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Finally figured out a three-way switch that had me stumped for 3 hours
I got a call last week about a light in a hallway that would only turn on from one end. Seemed simple enough. I traced the wires, checked all the connections, and everything looked fine. Turns out the previous guy had used a four-way switch in a three-way spot and wired it all wrong. Took me way longer than I'd like to admit to spot it. My partner laughed when I told him it took 3 hours for what should have been a 30 minute fix. Has anyone else run into janky mismatched switches that just waste your afternoon?
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hayes.oliver1mo ago
Whoa wait, a four-way switch where a three-way goes? That's just asking for trouble. How does someone even mix that up?
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riley_bell1mo ago
Honestly, I've seen so many weird switch setups that I'm not sure it's always worth that much frustration. A four-way in a three-way spot is dumb, but you can usually fix it in ten minutes once you realize what's going on. Sounds like you got stuck in the "it has to be something else" loop and just needed to step back for a second. Sometimes the obvious answer is the right one, even if it feels too simple.
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