3 way or 4 way problem

[BEAVO]

ok guys some how i got some wires wrong while replacing switches in our new house wasnt replacing because they were bad...just mainly because the wife wants all the receptacles and switches replaced because of looks mostly and just there age so my problem i hit is in the kitchen/dinning room.. ok so on the wall coming from the living room theres two 3 way switches.... one goes to the chandelier and other the light in kitchen.. now by the sliding back door theres 3 switches one single switch to back porch light and one 3 way to the chandelier and one 4 way switch to the kitchen ... still follow me now in the kitchen theres a 3 way switch to the kitchen light only.......ok....wooo lol....so i took and replaced the two 3 ways by living room and the other 3 by back door.. now one way or the other the chandelier and kitchen light works...depending on what way there flipped i can get them to work....now the one single switch to porch light works fine. also just incase your wondering i never touched the single switch to kitchen light in the kitchen so i know its not that switch....any pointers thanks in advance

 

[rancherbill]

Yesterday I would have said to mark the wires, but today I'm drawing a blank.

 

[Mustang51js]

Look at the wires coming to the switches. You should have 2 blacks and a red going to each switch. Look at the wires and see which two come from the same wire,should be one red and one black,put those wires on the traveler screws which are the two same colored screws on the switch. You will have a black wire left over,put that one on the black or odd colored screw on the switch. Do that for the 3 ways you replaced.

If you happen to have a black,red and white on the switch of only one location where the switches are, which would usually be the two switch box if you did, then take the white and put that on the dark screw and other black,red on the other two screws. The 3 gang switch side would be like stated the first time.

Basically what happened when you replaced switches was the new switches have the colored screw in a different spot on the switch than the old,and you took wires off old switch and put in same locations, I fix these all the time so it's pretty common

 

[lksdrinker]

You will have a black wire left over,put that one on the black or odd colored screw on the switch. Do that for the 3 ways you replaced.

If I'm understanding the initial post correctly, one of those 3 ways he replaced is actually a 4 way.

Also, depending on where the power goes to first, you may have a white wire at a switch acting as a traveler. Of course if thats the case it should have been marked with black tape or something; but might not have been.

Other than that I'm having trouble understanding the question. I think you went to replace some switches and now your 3 way circuit (and your 4 way) are not operating as intended?

 

[Mustang51js]

I got it as the 4 way he didn't touch. But if h takes a couple pics of the wires it should be easy to figure out

 

[Cmreschke]

Also wondering if he did replace the 4 way with a 2 pole switch.

 

[Cmreschke]

Also did you install decora type switches?

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Everyone is just guessing with no pics.

So as always:

 

[volleyball]

This will teach her not to mess with working switches.
I think he needs to identify all the wire bundles to make sure none are crossed. It may make sense from there

 

[thewatusi]

The only thing let to do at this point is burn the house down.

 

[BEAVO]

hahaha not burning down the house.....i just havnt messed with switchs themselves very much....lol i was wondering if i would confuse you guys....i did not mix up the single pole switch....it works just fine....now i replaced a total of 3 three way switches and 1 four way and of course the single pole switch......now theres a three way switch in the kitchen that i did not touch yet....the wires are crossed some where.....because depending what way one switch is flipped the other may not work...now there is one white wire on one 3 way switch the rest of the white wires are wire nutted from the original install......i been doing some research and looks like i just need to take them all off and go from there....looking for the hot then checking the resistance in the travel wires etc.... i mean i could get you guys pics but not really sure this will help you lol.....the wires are not marked in any way just a bunch of wires..... other than the one white wire the rest of the wires connected to switchs is red and black..... now the two 3 way switchs on wall by living room have one red and two black a piece now the other box by back door theres a total of 4 red wires and 6 black wires i guess 8 counting the two on the single pole switch to the porch light

 

[Mustang51js]

As far as the one with the white on switch, usually the white is the point,or colored screw. It may be the black but usually never the red. The other switches just look at the wires coming to the switch,you should have a 3 wire and a two wire coming to the switch, the black and red from the 3 wire go to the travelers screws, which are the two the same color. The left over black is either the power or the black going to the light which goes on the black screw. Do all that and if there's still a problem with the 4 way then look at that. You should have 2 blacks and 2 reds for the 4 way. Look in the box to see which ones are coming from same wire,then look at the 4 way switch, usually the line is the top two screws and load on the bottom two screws,it should say it. Then take the pairs and put one pair on top and other on bottom, so you should have red and black on top and red and black on bottom.

 

[volleyball]

Cliff notes, you have two wires backwards. My sis moved into an apartment where some handyman must have replaced a switch and the light would only work if one switch was a certain way. 20 minutes later and after a few trips up and down the stairs, it was fixed

 

[slow]

I just had a similar issue with a house that I purchased, but turns out one of the 4 way switches had one bad contact in one position, so depending on if that switch was up or down changed how the circuit behaved. We always had to turn several switches to get the lights to turn on, depending on how the kids turned it off.

$12 and a trip to home depot later it is resolved.

Ryan

 

[BEAVO]

ok guys thanks for all the help....hopefully i can test it out tomorrow and figure out the problem....didnt have time today....

 

[Cmreschke]

Normally the red wire is a traveller, the black wire that comes from the same cable as the red wire is the other traveller, your second black or the one white that you have is your common. So find all the black and red pairs from the same cable and those go on your traveller screws and then your commons go on the remaining screw.

 

[Cmreschke]

Agree that you have a common and a traveller crossed at one or more of your switches.