Electrical Wiring in the Home/combining 2 three way circuits

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Expert: Al Latimer - 11/20/2004


Question
i have two hallway lights...with respect to the electrical panel in the basement they are on the same circuit...

however, each is controlled by two separate 3 way circuits...

on either end of the hall is a switch that turns on the closes light...in the middle is a receptacle with two switches...one for each light...

can these be rewired so that both lights turn on with any of the switches...

Answer
Murray, it is probably possible.  The two switches in the middle would be replaced by one four way switch.  In this case any of the switches would operate both lights.  There are lots of ways of actually routing the wire in three way systems.  If you want to pull the switches from the wall,  determine where the voltage enters each of the two sets of three ways, and describe what the wiring looks like, we can likely accomplish what you want.

Al  
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Electrical Wiring in the Home

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Al Latimer

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I held a California Electrical Contractor`s license from 1958 to 1970. Moved to Arkansas and contracted from 1970 to 1993 when I retired. I currently hold an Arkansas Lifetime Master Electrician`s license. During that span of time I`ve worn many hats, from estimating job costs to trouble shooting, from crawling attics to paying the bills. But I think that the part that`s most enjoyable is what I`m doing now, namely helping others with the solving of their problems and answering their questions.

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