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View Full Version : Light switch wiring.


jebidia
Oct 17, 2015, 03:20 PM
Hi all,

I have a room with one wall that has 2 switches and 1 wall has a single switch. One of the switches on the wall with 2 switches was shared with the one on the opposite wall. I am updating this room and was going to lose the shared switch on the wall with 2 switches. The power comes in at the switches on the wall with the 2 switches and is shared between the 2 different lights. So what I'm trying to end up with is a single switch on each wall, each controlling there own light, but power has to come in on only 1 side. I have this red wire from when it was a 3 way switch. This is part of my confusion.

It appears that the power is coming in from the line that has the red, white and black lines.

donf
Oct 18, 2015, 05:09 AM
Your confusion stems from not understanding the circuit you are working on.

The three-way switches have a source at one switch (1) The feed is the black wire, usually at the bottom of the switch. Red and White (now a hot wire) are called travelers. They are the wires that go to the other switch. The black from that switch (2) feeds the light, the red and white provide power to the switch.

White is not a neutral or return wire in this instance. Typically, source power is at the light. The black is interrupted at the source and fed to switch (1) and via the travelers to switch (2).

This is so that from either entry, the light can be activated.

The second light circuit is not related to the three-way connection and should not be drawing power from the three-way.

The biggest problem is that I cannot see what you had before you started changing things and what you have now.

If you want to defeat the three-way and run two different lights you will have to re-wire for the two different circuits.

For example switch (1) remove the switch replace with a single way switch. Cap off the red wire, attach the white wire to the bottom of the new switch and the black wire to the top. At the light, cap off the red wire. Attach the white wire (with black tape on it) to the incoming feed's black wire. Move the black wire to the black wire on the light. You now have a working switch loop from switch (1) to the light. Switch (2) is out of the circuit.

Clear as mud?