3way wiring conundrum for ceiling fan/light

[Ryland]

I am wiring an addition and ran into a strange case. The bedroom is going to have a ceiling fan/light combo unit that I want the light on a 3way switch but the fan on a slider. I can have power going to either switch (although right now its run to the 3way that is not next to the fan slider). I think what I need to do is rerun the wiring so that power goes either directly to the fan/light junction box then wire 12/3 to each light switch and 12/2 to the fan's slider. Tie all blacks together, reds run to each 3 way switch and then appropriate fan connections. Is there a way to wire this with power going to the single 3way switch which isn't next to the fan switch?

Edit:
Two 3-way switches control the light. Marked as "3"
One slider switch controls the fan. Marked as "S"

S3---------Fan/Light-----------3

I currently have power going to S, not S3 but can more it to either the fan or S3 as needed since everything is open anyway.

 

[kyle242gt]

Hi Ryland.

I'm no expert, but I think you're on the right track. I don't think there's a way to get constant power from one side of a 3-way to the other, though it seems like it ought to be possible - you'd need some sort of thingamagig to connect to the red or black depending on which one's hot.

Ideally, you want the hot current going into the box with the 3way and the slider.

 

[Ryland]

I would figure either to S3 or to the fan and if to the fan then tie the hot black to the black on 'S' with S's white tying to whatever colored wire controls the fan.

 

[kyle242gt]

S3 would be my choice, from a "making sense down the road" perspective.

But it seems the same if you go from the fan box to S(black) then back to the fan (not a fan of using white for live current thought, could mark with tape I suppose), then jump S(black) to 3(black), then over and back to the other 3. 3-way wiring confuses me a bit, been a while.

 

[Freejack]

Would planning on a fan with wireless control be an option as it would dramatically simplify the wiring? You could just run a basic 3 way circuit, then install a transmitter at both S and S3. In addition to simplified wiring, you'd have the ability to control fan speed at both switch locations instead of just S, plus with most wireless systems you also get dimmable light controls.

If you used battery powered transmitter, you wouldn't even need to run any circuit to S3, but it is probably worth you while to do so in case you ever need to retrofit back to standard switches.

Here's the sort of units I am talking about: http://www.emersonfans.com/Pages/Accessory.aspx?Name=Controls&Item=SW350

Jake

 

[Muttly]

Run power to s3 - pigtail power to both switches

run 14-3 between the two three way switches

run 14-3 from s3 to the fan/light box (common ,ground, and two power feeds, one for the fan, one for the light)

The three way switch wireing does not need to go thru the fixture box

 

[travisd]

Lutron has fan/light controls that can do the whole thing with just a single run to the canopy - there's a module that goes up there to provide independent fan/light control. Looking at their site, the system seems to provide for multi-location (3-4way) controls. This is in the "Maestro" line.

You can download the installation sheets which show how they're set up for multi-location control: http://lutron.com/cms400/PageBuyNow.aspx?id=16977&mn=1815

They also allow you to add more modules so you can control multiple fans (in sync) from a single set of switches.

Finally, I've found that the Lutron fan controls are quieter tahn some other standard fan controls/dimmers - one that I swapped out actually reduced motor noise (cheap dimmer).

 

[Ryland]

Cool, thanks for the wireless info and the wiring map.

 

[Jeepskate]

The wireless is the way to go. What I did in the eat-in area of my kitchen which (like every other room in the house with a fan) just had a wall switch (if you wanted fan but no light, you had to turn it on at the wall, then walk over the the pull chain and turn off the light) and was on a 3-way is convert it to a single pole, install one of the in-wall remotes (draws power from the house rather than batteries) in one switch location, and plated the other switch location and attached the holder for the handheld remote to the plate. Works great.

 

[Ryland]

I will keep that in mind and may end up wiring in a remote for the fan/light.