California 3-way
- Thread starter guschash
- Start date
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ItsHot
Senior Member
- Location
- A little piece of heaven!
I.o.u.
I.o.u.
I can provide it but you'll have to write me an "I.O.U.!:grin:
I.o.u.
I can provide it but you'll have to write me an "I.O.U.!:grin:
JohnJ0906
Senior Member
- Location
- Baltimore, MD
That's a Mississippi 3-way.
cschmid
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern cold country
Jim W in Tampa
Senior Member
- Location
- Tampa Florida
It's been called many names. Illegal now but it works . Guess your allowed to fix it. Very bad idea but it keeps changing the neutral. Many things work but are not safe or legal. Not cheap to fix right.
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
I don't think John made that but I can be wrong. Adobe makes an animation program called image ready that I use. There are many programs out there
California, Farmer, Illinois, Chicago, Carter and Power-Beyond are some of the names I've heard it called.
That's a Central Iowa 3-way.
Yep. Pretty slick how we get our wires to change colors with the flip of a switch, isn't it?!
al hildenbrand
Senior Member
- Location
- Minnesota
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor, Electrical Consultant, Electrical Engineer
OK, guys, try to stick a 4-way in that switching arrangement and maintain the polarity reverals in the lampholder. . .
I think this diagram of a lampholder polarity stable "california 3-way" might be more on target:
- Location
- Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
- Occupation
- Hospital Master Electrician
Funny, I don't think I've ever heard that called a California. To me, a California is a fourway that steals a neutral from the switchleg side for the light, allowing 2-wire travellers to be used.
It's usually called a traveling bus threeway on the forum.
It's usually called a traveling bus threeway on the forum.
al hildenbrand
Senior Member
- Location
- Minnesota
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor, Electrical Consultant, Electrical Engineer
I was taught the switching method in my diagram by the Master that I apprenticed under, ole' Paul Denny, in Fremont, NE. We never bothered with 4-ways. Paul Denny taught it to me as a California threeway.
I stuck the 4-ways in it during a discussion over at Electrical-Contractor.net and drew the diagram above, at that time. When I inserted it, a few months later, in a thread here, Benny dubbed it the "traveling buss 3-way".
Sierrasparky
Senior Member
- Location
- USA
- Occupation
- Electrician ,contractor
How would this ever be legit
al hildenbrand
Senior Member
- Location
- Minnesota
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor, Electrical Consultant, Electrical Engineer
:grin:
Up until somewhere in the 1920's, there was no Code requirement that the lampholder had to have the neutral on the screw shell. One will find examples of this "Carter" 3-way in electrical inspector approved installations from the first decades of the 20th Century.
Many two story homes that were wired with Knob and Tube had lighting on the main stairs that was controlled by a 3-way switching setup.
One of the 3-way switching hookups that was used was this polarity-reversing method.
One brought a hot and a neutral to each switch location and hooked them to the switch traveler terminals, and then sent one wire off to the lampholder from each switch. There was a real economy here, for the installing electrician.
I have found that many times, on little two story homes, that the hot and neutral came from different circuits, on occasion. This is a particular delight to discover on a service upgrade, when one takes one of the two circuits (both should be on the same service leg) and inadvertently puts it on the "other side" of the panel.
When the light should be OFF with both the screw shell and the center button HOT, suddenly, becomes a 240 volt bolted short circuit.
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
The problem I having is I can't find where the wires leave the house. The hot and neutral are #12 and also a #6 leave from the panel in the house in 2" conduit and in the barn they come into a subpanel. The neutral goes to one terminal ( on the 4-way ) and the hot goes to the other terminal ( on the 4 way ) and from the other barn the travels land on other the other terminals on the 4-way and also from this location the wire coming from the common terminal goes to the light. The 3 way from the house goes to J-box in the baesment from there its out through the foundation. Now there is a deck right outside without tiring up the deck I can see other j-box. My thinking is it must go to the barn from here but I don't see anywhere in the barn or on the outside for that matter. Sorry this is so long, I am trying to explain it the best I can.
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