way such as dark color.

Note that some switches do have a green grounding screw on the yoke which
would add one wire to each type of switch.
Kevin



Do a Google search on "3 way switch wiring" for the operating
principles and wiring options.

thanks

DJ

"Kevin Ricks" wrote in message
m...

"DJ" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 3 Jan 2005 18:19:26 -0500, "dude"
wrote:

Hello, I am in the process of replacing all the light switches in my
home.
Some of the old switches have the 2 wires connected and some have three.
The
switches I bought have only the 2 wire connectors for hot and cold wires.
What do i do if the outlet has the 3 wires? Are there switches that have
the
ground on them as well, to accomodate 3 wires in the outlet?

Yes, they are called "3-way" switches, used when you want to be able
to turn the switch on/off from two locations. When you get into more
than two locations you will need one or more "4-way switch(es)" in the
middle.

When replacing, be sure to wire the new switch identically to the old
one.

Be sure you find the 'common' terminal on the old 3 way switches and mark
the 'common' wire with a piece of tape or something before disconnecting
the wires. The 'common' terminals may not be in the same phyical postion
on the old and new switches. BTDT... The common termininal screw is
usuaally marked in some way such as dark color.

Note that some switches do have a green grounding screw on the yoke which
would add one wire to each type of switch.
Kevin



Do a Google search on "3 way switch wiring" for the operating
principles and wiring options.

thanks

DJ


I second the labelling of the common wire. The original 3 way switches in my
home do not match the physical configurations of any of the new switches
that I have purchased. The first time that happens turn a 5 minute
replacement job into quite an adventure of discovery!

STK

the wires are red, black and white. How do i know which one is common and
which one is ground?
thanx

"Kevin Ricks" wrote in message
m...

"DJ" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 3 Jan 2005 18:19:26 -0500, "dude"
wrote:

Hello, I am in the process of replacing all the light switches in my
home.
Some of the old switches have the 2 wires connected and some have three.
The
switches I bought have only the 2 wire connectors for hot and cold
wires.
What do i do if the outlet has the 3 wires? Are there switches that have
the
ground on them as well, to accomodate 3 wires in the outlet?

Yes, they are called "3-way" switches, used when you want to be able
to turn the switch on/off from two locations. When you get into more
than two locations you will need one or more "4-way switch(es)" in the
middle.

When replacing, be sure to wire the new switch identically to the old
one.

Be sure you find the 'common' terminal on the old 3 way switches and mark
the 'common' wire with a piece of tape or something before disconnecting
the
wires. The 'common' terminals may not be in the same phyical postion on
the
old and new switches. BTDT... The common termininal screw is usuaally
marked in some way such as dark color.

Note that some switches do have a green grounding screw on the yoke which
would add one wire to each type of switch.
Kevin



Do a Google search on "3 way switch wiring" for the operating
principles and wiring options.

thanks

DJ

Dude!

I totally think you are radically over your head, brah!

But - if you are talking about a switch, and NOT an outlet, and NOT a
switch which has an outlet beside it, try this:

1) Go to the hardware store, by a switch labeled "3 way".
2) Shut off power. In this case, I recc. you kill the main.
3) Connect the black wire to the black colored screw on the switch.
4) Connect the red wire to one of the brass screws on the switch
(either/or, makes no difference).
5) Connect the white wire to the remaining brass screw.
6) Turn power back on.
7) If a breaker pops when you turned the main back on, or if a breaker
pops when you flip the light switch, STOP, go to step 8.
8) Call an electrician.

What do i do if the outlet has the 3 wires?

A duplex outlet with three wires will commonly have one switched connection and
one always on. The tab between the two brass screws will be removed.
Switches with three wires are likely to be three-way switches and will be
supplied with red, black and white leads.
Consider finding some expert help with your project. Based on your
unfamiliarity with ordinary wiring you could have some unpleasant unplanned
consequences. HTH

Joe

As I said find the wire that is connected to the black scew terminal on the
3 way switch and that will be your common. The other 2 wires can connect to
the switch in any order.
There is no standard for which color wire is used for what in 3 or 4 way
circuits. If you have lost track of the common then you will have to open
each box, switches and light(s), and diagram/ figure out how they did it.
If that is the case then get some help or a book as there are several
different ways to wire a 3 way circuit.

Note that the ground wire if there is one is either bare copper or green.
Kevin


"dude" wrote in message
wsgroups.com...
the wires are red, black and white. How do i know which one is common and
which one is ground?
thanx

"Kevin Ricks" wrote in message
m...

"DJ" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 3 Jan 2005 18:19:26 -0500, "dude"
wrote:

Hello, I am in the process of replacing all the light switches in my
home.
Some of the old switches have the 2 wires connected and some have
three.
The
switches I bought have only the 2 wire connectors for hot and cold
wires.
What do i do if the outlet has the 3 wires? Are there switches that
have
the
ground on them as well, to accomodate 3 wires in the outlet?

Yes, they are called "3-way" switches, used when you want to be able
to turn the switch on/off from two locations. When you get into more
than two locations you will need one or more "4-way switch(es)" in the
middle.

When replacing, be sure to wire the new switch identically to the old
one.

Be sure you find the 'common' terminal on the old 3 way switches and mark
the 'common' wire with a piece of tape or something before disconnecting
the
wires. The 'common' terminals may not be in the same phyical postion on
the
old and new switches. BTDT... The common termininal screw is usuaally
marked in some way such as dark color.

Note that some switches do have a green grounding screw on the yoke which
would add one wire to each type of switch.
Kevin



Do a Google search on "3 way switch wiring" for the operating
principles and wiring options.

thanks

DJ

Electrical work of this sort is easy. But you gotta know the basics.
You get it wrong , you start an uninsured fire or hurt someone. It
only takes a couple of hours of study to know whats what.

Go to home depot, buy:

1. a book on electrical wiring ( I liked Ortho books in the past)
2. a cheap circuit tester ( has 2 leads tells you if something is hot
)
3. Good three way and single pole switches ( rated for commercial use,
they have a metal yoke down the bac, cost about a buck more than the
cheap 49 cent ones).

Read the parts of the book that apply to your situation ( lighting
circuit wiring ). Figure out what you are going to do before you take
anything apart.
Kill the circuit at the panel.
Test the circuit at the switch to make sure its dead
Do your wiring as per instructions in the book. Make sure you twist the
wires on the screws so that they just get tighter as you tighten the
screws. Make sure there is no way a bare wire can ever touch anything
other than the terminal screw.
Put it all back in the box tighten it down, inspect again to make sure
you did not botch it.

Turn circuit back on and test.

This is easy when you have done a little research.



The most important thin

"dude" wrote in message
wsgroups.com...
the wires are red, black and white. How do i know which one is
common and
which one is ground?
thanx

"Kevin Ricks" wrote in message
m...

"DJ" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 3 Jan 2005 18:19:26 -0500, "dude"
wrote:

Hello, I am in the process of replacing all the light switches
in my
home.
Some of the old switches have the 2 wires connected and some
have
three.
The
switches I bought have only the 2 wire connectors for hot and
cold
wires.
What do i do if the outlet has the 3 wires? Are there switches
that
have
the
ground on them as well, to accomodate 3 wires in the outlet?

Yes, they are called "3-way" switches, used when you want to be
able
to turn the switch on/off from two locations. When you get into
more
than two locations you will need one or more "4-way switch(es)"
in the
middle.

When replacing, be sure to wire the new switch identically to
the old
one.

Be sure you find the 'common' terminal on the old 3 way switches
and mark
the 'common' wire with a piece of tape or something before
disconnecting
the
wires. The 'common' terminals may not be in the same phyical
postion on
the
old and new switches. BTDT... The common termininal screw is
usuaally
marked in some way such as dark color.

Note that some switches do have a green grounding screw on the
yoke which
would add one wire to each type of switch.
Kevin



Do a Google search on "3 way switch wiring" for the operating
principles and wiring options.

thanks

DJ