Do you have a room that has two or more entries and would like to have a switch at each entrance to control a light? Or, more commonly, an electrician was created for you and now you have replaced a broken switch, but can not get it to work right? Fear not, some simple diagrams should help to understand them.

First, there are 2-way, 3-way and 4 way switches, each with a different purpose. two-way switches are the most common and have only two terminals, in addition to the ground screw. These are very simple in nature and simply break or complete the circuit to turn a light on or off.

If you have two switches that control the light, you must use 3-way switches (more than 4-ways on, if you have more than 2 switches). Usually we see people get into trouble when you want to replace a switch with a dimmer. The dimmer in this situation should be a way of three and three wires to the terminals must be correct. (At the end of this article explains how to look at a switch and most of the time to get the correct hookup. When all else fails, use a continuity tester.) Three-way switches will have 3 terminals, as well as ground screw. A hot (usually black) or comes from the power panel on the switch or a hot wire leaves the switch and goes to light. In between the two switches wires called travelers. These are considered changed power cords and may be typically black, red, or sometimes a white wire has black tape wrapped around it at each end of a hot and not considered a neutral wire.

four-way switches are used when you have 3 or more switches to control a light. As can be seen in the diagrams below, provided there is a 3-way switch at the beginning and end of the circuit of 1 or more 4-ways in the middle. 4-way switches simply have the two travelers who enter and then exit to switch the line immediately below.