The black hot wire in the electrical box above is connected at the other end to the black line wire and gets connected to the black or red screw on the 3.
Three pole switch wiring.
With a pair of 3 way switches either can make or break the connection that completes the circuit to the light.
Pick the diagram that is most like the scenario you are in and see if you can wire your switch.
Three way and two way switch wiring with no load or line feed entering the switch box.
The photo below shows the wiring at the other 3 way location which was a single pole switch originally.
The wiring method will depend on whether your power goes to the switch first or the light first.
To use a three way switch as a single pole one connect the hot wires to the common terminal and the traveler on the same side of the switch body.
Wiring a 3 way light switch.
3 way switch wiring diagram.
With these diagrams below it will take the guess work out of wiring.
You don t need the other terminal on the three way switch so it s fine to cover it over with electrical tape to ensure the terminals don t get mixed up.
This might seem intimidating but it does not have to be.
Our easy to follow 3 way wiring diagram changing from a single pole to a 3 way light switch allows you to turn on any light from multiple locations such as at the top and bottom of a staircase or both ends of a hallway.
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.
No more fumbling in the dark.