Veteran electrician gave me a challenge

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I've got a set set of drawings to draft and another set to check. I really want to dive into this but don't have time currently. I'll think on it some more maybe tonight. There's got to be a way.....as convoluted and asinine that anyone would ever do it as it is. I've seen some "arkansas 3-ways" and "back-woods dead-ended" jacked up 3-ways...but this takes the cake.
 
dOnut's answer is very close to mine.

As drawn it turns on with the switches UDDUL and DUUDR, but that could be changed to UUUUU and DDDDD by proper switch orientation.
signal-2022-06-15-114654.jpeg
 
***rubish*** I edited out my rubbish. Never mind.

Quite the pickle, ain't it?
 
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d0nut said:
It does look like there are may more conductors shown than are actually needed. Also, the solution is the same for any odd number of 3-way switches, so if you can solve for one or three switches, you can solve for five.

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david luchini said:
He's shown extra conductors to throw you off.

Edit: or what d0nut said.
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See post #5,7 and 9 for the answer. You have it correct up until switch #4. Switch #4 and 5 are wired California three way style.
 
Sea Nile said:
The task is this, how to wire (5) 3-way switch's so that the light will only come on when all the switch's are in the up position, or all the switch's are in the down position.
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Sea Nile said:
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1 2 3 4 5


One way Id think to accomplish all switches up or down for the light to come on is to :

S3 1) 2 wire black is common - 3 wire black/red travelers / white through to S3 (4)
S3 2) 3 wire black/red travelers - 5 wire yellow - blue to common
S3 3) 5 wire blue - yellow to common - 3 wire black/red travelers
S3 4) 3 wire black/red travelers - 5 wire black - red- blue is common / white -yellow is neutral
S3 5) 5 wire white/ yellow travelers/ 3 wire white is common, black/red to black red, white - yellow to 3 wire white
Light) white to neutral - black -red as switch leg

That's the way I figured to use all the wires.

Key being 1 switch #5 in this case is the determining factor in being either all up or all down .. I may be wrong.
pretty mind boggling to create.
 
The original challenge didn't have any conductors. He added them as a hint because I said I think it's impossible.

My point being you don't have to use the conductors shown, that's just the conductors he used to solve it. You can use any conductors or cables you can imagine. The only criteria is that all up and all down will give light, any other combination will be light out. I'll ask him to show me how he solved it and share the answer another day.
 
Leave the hot and switch leg screw vacant.
You pig tail the hot wire and put it on two screws that the travelers normally go on. Those two wires hit the same two screws all the way down the line. Neutral goes straight thru to the light. Just one black wire comes out to the light, either one. Light will come on up or down. The switches must all be in the same position before starting. Not that difficult.
 
Buck Parrish said:
The switches must all be in the same position before starting. Not that difficult.
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I think your closer than I was , although eventually there may be a pattern out of sequence to where 2 may be up and the 3 down being that its pigtailed, "paralleled". the question makes it sound like all switches need to be in the same position in order to be on or off. leading me to believe the 1 reference line would run through the (5) 2 position switches.

Something along the line of , forget the traditional S3 design, look at it backwards, as the traveler terminals being the on or off definer and the common feed terminal carrying the chosen reference to the next switch.

a switch with multiple points of breaking or making the 1 common reference.
 
synchro said:
I had come up with something essentially identical to what winnie posted. Just drawn a little different. Obviously the left to right order could be reversed.
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That would definitely work, nice job.

That would be a cruel game, " find the sequence to turn on or off the light", although flip the switches in random order before they start.
 
Tie black to black and white to white all the way through, don't attach anything to switches. If switches are all up the light is on. If switches area all down light is on. Of course any other combination of switch positions and light still remains on ;)
 
kwired said:
Tie black to black and white to white all the way through, don't attach anything to switches. If switches are all up the light is on. If switches area all down light is on. Of course any other combination of switch positions and light still remains on ;)
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Did you by chance attend the University of Nebraska? :ROFLMAO:
 
I asked the the electrician who gave me this challenge what the answer is and this is what he gave me.

It's a lot more crazy to follow than the solutions yall came up with, but it seems to work..

There are two conductors connected to one of the lights terminals but it seems to work.

test question.jpg
 
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