4 way switch

xanthax · Feb 20, 2007, 01:18 PM

I moved in to a house where the previous owner had changed some of the light switches to a newer décor type. I 'm attempting to change all of them so they all look the same, but came accros a lights switch wich is one of three that controls the stircase light. I went to home depot bought a four way light switch and as I was replacing it, both sitches looked alike from behind. It had two black wires on the left to two screws, and two red wires to two screws, the whites were joined together and place in the bak of electrical box. When I tried to replace it like the Leviton instructions say I should One black and red on one side and the reverse on the other, it worked, but only with the switch I was working on, the other two now don't work. Please help.

tennz · Feb 20, 2007, 07:44 PM

Originally Posted by xanthax

I moved in to a house where the previous owner had changed some of the light switches to a newer decor type. I 'm attempting to change all of them so they all look the same, but came accros a lights switch wich is one of three that controls the stircase light. I went to home depot bought a four way light switch and as I was replacing it, both sitches looked alike from behind. It had two black wires on the left to two screws, and two red wires to two screws, the whites were joined together and place in the bak of electrical box. When I tried to replace it like the Leviton instructions say I should One black and red on one side and the reverse on the other, it worked, but only with the switch I was working on, the other two now dont work. Please help.

Try putting one BL/RED pair on the top and the other pair on the bottom. That should solve your problem.

xanthax · Feb 22, 2007, 09:18 AM

Originally Posted by tennz

Try putting one BL/RED pair on the top and the other pair on the bottom. That should solve your problem.

I thought I fixed the problem, but now I can turn on /off the lights, but If I turn them on from one switch, I can't turn it off from another switch. This sucks

tkrussell · Feb 22, 2007, 12:05 PM

Here is a diagram showing how a four way switch should be wired. The critical issue is to know which pair of the four terminals are which on your switch. As tennz was trying to get you to do is to switch the pair of travelers from the side to the top, You may need to start over.

One pair of traveler wires will be in one cable, and the other pair in the other.

Next is to look at your switch to see if you can determine which pair of terminals is one set. If not, you should be able to experiment trying different pairs with each set of wires.

What is your switch make and model number?

Add your answer here.