THREE WAYS 3-WAYS CAN BE (3way Switch Wiring - ILLEGAL AND LEGAL METHODS)

Did you know that there are multiple different ways to wire 3-way switches? Some of them are dangerous and "illegal" but they do exist, you might come across them, so you should know what they are and how they work.

🤘⚡️EU Learning System⚡️🤘
-Video courses on every side of the electrical trade (theory, code, safety, wiring, install, troubleshooting, leadership, and more)
-Practice exams for 2017, 2020, 2023 code
-YouTube videos categorized and searchable
-Audio lessons
-Forum
-Business version has admin portal and ability to assign learning to technicians and monitor progress
-Any business size from 2 techs to 2,000!

🎓💡CONTINUING EDUCATION💡🎓
-State Approved
-Video Based

✍📝PRACTICE EXAMS📝✍
-2017, 2020, and 2023 NEC versions
-Online Residential Wireman Exam
-Online Journeyman Exam
-Online Master Exam
-300 Question Online Code Cannon (not license specific, all code)
-Take as many times as you want
-All of the above come with printable PDFs

🎤🎧PODCAST🎧🎤
Spotify:
Apple Podcast:

📱👍SOCIALS👍📱

🎧🎹Music, Editing, and Videography by Drake Descant and Rob LeBlanc🎹🎧

#electrician #electrical #electricity

Normal 3-way Switch Wiring
A Typical 3-way switch is wired using one box/device as the hot side and the other as the leg side. On the hot side you bring your incoming hot and neutral, on the leg side you bring your switch leg and switch leg neutral. Then between the two devices, you run travelers.

Carter 3-way Switch Wiring
A Carter three-way is an old-school wiring method that was outlawed in the early 1900's as it allows a switch in polarity at the screw-shell of a lamp/luminaire. It doesn't have a hot side and a leg-side, instead, it utilizes both travelers as hot and neutral, then the common screws of both devices are connected to either side of the luminaire/screw shell. When switching occurs, the hot feeds in one way and the neutral feeds the other, then when either of the switches are flipped it reverses polarity, making the neutral the hot, and the hot the neutral - at the lamp/luminaire. This is a shock hazard, and wiring should not be done this way. It is only for educational purposes in the event you come across a setup like this in the future.

California 3-way Switch Wiring
California three-way switching came about because of a local code restriction in parts of California. There was a situation where putting more than three conductors in a certain type of conduit was not allowed, so the electricians had to become a little creative with wiring. So the Cali 3way looks very similar to the Carter, however, it does not switch the neutral, rather it bypasses everything with the neutral like modern three way switching does today. This means there is no reversing of polarity like the Carter setup.

Dead-End 3-way Switch Wiring
I've called a dead-end three way a California 3way for a long time, and that is not correct. A lot of southerners call a dead-end a Cali because they both work on the philosophy of using 3 conductors - but it is not accurate to call it such. A dead-end 3way is when you have both the incoming power and the switch leg in the same box on one side of a room. If you need to add a second 3way switch at the other end, you simply pass three conductors down to the other side and utilize the white as a switch leg and re-identifying it black.

#3wayswitch #threewayswitch #wiring

[dakotagarcia]

The Code Time segment really sets this channel apart. I feel your channel is very underrated and want to say thank you for inspiring me in part to persue this career!

[Ibuildit]

THIS was exactly what I was looking for! We recently did a simple switch disconnect/reconnect but I was trying to wire the traditional way but as it turns out, we were dealing with a Dead End 3-way. totally confused me. We did finally figure it out but this explains so well why 99% of 3-way wiring videos out there do not show dead end wiring. THANKS! I needed this!

[dannyrondeau]

Can I double thumb up this vid? It took me an hour to figure out a repair on a dead end threeway last month. One of the switches had died, but seeing that hot neutral in the light box with no ID tape on it left me so confused until I drew it out on the table. Your video makes it so clear so quickly. Great info!

[sambulate]

Dude, thank you SO much for this! The way you've animated this, and how you've illustrated the connections are SO helpful. The physical connections and interactions between the components are what I have struggled with, and this helps me visualize it better than I ever have. More, please!

[tadonplane]

An old electrician who wired many California three way circuits explained it to me like this. On a three way switch you have a common and two throws, not a common and two travelers. The wires are travelers not the terminals. A traveler is a wire that connects two switches together and no matter how many boxes that wire goes through nothing else gets connected to it.

A conventional three way (straight, loop, dead end) has two travelers. A California has one traveler between the commons, nothing else is connected to that wire. While the throws are wired together too, those conductors are not travelers because in every box they go through, one is a hot and the other is a switch leg.

In a Carter there is no traveler. Each switch gets hot and neutral on its throws and the lamp is wired between the commons. It’s illegal because it can break the neutral leaving both sides of the lamp shell hot, with the lamp being off.

The benefit of the California is when a three way is needed to control a string of lights, it saves a conductor in the run compared to a conventional three way. It’s totally legal under 404.2 because it only breaks the hot.

Save yourself some wire, use the California when you have multiple loads on a three way.

[khybersafi]

Here's a future video idea: How to do a re-wire or replace a home-run most efficiently with minimum amount of drywall damage. Any tips and tricks you've learned over the years that would be helpful to new guys getting into the field. Thanks.

[Turbo.M]

I was going nuts trying to figure out how to replace a three way switch setup in my house. It didn’t make sense looking at how the existing wiring was. Until I found this video! apparently it was a “cali” three-way. Thanks!

[imdeplorable]

BINGO!! It was a "Chicago 3-way" design.
While merely replacing an old 1920s porcelain 3-way in a friend's 1905 house, I blew 4 Edison base fuses. What the...? So, I had to run a wire from a water pipe to determine what wires were hots or neutrals using my Wiggy. Yes, there was a neutral (!!??) on the switch. NOW I KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON THERE. "Chicago 3-way."
Thank you so much for this tutorial. Neither of those systems was taught in my apprenticeship.

[jeromewilliams]

I only see this NEC 2020 "neutral at switch boxes" applying to completely new switch circuits as in a rewire or new construction. As a practice, I try to always (especially in residential) have my switch legs go up to a fixture outlet from a wired switch box rather than than down. and this practice was influenced from my early electrical maintenance days (mostly service work), whereas I hated having to fool with a light fixture to troubleshoot a problem such as bad splices. Another great video for sure...

[richaw]

When I was a kid, my father replaced a 3-way switch, and as soon as we flipped the switch, it blew the fuse! Huh? Well, it was (as I now know) a Carter 3-way, and the replacement switch was a mercury switch, and flipping the switch momentarily connected all three terminals, shorting the power, and blowing the fuse! Minneapolis, not too far from Chicago :)

[jurassicsparks]

Ok, so terminology is different as I’m a licensed Electrician in both Australia and UK. But the first 3 way and the dead end 3 way is generally what we would use… the dead end is wired slightly differently but the principle is the same. Enjoying your vids and the different words we use.

[juanlorenzo]

im a journeyman electrician, i know this stuff but for some reason i cannot stop watching your videos, thank you for the videos your doing keep up the great work

[timlabarr]

Totally thought this was gonna be another repeat video. BUT It wasn't that's awesome because I didn't know about the Chicago 3 ways or the Cali 3 way really except that Kelly 3 ways were dead in 3 ways as well. Thanks for the knowledge dude and nice animations.

[AM-hfkk]

Sending this to my Father-in-Law. The previous owner of his place had some hack install a "three way" circuit in the living room, one switch at the front door and one at the kitchen. Unfortunately, it's only 14/2 throughout and uses single-throw switches. Dude got it right in that both switches WILL turn the light off... but if you turn it off at the front door, the kitchen switch won't work. If you turn it off at the kitchen, then the front door doesn't work. The hack just put two switches in series, then installed a ceiling fan with a pull switch, which is what my in-laws end up using. It pains me greatly and I end up walking around in the dark rather than dick with it. I'm dreading replacing that mess because my Father-in-Law thinks the attic is unsafe and hasn't agreed to let me look at it yet.

[youdontknowme]

Perfect timing!! I encountered a strange 3-way delimma over the weekend at a 90 year old house. I bet it's a Chicago 3-way...

[ryanwashburn]

You should make a video about trouble shooting them on service calls.

[newenglandman]

You just solved a 29-year mystery in my world. It was that long ago that I was unable to figure out the wiring of a 3-way switched light in an old house retrofit with K&T (had been gas lit) that had then been plastered-over. For the love of God nor money could I figure this thing out. Of course, I could not see the wiring paths behind the walls and all wires were the same color black. It was, I see now, a Chicago/Carter method. Thank you.

[andycopeland]

Fantastic video brother! Learned a lot about the two odd-ball wiring methods. Your animations were perfect. Thanks a lot man keep it up

[chris]

Love your video and have come back several times to watch the variations. One variation of the three-way switch I’m having a really hard time finding is one where the power comes into the switchbox, and then both the three wire to the other switch, and the two wire to the lights come out of that same box. Might be a great video for someone as I can’t find it anywhere

[Roy-ijwq]

Great video. You just helped me solve a problem I was working on today with two dead end 3 way switches that control the garage light from the kitchen door and garage door. Saved me the trouble of having to call for help.

Update - Section 404.2c was changed in 2020 and now prohibits a "dead end" three-way in a remodel if there is no finish on the wall and the wire is readily accessable and can be changed. I ran into this on my remodel when I exposed an old dead end three-way and had to add a neutral. The reason for this is that many modern "smart" switches require a neutral. If the neutral isn't used, it is capped for future use. 

I'm also having to upgrade some single pole switches to 14/3 wire because the home runs are to the junction box for the light. Again, the unused neutral is capped for future use.