3 way switches

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gerry

Member
Location
New Jersey
Any ideas of what would cause 65 volts to be present at a light fixture connected to three ways when the switches are off. Everything works fine just ran into this when connecting a fixture seems the wiring is not old.Is it normal to have leakage and if so how much? Appreicate any infor.
 
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Ed MacLaren

Senior Member
Re: 3 way switches

Couple of questions-

Are either of these switches dimmers?
Were you using a high-impedance (digital) voltmeter?

Ed
 
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gerry

Member
Location
New Jersey
Re: 3 way switches

Thanks Ed for the reply. THere are no dimmers,as for the meter,yes I used a digital set on A/C 200 volt scale.
 
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sjaniga

Member
Re: 3 way switches

I've ran into a similar situation when the homeowner tried to wire his own switches and reversed the polarity, be sure your not switching the neutral, I only say that because it sounds like you didnt do the original wiring.
 
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larry dimock

Member
Location
Washington
Re: 3 way switches

I don't think you have this situation but just in case.... I have found a meter will sometimes measure up to 25 volts to ground off a dead wire that is from the 3-wire (round) cable of a 3-way system. It isn't real enough to run even a low voltage bulb, however. I figure the wire in the cable that has voltage is able to induce some into the dead ones. Anyone else seen something like this?
 
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jgriffin

Member
Re: 3 way switches

I would say it's a staple cutting into the travelers.(staple acting as a resistor) If you remove the 3 ways and Ohm or megger between the travelers, you should see the problem. Joe
 
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karl riley

Senior Member
Re: 3 way switches

As another poster said on this question in another thread, he has seen 64V as a result of an open neutral in a three-wirecircuit. That strikes me as the most likely explanation.
Karl
 
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karl riley

Senior Member
Re: 3 way switches

JXO, no not unless there one of the neutrals was open. If I were there I would want to take more measurements to figure it out.
Karl
 
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karl riley

Senior Member
Re: 3 way switches

JXO, I spoke too quickly. If two branch circuit neutrals were tied together, it would not matter if one was open near the panel. It would not cause unusual voltage. But you would have a large magnetic field from each circuit.
Karl
 
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