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Good Afternoon. My husband is replacing my wall switches that control our ceiling fan. There are two switches on different walls that turn the light/fan on and off. He is relatively new to replacing switches and is hesitant about doing it correctly. Would you help us?Thanks,Sarah
Already Tried: Removed the old switch and now have the wires capped off. Power is turned off to the two switches.
Hi, Welcome to Just Answer. My name is XXXXX XXX would be glad to assist.
Do you have the new switches already?
yes.
This is 2 switches, correct? 1 on each side of the room that control the same fan/light?
yes
ok, those are called 3 way switches.
it is critical, when changing them out to follow this rule.
one is on one wall by a doorway and the other is on another wall by the doorway
There are 2 brass screws and 1 black screw on the switches. The black screw MUST get the same wire that is on the existing switch black screw
The wires are balck and white except for the ground. My husband says he doesnt know which one is the traveller.
The other 2 brass screws can have either of the other 2 wires, the location is not critical.
If you will read my posts, I just told you
The old switches were removed last weekend so all we have are the wires capped off. When he opened up the box, one of the wires had been left uncapped and HOT
The black screw is common and mUST stay on the black screw
Ok, that is a problem, lets see what we can do
thanks for helping us.
no problem
Look in one of the switch boxes and tell me how many wires and color of each?
my husband is trying it now. i have a feeling he is going to have to screw it all in, turn on the power, test it to see if it works and then cut the power, do the same to the other 3way and repeat the steps. does that sound correct?
no
look at the wires in the box, count them and what color each one is.
there are 3 bundles. each bundle has black white and ground.
and all of them are loose and not connected to anything?
both have 2 whites connected
ok, so how many wires are loose?
3 bundles is 6 wires, you have 4 loose?
in socket number 1, 2 black and 1 white
in socket number 2, 1 black, 1 white and 2 black are tied together and stripped half way down to connect them both to one screw
ok
on #1, what other wires are in the box?
2 black and 1 white are loose, what is connect to each other?
fan turned on, blew a fuse...can we start over.
I am confused, I have not told to do anything yet
Hi, Tommy. This is Dan, the husband. Unlike Sarah, I jumped ahead.
on #1 wires in box are...there are 3 white and 3 black and a ground wire.
ok, and what wires are loos?
loose, sorry
Starting from the begining when i took off covers -- #1 had two black wires connected to one brass and the black screw. One white wire was connected to the other brass screw. one black wire was not connected at all. Ground wires are all twisted together in the back of the box. next, what i saw in switch #2.
In switch number two, two white wires capped off together (this was also in #1). Ground wires all together in back of box. On switch, one white on brass screw, one black on brass screw. on the black screw was a combination of black wires -- they had twisted two black wires and capped, then they stripped some of one of these further down and attached to black wire (was this some sort of work around?).
When i bought the switches, it all seemed simple as long as i identified the traveller. Not the case. Thanks for assisting!
would a picture help?
give me a min to read and see what else is needed
Switch #2-----one white on brass screw keep on brass screw to new switch, ---------------one black on brass screw, keep on brass screw to new switch--------------. on the black screw was a combination of black wires -- they had twisted two black wires and capped, then they stripped some of one of these further down and attached to black wire----------------re connect the 2 black wires and add a short 6" jumper wire, connect the jumper wire to the new switch black screw
Is a jumper wire just another piece of wire twisted with the other two in the cap?
correct
will do now, be back in a minute.
What they did there, is send power to another location also, combining the 2 blacks. But were too lazy to do it right
ok, I will think on #1 while you do that
Little confused on #1-------#1 had two black wires connected to one brass and the black screw. ----the 2 wires were connected to both the brass and black at the same time?
#2 completed
On #1, there was a black on a brass screw, a black on the black screw, and one black unattached -- which was the one which shocked Sarah and began this journey... In addtion, there was a white attached to the other brass screw, while the other two white are twisted together in the back of the box.
ok, thanks
Ok, look at the 2 whites that are connected together
follow those and find out which black is in the same cable with each one
lets see that and maybe it will tell me something
One of them is the same bundle as the always hot black. Both bundles that have the whites tied together are coming down into the box. the other bundle comes up into the box.
On the second box, all three bundles come in from the bottom -- although two of the bundles come in together (i.e. through the same tube/pipe).
Also, box #1 is on fuse 17 and box #2 is on fuse 19 (they are not both on the same fuse).
When the fan went on the first time, fuse 17 was tripped off. this may provide you more info that helps.
we need to stay on #1, we already did #2
I do not need too much information, it confuses and have to determine what is relevant
ok. sorry.
so back to the question
there are 2 whites connected together. Which 2 black wires are in the same cables?
the whites which are connected: one is in the same cable as the black which was always hot, and was not connected when i took off the switch plate; the other is in the same cable as the black which i believe was connected to the black screw.
Lets do this, cap off that hot black wire
the hot one?
correct, the one that was not connected
we only want to wire the new switch, do not screw it into the wall
connect the other wires the same way as they had them.
ok done
wait need to complete the others (capped first one completed) be right back.
make sure the black wire on the black screw goes to the new switch black screw
i connected the one i believe was one the black screw. if not, i will need to switch them, correct? the hot one (i am sure of this) has been capped off. ready for next instruction. Thanks.
I would turn on power and see what we have now.
ok back in a moment
Thanks
ok, it works (on/off from both locations). the black one which is capped off is the power (in #1), do i need to secure in any way to prevent an accident?
any thing else i need to do before checking my connections and then putting the switches back together in the wall (after i turn the power off first)?
Cap and tape for extra safety. I think they connected that black by mistake to power. Verify right now that nothing else is out at the moment
check receptacles in the area and all lights to make sure all works and that black did not go to anything else
checked everything and they are fine. anything else to check before i turn off power and finish?
nope, good to go
Thank you very much for your assistance.
Experience: Contractor-40 Years in the ElectricalTrade