It reveals the parts of the circuit as streamlined shapes as well as the power and also signal links between the devices.
2 way switch wiring diagram power at switch.
Basic 2 way circuit power coming in at switch.
The switches at each end are 1 pole 2 way switches.
A wiring diagram is a simplified traditional photographic depiction of an electric circuit.
Variety of 2 way switch wiring diagram.
The three terminals are usually named com l1 and l2 but sometimes com 1 way and 2 way are also used.
After you have pulled your switch out from the wall the wires in the box and connecting to the switch should look like one of the following.
This is an alternative deprecated form see above for the reasons of the multi way switch wiring.
Before proceeding an important component called a two way light switch is the main element of the 2 way switching irrespective of the type of wiring used.
A 2 way switch wiring diagram with power feed from the switch light.
How to connect 2 way switch wiring using three wire control.
There are several ways to wire two way switching.
The switches at each end are 1 pole 2 way switches.
The way i show allows you to fairly easily add a second two way switch to an existing light switch by simply wiring them together in a certain way.
A two way switch uk schematic diagram of old wire colours.
2 way light switch with power feed via switch two lights the power source enters the switch box sb1 where the neutral is spliced through to the light fixture f1 where it is spliced to the light lt1 and via cable c3 to the second light lt2.
4 way light switch with power feed via the light.
Below is the way i like to do it.
The power source comes from the fixture and then connects to the power terminal.
Any number of intermediate crossover switches may be added to give three or more switching positions.
After making sure the power is off you strip the black wire in the two conductor cable which also has a ground wire and make a pigtail with two 6 inch lengths of black wire salvaged from a spare piece of cable of the same wire gauge.
It is a standard single pole switch with three terminals.
This is the new method to make a 2 way switching connection as it is slightly different from the two wire control method.
As the diagram at electrical 101 shows the line cable is all you need to supply power to a pair of switches in a single electrical box.
Schematic diagram of new wire colours.
Alternative method of three way switching.
This method is commonly used now days as it is efficient than the two wire control system.
Where 0 represents the off condition and 1 represents the on condition.
You will see that there is a hot wire that is then spliced through a switch and that then goes to the hot terminal of the light.