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It has been suggested that: :You have to run a new wire to the other 3 way switch. use 14-3wire for a 15 amp breaker and 12-3 for a 20 amp breaker. use the black for hot, white for neutral and red for your identifier. hook ground to switch and box if metal. The red tells the other one what position the other switch is in. Of course your switches have to be changed to 3 ways. If you are not ABSOLUTELY clear on this, seek help because a fire can result! This may be at least partly accurate, however it does not completely cover the situation. It is unclear why you would ever have two blacks but only one white wire and where they might lead, and what exactly you're trying to do. You could be adding danger to confusion unless you figure out exactly which wire does what. Also, there is often no neutral needed between 3-way switches and all three wires are hot at one time or another (two travelers and one switched). Any white wire used in 3-way (traveler or switched) must have its insulation taped over (at both ends) with black or red to show it is no longer to be considered neutral. The only time you would have neutral between two 3-ways is if the light is between the two switches rather than the switches being connected directly to each other.

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17y ago
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11y ago

First check with a volt meter to see if there is power to any of the lines. If there is, turn off the breaker! It can kill you!

Typically the two black wires may be the transport wires between the two switches for three way. You may have to check this by opening up the other switch and checking continuity between the two switches on each wire.

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Q: How do you hook up a 3 way switch if you have three wires showing and two wires are black and one is white in a 40 year old house?
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I have Two black wires and one red wire conected to a switch. Which is hot and which is neutral?

It sounds like your switch is a three way switch. The wire that is on the different colour screw of the three screws will either be the "hot" wire or the wire to the load. The neutral might or might not be in the box that the switch is in depending on which end of the three way system you are at. See discuss question button below.No wires connected to a switch are neutral. A switch breaks the circuit of the hot wire. Black AND red are hot wires. White is used for neutral and is almost never connected to a switch.


New ceiling fixture goes on as soon as power is back even though switch is off?

You switched the power and switch wires. There should be two sets of wires in the ceiling box. 2 black, 2 white, 2 bare. Two groups of three. The white wire going to the light is the incoming wire. The black one in that group is the power coming in. Take that black wire and connect it to the other black wire. The second black wire goes to the switch. The power comes back to the light on the white wire of that set. Connect that white wire to the black wire in the fixture. The switch should work now. That is if everyone wired the house the way it is supposed to be.


How do you wire a light switch that has a black common screw and two gold screws one on each side of light switch and a green screw?

That is called a three way switch. It's used in conjunction with another 3 way switch in another area and they both control a light or set of lights. The black is power and the other two are called travelers that wire to the the other 2 gold screws on the other switch. A three way switch can be used as a single pole switch by using the black screw and one of the brass screws. You will have to test the circuit to orient the switch so up is on and down is off, if that is what you desire, because it is not obvious on a three way switch. The green screw is simply your equipment ground. You place your green or bare conductor there.


How do you connect 2 black and 2 red wires to a new switch?

switches work by interupting the hot side of a wire loop, so what you do is you wire your non hot (usually black) wires directly to the device you are trying to control, next, to one side of the switch you connect your two reds, then to the other side of the switch connet the hot lead from your device.


Does the black wire go on the gold screw for a three way light switch?

That depends on where the other end of the wire goes.

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I have Two black wires and one red wire conected to a switch. Which is hot and which is neutral?

It sounds like your switch is a three way switch. The wire that is on the different colour screw of the three screws will either be the "hot" wire or the wire to the load. The neutral might or might not be in the box that the switch is in depending on which end of the three way system you are at. See discuss question button below.No wires connected to a switch are neutral. A switch breaks the circuit of the hot wire. Black AND red are hot wires. White is used for neutral and is almost never connected to a switch.


New ceiling fixture goes on as soon as power is back even though switch is off?

You switched the power and switch wires. There should be two sets of wires in the ceiling box. 2 black, 2 white, 2 bare. Two groups of three. The white wire going to the light is the incoming wire. The black one in that group is the power coming in. Take that black wire and connect it to the other black wire. The second black wire goes to the switch. The power comes back to the light on the white wire of that set. Connect that white wire to the black wire in the fixture. The switch should work now. That is if everyone wired the house the way it is supposed to be.


Where is the oil pressure switch on a 1996 gmc jimmy?

The oil pressure is located on the side of the engine block. The switch has a black plug with three wires connected to it.


How do you wire a light switch that has a black common screw and two gold screws one on each side of light switch and a green screw?

That is called a three way switch. It's used in conjunction with another 3 way switch in another area and they both control a light or set of lights. The black is power and the other two are called travelers that wire to the the other 2 gold screws on the other switch. A three way switch can be used as a single pole switch by using the black screw and one of the brass screws. You will have to test the circuit to orient the switch so up is on and down is off, if that is what you desire, because it is not obvious on a three way switch. The green screw is simply your equipment ground. You place your green or bare conductor there.


How do you wire a garbage disposal between the disposal and the GFI?

White and the ground go to the disposal, black goes through a switch and then to the disposal. All three go through the switch box, the white and ground just pass through on the way to the disposal. Break the black with the switch.


How do you connect 2 black and 2 red wires to a new switch?

switches work by interupting the hot side of a wire loop, so what you do is you wire your non hot (usually black) wires directly to the device you are trying to control, next, to one side of the switch you connect your two reds, then to the other side of the switch connet the hot lead from your device.


Does the black wire go on the gold screw for a three way light switch?

That depends on where the other end of the wire goes.


How do you hook up two ways switch to three ways?

Your 2 switches will have 3 terminals each. One will be copper colored and two black. You will require a 12-3 WG wire between the switches. The Travelers: The black terminals will be connected together one from switch a to switch b and the other from switch a to switch b, it does not matter which black terms you choose to go from switch a to b The brass terminals one will go to the light switch a and the other to a power source switch b.


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Where is neutral switch on 97 dodge ram pick up 2500?

THE NEUTRAL SWITCH ON A 97 DODGE 2500 IS LOCATED ON THE DRIVER SIDE OF THE TRANSMISSION TOWARD THE MIDDLE JUST ABOVE THE OIL PAN. THERE WILL BE THREE WIRES GOING TO IT, WITH A BLACK PLUG. THE NEUTRAL SWITCH ON A 97 DODGE 2500 IS LOCATED ON THE DRIVER SIDE OF THE TRANSMISSION TOWARD THE MIDDLE JUST ABOVE THE OIL PAN. THERE WILL BE THREE WIRES GOING TO IT, WITH A BLACK PLUG. THE NEUTRAL SWITCH ON A 97 DODGE 2500 IS LOCATED ON THE DRIVER SIDE OF THE TRANSMISSION TOWARD THE MIDDLE JUST ABOVE THE OIL PAN. THERE WILL BE THREE WIRES GOING TO IT, WITH A BLACK PLUG. THE NEUTRAL SWITCH ON A 97 DODGE 2500 IS LOCATED ON THE DRIVER SIDE OF THE TRANSMISSION TOWARD THE MIDDLE JUST ABOVE THE OIL PAN. THERE WILL BE THREE WIRES GOING TO IT, WITH A BLACK PLUG.


Can you replace an old no ground single switch with a three way switch?

A three way switch can be used as a single switch. Replacing this switch will not allow you to switch a fixture from two locations unless there is a three wire cable going to the second box.