Another 3-way question

[bassbone52]

Here's the situation - I have a hallway with two recessed lights controlled by a switch at each end of the hall. These lights worked fine for many years. Then they quit working for a while. Then they started working again and now they are out again. I removed the wires from both three-way switches, located the travelers with a continuity check, separated all wires and turned on power. Neither switch has line current! But, there is a half-bath on the same lighting circuit and the vanity light and fan work just fine. So, if the breaker is OK, why don't I have any power at either switch?? After all these years??

 

[cmandp]

Do you know where power is coming from and feeding to this 3 way circuit? Since you have the bathroom on the same circuit and it's working I would think you're getting power from there to this circuit. I would then guess the connection is bad or something damaged the power wire feeding this circuit.

 

[CoogarXR]

Do you know where power is coming from and feeding to this 3 way circuit? Since you have the bathroom on the same circuit and it's working I would think you're getting power from there to this circuit. I would then guess the connection is bad or something damaged the power wire feeding this circuit.

Pretty much this.

Where do the wires come from? Attic, basement, adjacent room? Go find 'em

 

[bassbone52]

Pretty much this.

Where do the wires come from? Attic, basement, adjacent room? Go find 'em

Yeah, it’s that long trip through the attic I’m dreading.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

One common is power into the circuit, the other common is power out to the fixtures

You need to figure out which “common” is the power into the 3-way switch circuit.

From there you trace this wire to where it gets power.

 

[klassenl]

How do you know that there is no power.

 

[bassbone52]

How do you know that there is no power.

I checked every wire with a voltmeter. Nothing. The travelers are isolated so that leaves a line wire in one and a load wire in the other. Both are dead. After having worked for over 20 years.

 

[klassenl]

I checked every wire with a voltmeter. Nothing. The travelers are isolated so that leaves a line wire in one and a load wire in the other. Both are dead. After having worked for over 20 years.

Did you check against neutral or ground

I have to remind myself when I'm checking for power that I need line and a reference point - either neutral or ground. Sometimes I use an extension cord plugged in to a receptacle and use the ground and neutral from that to check.

 

[TractorJeff]

Maybe the power comes from a splice in the bathroom circuit?
Moisture may cause a bad connection?

 

[MikeF2316]

I'd make note of everything on the circuit, and start at the junction box closest to and physically in between the hallway and breaker box. Look for the hot splice, whether in a wire nut or using the second connection on an outlet.

 

[ambenz]

Maybe it was NEVER wired correctly in the first place and the hot is coming thru a lightbulb that has a burnt out filament and they are switching neutrals? I've seen some weird stuff wired.

 

[bassbone52]

All good suggestions. Appreciate the advice

 

[vavet]

I totally misunderstood when the topic was about a 3-way.

 

[cabranch47]

Are the lights maybe fed from a GFIC receptacle in the bathroom? I had a similar problem and the GFCI was bad.

 

[Innovate1]

Yep. Just need to find the bad connection. I had a similar thing happen on a feed to a microwave in a rental. It had worked for at least 10 years. Don't remember exactly how I found the bad splice because it was hidden in a soffit above a cabinet on the other side of the kitchen. Had to cut a hole in the top of the cabinet to get to it. Was just a wire not gripped well in a wire nut.

Turn off the breaker and note everything effected. Then trace the wiring to figure out where the feed is from. Pull the outlets and switches nearby. Perhaps a wire tracer. It can be difficult to track these things down - think of it as a puzzle and you are looking for clues...

 

[MatBirch]

Does the power feed the fixture first? Not uncommon, and easy to check. Could simply be a loose connection in the fixture, or a problem with the fixture itself.

 

[Akron]

I'd be chkin for critters in the attic...

 

[AntonLargiader]

Have you checked the wires at the fixtures to see if anything there is hot?

 

[bassbone52]

All the suggestions regarding a bad splice make the most sense. Part of this circuit - bathroom lighting and fan - is fine. It's the adjacent hallway lighting which is not working. As a test, I connected the hot wire from a 4-way switch to the common terminal on the adjacent 3-way switch of the circuit in question. The hall lighting works fine with this setup. I just have to get in the attic, make the long cold walk and find out why I have lost power to one of the 3-way switches.

 

[Innovate1]

Before I went to the attic I'd be checking in the hall light fixture box. As was stated the hot wire sometimes goes there first.