How do I hook up a three way switch?

I have electric to both switches but the light won't turn on. I have changed the light bulb several times and that didn't help. I have also changed the receptacle and that didn't help.How do I hook up a three way switch?Installing 3-way Switches

From Apply Now,

Your Guide to Home Repair.



You can turn the lights on here and off over there, and you can do it yourself once you know the trick. It's not exactly simple, but it's far less complicated than most people assume.



There are two important things to remember to make 3-way switches work right. One is that the switches are really single-pole, double-throw devices. That means that one of the three terminals on each switch is always connected to one of the other two. The terminal that is always connected is called the point terminal. It should be specially identified. Most commonly, the screw for the point terminal will be dark and the other two screws will be bright. Toggling - flipping - a 3-way switch changes which of the other two terminals the point terminal is connected to.



To help visualize this, you can think of a 3-way switch as a %26quot;V.%26quot; The bottom of the V is the point terminal and the top of the letter is where the other two terminals are.



Each time the switch is flipped, the wire terminated on the point is disconnected from one of the other two terminal screws and connected to the other.

The other important thing to remember is that 3-way switches come in pairs. It takes two of them, and only two, to make the system work. In addition, three-way switching works because the two non-point terminals on one of the 3-way switches are always connected directly to the two non-point terminals on the other 3-way switch with a pair of wires called the travelers. A three-conductor cable - with or without a ground wire - connects the two switches and carries the two travelers. The third insulated conductor in the three-conductor cable is used as a hot wire or as a neutral, depending on which is needed.



In every 3-way switch system, the ungrounded conductor from the panel - the %26quot;hot%26quot; wire - is connected to the point terminal on one of the two switches. The switch-controlled %26quot;hot%26quot; wire, which connects the switch system to the first controlled light, is connected to the point terminal on the other switch. The grounded conductor - the neutral wire - is not switched. It is carried to the first light and connected there.



There are three scenarios that cover more than 90% of all three-way switch installations. One of these should work for you in a new installation. If you're troubleshooting existing wiring, one of these will most likely be what you are looking at.



Remember to turn the power OFF at the panel before starting. For a new installation, remember to use #12 AWG (American Wire Gauge) wire on a 20 amp circuit. You can use #14 AWG wire on a circuit protected at 15 amps.How do I hook up a three way switch?did you turn the power back on? use a tester to read voltage to the light %26amp; switch. the bulb could be just fine. start from the breaker box and find out where the power is first. look up the wiring diagram online ther'll be illistrations you can refrence and it's be a lot easier than trying to figure out what the heck we're saying.How do I hook up a three way switch?dont no at all. u can ask the retart on top of me hes a nerdHow do I hook up a three way switch?Make sure that there is electricity going to the light. A wire may have come loose, or there could be a break in the wiring going to the light.How do I hook up a three way switch?no sure