4-Way Switch wiring
I've got a 4 way switch in between two 3-way switches. when i turn the breaker on, the lights turn on but when i turn any of the switches off, the breaker blows. Any idea what might be crossed?
Electrical Supplies - Leviton - Decora Gray Rocker 4-Way AC Quiet Switch
Answers & Comments
Hi,
Here is a website that has great wiring diagrams for you and also a video about wiring these switches.
Your problem is that you have a "hot" going to a "common at one of the switches when you flip a swtich. This trips the breaker.
It can take alot of time and be very frustrating to find the culprit wire if you are inexperienced with three and four way circuits...it even takes a pro quite a while to figure these out someitmes. And Ohm meter is a must and you need to pull all the switches out with the power off and start tracing out each wire till you find the bad one.
You need to make sure that your switches are wired EXACTLY as the diagram shows.
http://www.askthebuilder.com/B141_3_Way_Switch_Wiring_Diagram_and_4_Way_Switch_Wiring_Diagram.shtml
I hope that this will help you to solve your problem!
Thanks for using Fixya!!
Heatman101