CanadianDIYer
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Hoping someone might find this a challenging puzzle - I'd be grateful for any help and sorry in advance for the lengthy description!
I think I’ve inherited some creative wiring.
I need to replace a 3-way switch on a circuit that worked fine for years. When I removed the old switch, I found 5 sets of wires (four x 12/2 and one x 12/3) in the box. Although I’m in the habit of taking pictures before I remove anything, this time for some reason I forgot of course. However, I’ve uploaded a picture of the disconnected switch for reference as well as a picture of the other, still connected, switch.
And I remember the following about the disconnected switch:
Black wires:
2 black wires were pigtailed and connected to the common terminal screw. As you can see in the photo a third black wire was fed into one of the two push-in connectors labelled “common” on the back of the switch. The last two black wires were connected to each other with a screw nut.
White wires:
One white wire was connected to the other “common” push-in connector on the back of the switch. Another white wire was connected to one of the screw-in traveller terminals. The last three white wires were connected to each other with a screw nut.
Red wire:
The red wire was connected to other traveler terminal via the push-in connecter.
As for the 2nd switch, there was only one set of 12/3 wires in the box and as you can see in the photo, it appears the black wire is connected to the common terminal via the push-in connector and the white and red wires are connected to the traveller terminals via the push-in connectors.
Also, in case any of the following is useful, I have found at least one separate light and one outlet close to the disconnected switch that won’t work while the wires from the switch are disconnected (this other light has its own switch). Both of these are normally always working, regardless of what position the 3-way switches are in.
And also, when the first switch was wired, pretty much every wire connected to the switch lit up my contactless voltage tester in the 70-1000v range. It even lit up touching the toggle itself, which brings me to my biggest concern:
Should I just replace this switch copying the original connections or is this a dangerous setup. If it's dangerous, what's the easiest way to make it safe?
If you’ve gotten to the end of this post, thank you so much even just for reading it! If you have any questions or need better pictures please don’t hesitate to ask.
Thanks so much,
Peter
I think I’ve inherited some creative wiring.
I need to replace a 3-way switch on a circuit that worked fine for years. When I removed the old switch, I found 5 sets of wires (four x 12/2 and one x 12/3) in the box. Although I’m in the habit of taking pictures before I remove anything, this time for some reason I forgot of course. However, I’ve uploaded a picture of the disconnected switch for reference as well as a picture of the other, still connected, switch.
And I remember the following about the disconnected switch:
Black wires:
2 black wires were pigtailed and connected to the common terminal screw. As you can see in the photo a third black wire was fed into one of the two push-in connectors labelled “common” on the back of the switch. The last two black wires were connected to each other with a screw nut.
White wires:
One white wire was connected to the other “common” push-in connector on the back of the switch. Another white wire was connected to one of the screw-in traveller terminals. The last three white wires were connected to each other with a screw nut.
Red wire:
The red wire was connected to other traveler terminal via the push-in connecter.
As for the 2nd switch, there was only one set of 12/3 wires in the box and as you can see in the photo, it appears the black wire is connected to the common terminal via the push-in connector and the white and red wires are connected to the traveller terminals via the push-in connectors.
Also, in case any of the following is useful, I have found at least one separate light and one outlet close to the disconnected switch that won’t work while the wires from the switch are disconnected (this other light has its own switch). Both of these are normally always working, regardless of what position the 3-way switches are in.
And also, when the first switch was wired, pretty much every wire connected to the switch lit up my contactless voltage tester in the 70-1000v range. It even lit up touching the toggle itself, which brings me to my biggest concern:
Should I just replace this switch copying the original connections or is this a dangerous setup. If it's dangerous, what's the easiest way to make it safe?
If you’ve gotten to the end of this post, thank you so much even just for reading it! If you have any questions or need better pictures please don’t hesitate to ask.
Thanks so much,
Peter
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