Wiring a 3 way ligght switch?

How do i know which wires go where? I have just decorated my staircase and landing and decided to change the light switch at the bottom of my stairs which my kitchen light my hallway light and the upstairs landing light all run from. I have removed the old switch after isolating the electric first. Now iv got a cable with a red and a black wire inside aswel as 3 red wires with 2 of them having black tape on them and the third having grey tape on it and then there is one red wire on its own. Anybody got any ideas!Wiring a 3 way ligght switch?first of all, go carefully.

next, do all of your grounds and connect them to the switches,

if something goes wrong you want to zap the devices, not you.

in one box you should have power supply ( black, white, bare ground) and a 3- wire to the other box (red, black, white, bare ground) I'll call this box-1.

in the other box you should have just the 3- wire ( red, black, white, bare ground) I'll call this box-2.

then you should have a lead to the light with one black, one white, and one ground.

in box-1, connect the black wire from the supply to the black screw on the 3-way switch, pigtail (wire nut together) the white supply wire with the white wire from the light fixture.

still in box-1, connect the white and red from the three wire to the brass screws. pigtail the black from the 3-wire to the black from the light fixture.

in box-2 connect the black wire to the black screw.

connect the red and white wires to the brass screws.

turn the breaker back on ond test the lights and switches.

voila, you have just wired a 3-way switch.

if this does not help, or is confusing, call a pro.Wiring a 3 way ligght switch?Shame I didn't catch your question earlier. I noticed you live in Leeds, I hope Leeds uk. Reason is most of the above answers are for the usa. In the uk we do not normally bring the Neutral through the Light switch and terminology differs. You say 3 way, do you mean 3 gang 2 way, meaning 3 switches 1 for kitchen, 1 for hallway and 1 for stairs, the stairs being 2 way to switch on or off both up and downstairs. In which case you definitely need a tester. Start by identifying the Live, then the 2 switch wires for kitchen and hallway, and I am guessing that the 2 reds with grey tape are the strappers for upstairs. If you are in the uk then you are unlikely to blow fuses by incorrect connections. Unfortunately cannot give any more help as more info requiredWiring a 3 way ligght switch?Hard to tell you much without on the site info, (a picture's worth a thousand words, and multimeter readings are invaluable.) If you don't have much electrical experience or a friend and don't have access to a multimeter, I would call a pro. Really, even if the colors of the wires generally mean something, that's not good enough to go on - you need to KNOW. And taped wires, IMO, do not represent a job done w/ much pride; tape is not a permanent solution.



For diagrams, etc., there are tons of online helps, like http://www.electrical-online.com/wiringd as well as videos, etc. But again, if you don't understand what you're doing, better to get on-site help.



Whatever case, when you do wire it, please don't wire up my pet peeve in 3-way switches! When your done, both up or both down should be off, while one up one down should be on.Wiring a 3 way ligght switch?If the switch you removed used 4 terminals, then this is the intermediate switch, the other two being 2way switches.



The intermediate switch terminates 2 cables coming from each 2way switch know as 'strappers'.You will need to trace the cables back to their source. ie. Their 2way switches.



Pity you did not mark the cables as you disconnected them (sorry did not mean to patronise)Wiring a 3 way ligght switch?this is a daily Q and there was a great site that was showed in the last 3-4 days . It had a diagram that was very informative.Wiring a 3 way ligght switch?http://www.how-to-wire-it.com/wiring-a-4



Its simple ! next time take a note how its wired



If the colours are not the same? work out how the 2 way switches are wired and relate them to the intermediate wirring diagram!Wiring a 3 way ligght switch?The three red one will be the %26quot;common%26quot; Switch fase Live to r1 then loop

......................................?R1

the other 2 r1's together.........\__\__\__\%26lt;Loop Commons