Three way switch wiring. This type of switch has two brass screws usually.
4 Way Switch Wiring Diagram Red White Black H1 Wiring Diagram
3 way switch wiring diagram red white black. In the 1st diagram below a 2 wire nm cable supplies power from the panel to the first switch box. The cable has a black wire which connects directly to the circuit and a red wire which connects to the switch. In this diagram the electrical source is at the first switch and the light is located at the end of the circuit. When a white wire is being used as a traveler it needs to have its color changed according to article 310110c. You will have to get a 4 way switch for that position not a 3 way switch. The red wire is the other traveler.
When wiring a 3 way switch circuit we will be using a 3 wire cable known as romex coming from the source such as the breaker box. Wiring a 3 way light switch is certainly more complicated than that of the more common single pole switch but you can figure it out if you follow our 3 way switch wiring diagram. This means that there is a black hot wire a white neutral wire and a bare copper grounding wire. A 3 wire nm connects the traveler terminals of the first and second 3 way switch together. The standard way to power a split tab outlet is to run a three conductor cable to a wall switch. A three way switch is different.
This type of switch lets you turn the light off or on from more than one place in the room. The feeder wire from the power source is a 2 wire cable with ground. Then a 4 wire cable going between the two 3 way switches and then a 3 wire cable going from the switches to the load. Wiring diagram 3 way switch with light at the end. Typical 3 way switch wiring nm cable. The black line wire connects to the common terminal of the first 3 way switch.
Wiring a three way switch. Traveler wires are interchangeable. This is a typical wiring setup for a 3 way light switch with black white red and ground wires. 4 way switches have 4 screws 2 will be black and 2 will be brass. If it doesnt work switch the lower wires. Any color but white gray or green can be used.
With a pair of 3 way switches either can make or break the connection that completes the circuit to the light. Red and black form the same cable will connect ot he brass screws then the red and black from the other cable will connect ot he black screws. The ground wire also connects to the switch but the white wire gets spliced to the circuit neutral wire and bypasses the switch. The black and red wires between sw1 and sw2 are connected to the traveler terminals. The travelers get connected to the two brass screw terminals on the 3 way switch. Each 3 way switch in these examples are controlling the power source to the same load.
The same wiring method is also used for two way switch wiring. The cable run linking the two switches is made with 3 wire cable. Wiring a 3 way light switch. Three wire cable runs between the switches and 2 wire cable runs to the light. The black and red wires are travelers and are connected to the traveler.
Gallery of 3 Way Switch Wiring Diagram Red White Black
