Talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill, joe is close, but the answer is right there in this image; http://imgur.com/HSOxvf2
Talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill, joe is close, but the answer is right there in this image; http://imgur.com/HSOxvf2
...Thats my take on how it is wired. Left cable outside light right cable travelers and center cable power.
Ok it seems i posted after others posted.
Hummm! Still, his picture shows a 3 ways switch ( according to the pic). There must be at least one 3 conductor romex in the box then and I don't see one.
Please, tell me what I am not seeing here then. I am open to suggestions.
In the first sketch post 1 if he put the pig tail (power) to the top screw on the right and puts white and black to the other screws it will work.
But again according to the first sketch he is replacing a single pole switch with a 3 way which makes no sense (in reality you can use a 3 ways switch in a bind if you don't have a single pole handy).
We still have not heard from the OP anything about the other two switch locations.
...I did not say it was right. But if the neutral is at the light there is no need to run a neutral to the switches
Yes you can't have two wires under one screw but still, why is there a jumper from the switch on the right (which seems to be a 3 ways switch) to the switch on the left side?? Again, there are no romexes with 3 conductors (red,blad and white). The jumper is going from what is a traveler position to the switch on the left side. Does not make sense.
Yes that is correct however the common must have either the hot or the load to the light and the other two travelers. Something is just not right here; I am sorry. Until we get better pictures (from all switch box locations) I can't figure this out. Also the OP mentioned 2 other locations that this light is controlled by. Just does not make any sense to me.
So what you are saying is Bud that maybe someone used 2 2 wire romexes instead of one 3 wire romexes. That is a possibility but unlikely-But still possible.
The black wire going from one switch to the other is the common. Put it under the black common screw.
Before you do that you need to fix the issue of two wires under one screw. That is not allowed. Take the power wire and nut two short black pigtails to it. Take the other end of the pigtails and connect to the switches.
JoeD's suggestion worked. The original 3 way was configured differently so the orientation of the screws were set up on different sides. That's what was throwing me off. I moved the jumper to the common and it works just fine. I'll just need to buy a couple pigtails to do the job properly.
Thanks again for all the help.
What bud said is correct, as is the diagram neal posted, because it has never been a prerequisite the a 12 or 14/3 romex are necessary for a three way switch to operate, just a convenience.
All the op had to do was swap the locations of the travelers, and it would have fixed the problem.
BTW. you do not have protection from a ground so it would be a good idea to figure out which outlets should be protected and add GFCIs in line.
If you are interested in that start another thread so we can all argue there too.:rofl:
So what you are saying is Bud that maybe someone used 2 2 wire romexes instead of one 3 wire romexes. That is a possibility but unlikely-But still possible.
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