When wiring a 3 way switch circuit we will be using a 3 wire cable known as romex coming from the source such as the breaker box. One from the insteon switch one from the service wire and one from the load.
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3 way switch no red wire. The black and red wires are travelers and are connected to the. C now connect the traveler red black wires from the new 3 wire romex cable to the two traveler terminals at the top of 3 way switch 1 the first switch. The cable run linking the two switches is made with 3 wire cable. The black load wire then goes to the red insteon wire. The master switch requires a line 110vac with neutral and ground and load. Touch the probes to the 3 wires removed from the switch until you get a reading on the tester indicating continuity.
At the switch where you found power in step 2 put the other 2 wires you removed from the switch together and wire nut them. With nm cable the wire colors for travelers will be black and red using 3 wire cablewith conduit the wire colors for travelers could be any color. It could be there is or once was a three way switch in play. A 3 way lighting circuit consists of 2 light switches controlling a single load ie. The three way switch is a variation of the standard single pole switch which controls a light only from one locationa third type is the four way switch which is used in conjunction with two three way switches to control lighting from more than two locationsthis configuration may be used in open plan homes or in large kitchens or great rooms where a central bank of lighting fixtures might. Traditionally the slave requires a line and traveler wire to the master.
When you see a red wire in a light switch box it can mean two things. Well cover the easier scenario first. Each 3 way switch in these examples are controlling the power source to the same load. A properly installed insteon switch in this configuration will have three white wires connected together. Keep in mind that the traveler terminals for red black wires are universal and will work regardless of which one the traveler wire is connected to. With a pair of 3 way switches either can make or break the connection that completes the circuit to the light.
Wiring a 3 way light switch. If the switch box is metal it also must be pigtailed to the grounding wires. Or it could be the red wire is the wire going to the fixture and the black wires are the live wires. Now go the other switch location. The grounding wire is connected both to the switch using a pigtail wire and to the second cable run passing onward to the next switch. In modern homes a red wire is typically used as a traveler for 3 way circuits or for fans or other.
Set the electrical tester to the continuity or ohms setting. In any 3 way there is a master and slave switch. 3 way switch wire colorsthere is no standard for wire colors on 3 way switch travelersthe colors will vary depending on whether nm cable or conduit was used. Then a 4 wire cable going between the two 3 way switches and then a 3 wire cable going from the switches to the load. Wiring a 3 way light switch is certainly more complicated than that of the more common single pole switch but you can figure it out if you follow our 3 way switch wiring diagram.