I'm a little concerned about being unable to find the pairs for 3 way switches. My niece bought a place built in 1954. She actually found the building plans in the house and framed them or I might doubt the build date. A few family members decided we would help her out and paint, change out switches, outlet and misc. The stuff a 24 year old wouldn't be able to do or afford. Once we started taking out light switches we found three of them were double throws. With the place empty and five of us looking we never found the second switch on each circuit. Those switches did have three wires. Two controlled lights and the third an outlet. I didn't mention it to the others but I was thinking during the remodels over the years someone may have walled over the other sides of these circuits. Any ideas on what is going on with that?
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Can't find switches in new purchase.
- Thread starter unslow1
- Start date
Chuckster in NJ
Well-known member
Someone probably wire nutted the travelers together and covered it up and rocked over it. "IF" you really need to find the other box try using a strong magnet or metal detecting stud finder and dig it out.….. Keep in mind that this investigation may get involved.
I did some work on an old house and found it infinitely easier to find the first switch, change it to a Master Smart Switch and then put wireless companion switches wherever I wanted them without having to chase old wiring and without trying to figure out old switches.
A 24 year old would probably appreciate the ability to use the phone app features as well.
www.casetawireless.com
Good luck,
CD
A 24 year old would probably appreciate the ability to use the phone app features as well.
www.casetawireless.com
Good luck,
CD
nadogail
Well-known member
The house may not have been “built to the print”.
FredWanaker
Well-known member
we had some strange 3 way lights in a couple homes I lived in during the 1950's where the 2nd switch was in a room before you entered where the light was. Sort of like where you might turn on a light before you entered a room, instead of at the entrance to the room on each side.
I'm going back there tomorrow with a few others. We will look again. I didn't mention that I thought they were drywalled over to anyone else. I'm sure if I needed to I could find the other boxes but I'm not in any hurry to start tearing the newly painted hall up. One of the tools I have and haven't used is an electronic line finder thing. Leaving sleeping dogs lie is the approach I think is best.
FredWanaker
Well-known member
unless it is outside a box, sparks and starts a fire.I'm going back there tomorrow with a few others. We will look again. I didn't mention that I thought they were drywalled over to anyone else. I'm sure if I needed to I could find the other boxes but I'm not in any hurry to start tearing the newly painted hall up. One of the tools I have and haven't used is an electronic line finder thing. Leaving sleeping dogs lie is the approach I think is best.
Somewhere I have some pictures of some pretty scary ones I've run across.unless it is outside a box, sparks and starts a fire.
sparky 1971
Well-known member
I've been in a couple of situations like that. Hired to change out the device and I was taking out three ways, but there was no other end. One of them, I discovered that a wall had been removed that had at one time held missing switches. The cables were pulled up into the attic and put into junction boxes. The other was a two story so I couldn't just hop up there and take a look. The owner didn't seem too concerned about it. He'd been there for 25 years with no issues. He did request that I didn't mention any of it to his wife though.
Zeke
Well-known member
Where are the switches in question located? You know if one is in a hallway, the other supposedly missing switch is at the other end. You might get close using a non contact tester. Same goes for a wall switched receptacle in a room with more than one entrance. Look around the other door location.
We found a couple of them and then a new 4 way that appears to be working as a lone on/off for a light. Not one of them is wired or functioning correctly. They are set up where one functions only if the other is in a certain position. We tried to fix them but ended up with new switches wired and functioning the same as they were before. We are going back over tomorrow to do the last of them. We decided not to mess with them any further and just put them back the way they were.
jmiller_2308
Well-known member
I woke up this morning thinking about this thread and my old 1926 house that had a switch that didn't seem to power anything. Then I remembered this morning that the original gas fireplace was decommissioned before I bought the house and I started to wonder if perhaps the switch to nothing may have originally been used for that fireplace although it does seem kind of early for that type of technology.
dlwilson
Well-known member
Steven Wright:
“In my house there's this light switch that doesn't do anything. Every so often I would flick it on and off just to check. Yesterday, I got a call from a woman in Madagascar. She said, 'Cut it out.'”
Mr_fixit
Well-known member
She's not really in MAdascar, she 's in your house. how do you think she got your number.?
Milton Shaw
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2011
- Messages
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Get a good non contact voltage detector. Use it to trace the wires through the walls to where you don't think they go. I have a Fluke that will show live wires from a foot away, easy to follow up wall and across ceiling to destination.