Need electrical help!

[e-tek]

I have a three-way switch in my attached garage that I would like to convert to a plug. It controls the ceiling lights, sames as two other switches. It has 2 wires coming up from the bottom (w-b) and three coming from the top, going to the lights (w-b-r).

I removed the switch, which had one black, one white and the red attached andd attached a plug with the white wires on one side and the blacks on the other - which is all good - but it's still switched. I tried the red wire on one side and got sparks. Attached to the other - none of the switches work, all the lights stay on.

What am I doing wrong?

 

[aandpdan]

Do you know if the 2 wires (white/black) are the feed or do they go to your lights (load)?

The red/white/black set connects to the other switch. You'll need to replace that switch with a single pole switch.

How was the old switch wired?

I can think of how to do this but need to know what you're dealing with.

 

[Schrodingers Cat]

are you saying 3 switches total?
if so that is a 4-way switch with 2 3-ways
the circuit could be wired in a few ways, ie, where the load is run to

 

[aandpdan]

Try this, you don't need the red wire, just cap it off.

If it doesn't look right, let me know how it's wired.

 

[e-tek]

It's like the third sample in cat's schematic. Now whow me how you would wire a plug into that system. Juding by that and aanpdan's, I shouldn't have white wire attached to the plug...

 

[Schrodingers Cat]

It's like the third sample in cat's schematic. Now whow me how you would wire a plug into that system. Juding by that and aanpdan's, I shouldn't have white wire attached to the plug...

if what you are asking is can the 3-way to the far right be replace by a recept that is not switch, no

you are short a wire...

even if you removed the right switch and put it in the center and tied the light to that switches output, you would only have a wire from the center to the right...so all V in the center is still switched...
you need a wire from the left to the center also

 

[aandpdan]

I missed that you had 3 switches. Yeah, you can't do that and keep the 3 ways.

You'd need to pull some wire.

 

[The Motts]

If you can determine which switch box has constant power run to it, hopefully one of the 3-way boxes, you can install a combination device in that box. It will have a 3-way switch and a single receptacle on a single yoke. Of course if the box you want the receptacle in does not have constant power, this won't work.