In the midst of wiring my office/break room in the new shop, would like to have the ability to turn the lights off and on whether walking in from outdoors or in from the shop.... A 3 way switch circuit AFAIK.... At Menards today I bought Pass & Seymour 3 way switches. The instructions printed on the inside of the box are pretty vague so I decided to look into this on Youtube. From what I gathered there I may not have the right switches. The ones I bought today do not have a black screw on them... They have 3 gold screws and a ground.... So now, I'm pretty confused. Any ideas on if these will work? Thanks!
3 way switch help please?
- Thread starter P Dubya
- Start date
zmaxmotorsports
Well-known member
Can you post a picture of the switches you bought?There should be one darker screw.
I tried the Tapatalk thing once and got banned because I ended up with 2 accounts somehow and that is not allowed so at this time I would have to say no... Wait, Maybe I can do it through photo bucket? Been so long since I did any of that I can't remember... The part number on the box is CSB15AC3-WCC8 if that does any good for anyone?
zmaxmotorsports
Well-known member
bloomingtonmike
Well-known member
Pretty sure they will work just fine.
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SunnyBeach
Well-known member
Even if there is no color difference, there should be a "common" label on one of them.
Just wait till you find a 4 way switch. It took me a bit to figure out some of the (excessive) switches in our house.
Just wait till you find a 4 way switch. It took me a bit to figure out some of the (excessive) switches in our house.
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
Do u have multimeter? If so u can ohm out the switch to figure out which one is common!
Yea this.... ^^^^^
think this is true... think of it as a spdt switch (single pole double throw).
both carrier terminals never connects to each other
the common will will connect to one of the carrier terminals when up and will connect to the other terminal when down.
You can use ohm meter or continuity meter or a simple battery & light bulb and 3 pieces wire for this test to figure out.
teamextreme
Well-known member
If he's unsure what a 3 way switch is he's not going to have a clue what SPDT means. One of the terminals will be marked differently than the other two and it is usually located at one end of the switch, opposite the other 2 terminals.
Stopped at a buddys' shop today (He's a licensed Master electrician) and he took one look at the switches and said yep.. They'll work. Then he pointed out that one of the screws is actually a little different color which I am unable to see as I am color blind. I just couldn't see the subtle change at all. Frustrating... He then drew me out a little map of how they should be wired and explained how the internal mechanism of the switch worked, explained the traveler wires and all that... I'll be dropping off a 6 pack tomorrow afternoon and might even get to enjoy one with him... Thanks to all those that helped out here!
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
Color blindness. Ok so that explains it.