Got a back deck light that is left on all the time. Has a 3-way switch in the LR and another in the BR. If I were to flip the switch in the LR, the breaker will trip. If I flip the switch in the BR, the breaker won’t trip. I’ve tested both switches. Both OK. Any ideas on what the problem is??
So one was fed from a different circuit?OK. This is a 4-gang switch box. There are two single pole switches with no issues. There is the 3-way for the deck light, which is my issue and the fourth switch is another 3-way which is part of a 4-way system that we don’t use anymore. I just discovered that the traveler pairs for the two 3-way switches were reversed! It’s been this way since the house was built in 1988. The tip off was the fact that both 3-ways for the deck light each had a hot wire at the same time, regardless of the position of the switches.
Not seeing why it tripped the cb unless a neutral is being switched on one of the 3way set-ups.No, everything in this switch box is on the same circuit. There was a hot lead pigtailed into the LR 3-way that shouldn’t have been there. That and the backwards travelers made for a very confusing setup.
Wouldn't it trip if the other 3 way box was fed from the other leg?Not seeing why it tripped the cb unless a neutral is being switched on one of the 3way set-ups.
Yup, that was were my previous q was heading.Wouldn't it trip if the other 3 way box was fed from the other leg?
I'm not following reversed travelers though. I hate 3 ways
Yeah, his answer was focused on THAT boxYup, that was were my previous q was heading.
I’ve tested both switches.
Wouldn't it trip if the other 3 way box was fed from the other leg?
Well, it was a cluster, for sure. You had to be there, but it’s all good now.
Sure, we've already discussed this...per post #12 everything is on the same circuit
That’s a good question. To sum this up, this is a 4-gang switch box. From left to right there is a single pole switch for an overhead light we never use. Next is the 3-way for the deck light which is always left on (too lazy to turn it off). The next switch is a single pole which is for a seldom-used light over the fireplace. The last switch is a 3-way which is part of a 4-way setup for a wall sconce which was removed probably 20 years ago. All lights are on the same circuit. It turns out that the travelers wired to the unused 3-way (on the right) should have been run to the 3-way for the deck light. When the deck light switch was flipped it created a direct short due to it having been miswired. One day I noticed the fireplace light was not working and found the breaker tripped. This finally got me off my *** to dig into the problem. It’s all good now.I dont want to drag this on but my only question is if it has been like that since the house was built why did you just now start having the problem ? Doesn't make sense to me.
When the deck light switch was flipped it created a direct short due to it having been miswired.