maxwedge
09-24-2007, 09:18 PM
Okay so I have a room with switches on opposite ends that seemingly used to be wired as three way switches to control a light. Somewhere along the line the light was replaced with a celing fan/light combination, and the circuit was rewired so that one switch controlled the light and the one on the other end turns the fan off and on (yeah it's annoying, but at least it worked). Each outlet box now had a disconnected white wire in it, which I'm assuming used to be for the three way?
The problem comes when I went to replace the switches in the box that controls the fan with some decorater switches. This box also has another switch that controls a completely different light, in the kitchen. There are three cables that come into this box, one 2 wire cable and two 3 wire cables. One of the three wire cables had the red and black wire hooked to the fan switch and the white wire nutted off not connected (I assume the other end of the cable from the other box). I'm 99% sure that's how this cable was wired before I started messing with switches, so I'm assuming it's correct. The problem is I lost track of where some of the other wires went. Using the trial and error method I determined that on the other three wire cable, black and white appear to be hot and neutral feed. When you connect black to red on this cable, the kitchen light comes on, so that seems easy enough to put that switch there, right? As long as the two white wires (the one from the kitchen light cable and the one from the two wire cable) are connected together, I can pigtail the black from this cable to either the black from the two wire cable or the red from the fan switch then the fan works. The black from the two wire cable and the red from the fan switch cable have continuity, but I'll be dammned if I can figure out if this is important or why I should care?, so anyway I got the fan and the kitchen light going, but the problem is that the celing fan light that's usually controlled by the switch across the room no longer works seemingly no matter what I connect in the other box.
So I'm assuming that this is confusing as hell, but if anybody has an idea that can help?
By the way all of this is 1960's so theres no grounds if that matters.
The problem comes when I went to replace the switches in the box that controls the fan with some decorater switches. This box also has another switch that controls a completely different light, in the kitchen. There are three cables that come into this box, one 2 wire cable and two 3 wire cables. One of the three wire cables had the red and black wire hooked to the fan switch and the white wire nutted off not connected (I assume the other end of the cable from the other box). I'm 99% sure that's how this cable was wired before I started messing with switches, so I'm assuming it's correct. The problem is I lost track of where some of the other wires went. Using the trial and error method I determined that on the other three wire cable, black and white appear to be hot and neutral feed. When you connect black to red on this cable, the kitchen light comes on, so that seems easy enough to put that switch there, right? As long as the two white wires (the one from the kitchen light cable and the one from the two wire cable) are connected together, I can pigtail the black from this cable to either the black from the two wire cable or the red from the fan switch then the fan works. The black from the two wire cable and the red from the fan switch cable have continuity, but I'll be dammned if I can figure out if this is important or why I should care?, so anyway I got the fan and the kitchen light going, but the problem is that the celing fan light that's usually controlled by the switch across the room no longer works seemingly no matter what I connect in the other box.
So I'm assuming that this is confusing as hell, but if anybody has an idea that can help?
By the way all of this is 1960's so theres no grounds if that matters.