Removing/circumventing switch in 3-way circuit?

[rusten]

I have an existing 3-Way wired switch (two switches, either one of them controls a set of two light fixtures). Between them are two blacks (one hot, one apparantly a "traveler") the red (load wire) and the neutral.

I'm adding an X10 switch (Smarthome 2380) in place of one of the 3-way switches, and would like to remove the other from the equation by hardwiring it to "always on" and leaving only the single remaining X10 switch as the control for the circuit.

I assumed that if I passed the hot-wire to the traveler (in the first-position switch, in other words, the switch first to receive power from the circuit breaker) and I left the neutrals connected (as they were originally), that current would flow from the traveler, which I then used as my hot wire (and tested this to determine it does indeed carry the power to the other side) and simply connect the load as a standard 2-way switch.

In short, I've removed the first switch in the path to the lights by passing the current on through the traveler, effectively leaving the first switch "on" at all times (at least this is what I *thought* I was doing) so the second switch would work like a normal, stand-alone switch, where I would like to insert a single Smarthome X10 switch since I do not have a use for the second switch.

Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong, or what I should be doing in place of my solution?

Thank you in advance!!
-Rusten

 

[realolman]

White colored wires that are not neutrals may be involved in the wiring in the boxes if romex is used, but the neutrals should not have any involvement with the switches.

The neutrals should go only to the light fixtures.

Having two lights throws kind of a turd in the fan, because there are more wires for that. There are likely to be a bunch of wires involved, especially if the circuit continued on to other loads.



The first 3 way switch common is hooked to the breaker , two travellers go between the 2 three way switches, and the common on the second 3 way goes to the light. The neutral goes straight to the light (s). If you have more than one light just hook them in parallel with the first one.


Now.. how to get rid of one of them. If you hooked the two travellers together , they would always be "on", no matter the postion of the 3 way sw..

So...

In the box for the second three way switch hook both travellers up to the line side of your new switch, and the wire that was originally on the common terminal to the new switch's load side, and don't do nothin else.

OR

In the first 3 way switch box hook up the wire from the breaker to the line side of your new switch and both travellers to the load side and don't do nothin else.

With this you'll end up with a switch that doesn't turn any thing off, and your new switch that will do all the switching... which I guess is what you wanted.


The comedian Stephen Wright said he had a switch in his house that didn't do anything. One day he was standing there flicking it on and off, and wondering what it was for.... The phone rang and when he answered, it was a lady in Germany saying, "Knock it off."