How do you connect two wall switches?


Quote from Youtube video: This wire right in the center and he's bringing the electric. From the service panel into this switch. And this will operate the light and then he connected it right to this other switch.

How to figure out where a switch goes?

How to Find What a Wall Switch Operates

  1. Look around the room in which the mystery switch resides. …
  2. Replace any burnt-out bulbs you find with fresh bulbs. …
  3. Bring a table lamp with a good bulb into the room from another room.
  4. Turn the light switch to the “Off” position. …
  5. Flip on the light switch.


Can you have two switches in a circuit?

Controlling a light with two or more switches



A light or lights can be controlled by more than one switch. The usual practice in home construction is to use 3-way switches. “3-way” is the electrician’s designation for a single pole double throw (SPDT) switch.

How do you troubleshoot a wall switch?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: Areas.

How do you trace a light switch?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: So if you can see what i did i took i showed between the ground and the neutral i just connect them together okay that's called shorting. Okay you can see the heart is here it's not connected.

How do you tell if there are wires behind a wall?

Use a quality cable detector.



A quality cable detector can help you to track buried cables before you start work and avoid the risk of an electric shock. If you dont have a detector a good tip is also to avoid any area horizontally or vertically from any switch or socket.

Can wall switches go bad?

Why Do Light Switches Go Bad? Just like any other type of simple machine, light switches have several moving parts. Over time, they wear down. Connections can become loose and plastic parts may break.

What causes light switches to fail?

Light switch issues are often caused by a broken mechanism. If there are any mechanical issues, the switch will likely need to be replaced. Signs of mechanical failure include the switch not turning on regardless of how many times you flip it.

How can you tell if a switch is bad?

Signs It’s Time To Replace Your Switch

  1. Your lights don’t turn on, take a minute to turn on, or flicker, and putting a new bulb in doesn’t fix it. It’s common that some bulbs, like the incandescent tube lights, take a minute to turn on. …
  2. The switch makes noise. …
  3. Sparks. …
  4. It’s warm to the touch.


How do I find a short circuit in my house?

How to Find a Short Circuit in Your Home

  1. First, you’ll need a multimeter. …
  2. Take the negative probe (the black one) and place it on the end of the wire you want to check for continuity. …
  3. If no beep occurs, the wire does not have power flowing all the way through it.


How do you fix a light switch without power?

If the light switch isn’t working at all, there may be no power to the circuit. Make sure the breaker to the switch is on in your breaker box and determine whether there are any other tripped outlets and switch them on as well. This is the simplest solution you’ll want to try first that may fix the issue.

How do you find electrical wires behind drywall?

Blaise Aguera y Arcas and Melanie Mitchell: How Close Are … ·

Why does my room have a light switch but no light?

If n o receptacle in the room is dead with the switch in the off position, try throwing the switch to the on position and testing all the receptacles again. It could be that the switch was installed upside-down. If you still have no luck, then the required switched lighting for the room is missing.

Why are some of my outlets upside-down?

Electricians may position the outlet in an upside-down position so that you can quickly identify the switch-controlled receptacle. Since it stands out visually to most people right away – it provides convenience to the occupants to easily remember which outlet is switch controlled.

What is the break off tab on electrical outlet?

The break off tabs are there so that you can power the top and bottom outlets differently. Most commonly so that you can have one of the outlets on a switch. A less common and generally inadvisable reason is so that you can have each outlet on a different circuit.

What is the extra light switch for?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: You turn that switch on harvest from the switch to the fan the fan turns. On. Turn the switch off fan turns off now this fan also has a light so it needs power to runs that light.

Why does my house have switches that do nothing?

Existing Outlets



You may have a switch that seems to go to nothing and an outlet that does not work, often this is because the electrical outlet is a switched outlet. Also called a half-hot or lamp outlet, one receptacle will always be ready to give power while you can control the other one with a switch.

Do both switches need to be 3 way?

The key ingredient is a special type of switch called a “three-way” switch. You’ll need two of them, one to replace the existing switch and another for the new switch location. With these, you’ll have the convenience of turning a light on and off from two spots.

What does the third light switch do?

What is a 3-way switch? A 3-way switch is one that allows you to control a ceiling light (or other electrical fixture) from two separate locations. Common scenarios would be 3-way switches located at both the top and bottom of a stairway, or having 3-way switches next to doors in a room with two entry points.

What happens if you wire a 3-way switch wrong?

If you don’t correctly connect this wire, then your lights won’t work from more than one switch. Grounding the switch: You’ll also need to locate the ground wire and connect it to the switch too. This wire is essential as it prevents stray currents from electrocuting surrounding possessions, and family members.

How does a 3-way wall switch work?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: If the switch is in the down position the arriving current will pass through to the common terminal screw and continue out to illuminate the light.