Connect neutrals together in 3-gang box (load side) with 3x 3-way switches?What is the right way to connect 7 conductors in an electrical box?In a multi-gang box, are neutral wires paired with specific hot wires?How do I wire three 3-way switches in one gang box to three switches in another box?Adjacent light circuit is inadvertently controlled by four-way switch wiringReplacing three way switches with insteonShould I connect one cable to each outlet in a two-gang box?3 way switches with switch load at each endContinuous power between multi-gang boxes with 3 way switches3-way switch wired with jumper between load and travellerConvert 2 adjacent double gang box to 4 gang box; what are these extra wires?
Is this more than a packing puzzle?
Are L-functions uniquely determined by their values at negative integers?
How would someone destroy a black hole that’s at the centre of a planet?
Why do they not say "The Baby"
(algebraic topology) question about the cellular approximation theorem
Would letting a multiclass character rebuild their character to be single-classed be game-breaking?
Does entangle require vegetation?
Construct a pentagon avoiding compass use
Redox reactions redefined
Are lithium batteries allowed in the International Space Station?
Ezek. 24:1-2, "Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, ...." Which month was the tenth month?
What is the German equivalent of 干物女 (dried fish woman)?
Align by center of symbol
What impact would a dragon the size of Asia have on the environment?
Is it rude to tell recruiters I would only change jobs for a better salary?
Do native speakers use ZVE or CPU?
Remove intersect line for one circle using venndiagram2sets
do not have power to all my breakers
Why does the Earth have a z-component at the start of the J2000 epoch?
Can a continent naturally split into two distant parts within a week?
Why is the collector feedback bias popular in electret-mic preamp circuits?
I quit, and boss offered me 3 month "grace period" where I could still come back
Is `curl something | sudo bash -` a reasonably safe installation method?
Filtering fine silt/mud from water (not necessarily bacteria etc.)
Connect neutrals together in 3-gang box (load side) with 3x 3-way switches?
What is the right way to connect 7 conductors in an electrical box?In a multi-gang box, are neutral wires paired with specific hot wires?How do I wire three 3-way switches in one gang box to three switches in another box?Adjacent light circuit is inadvertently controlled by four-way switch wiringReplacing three way switches with insteonShould I connect one cable to each outlet in a two-gang box?3 way switches with switch load at each endContinuous power between multi-gang boxes with 3 way switches3-way switch wired with jumper between load and travellerConvert 2 adjacent double gang box to 4 gang box; what are these extra wires?
.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;
I have 2x 3-gang boxes, each with 3x 3-way switches in each box. All are on the same 15A breaker.
I have wired them together and I'm just connecting the switches now. I have:
-------- ---------
BREAKER --14/2-- |3x-3WAY| --3x14/3-- |3x 3-WAY| ---3x14/2-- LIGHTS
--------- ---------
The 3-gang boxes are connected with 3 runs of 14/3 cable.
My question is: should I splice the neutrals together (and the grounds) at the second 3-gang box (load side)? It seems like it doesn't matter, since they could just as well be going to 3x 1-gang boxes on the load side in which case they would NOT be connected.
To clarify - I'm not asking if I should connect neutral to ground (I know I shouldn't do that). I'm asking if I should connect all the neutrals together and pigtail off that or just treat each switch independently on the load side.
Is there a standard way to do it?
electrical
New contributor
add a comment |
I have 2x 3-gang boxes, each with 3x 3-way switches in each box. All are on the same 15A breaker.
I have wired them together and I'm just connecting the switches now. I have:
-------- ---------
BREAKER --14/2-- |3x-3WAY| --3x14/3-- |3x 3-WAY| ---3x14/2-- LIGHTS
--------- ---------
The 3-gang boxes are connected with 3 runs of 14/3 cable.
My question is: should I splice the neutrals together (and the grounds) at the second 3-gang box (load side)? It seems like it doesn't matter, since they could just as well be going to 3x 1-gang boxes on the load side in which case they would NOT be connected.
To clarify - I'm not asking if I should connect neutral to ground (I know I shouldn't do that). I'm asking if I should connect all the neutrals together and pigtail off that or just treat each switch independently on the load side.
Is there a standard way to do it?
electrical
New contributor
add a comment |
I have 2x 3-gang boxes, each with 3x 3-way switches in each box. All are on the same 15A breaker.
I have wired them together and I'm just connecting the switches now. I have:
-------- ---------
BREAKER --14/2-- |3x-3WAY| --3x14/3-- |3x 3-WAY| ---3x14/2-- LIGHTS
--------- ---------
The 3-gang boxes are connected with 3 runs of 14/3 cable.
My question is: should I splice the neutrals together (and the grounds) at the second 3-gang box (load side)? It seems like it doesn't matter, since they could just as well be going to 3x 1-gang boxes on the load side in which case they would NOT be connected.
To clarify - I'm not asking if I should connect neutral to ground (I know I shouldn't do that). I'm asking if I should connect all the neutrals together and pigtail off that or just treat each switch independently on the load side.
Is there a standard way to do it?
electrical
New contributor
I have 2x 3-gang boxes, each with 3x 3-way switches in each box. All are on the same 15A breaker.
I have wired them together and I'm just connecting the switches now. I have:
-------- ---------
BREAKER --14/2-- |3x-3WAY| --3x14/3-- |3x 3-WAY| ---3x14/2-- LIGHTS
--------- ---------
The 3-gang boxes are connected with 3 runs of 14/3 cable.
My question is: should I splice the neutrals together (and the grounds) at the second 3-gang box (load side)? It seems like it doesn't matter, since they could just as well be going to 3x 1-gang boxes on the load side in which case they would NOT be connected.
To clarify - I'm not asking if I should connect neutral to ground (I know I shouldn't do that). I'm asking if I should connect all the neutrals together and pigtail off that or just treat each switch independently on the load side.
Is there a standard way to do it?
electrical
electrical
New contributor
New contributor
edited 8 hours ago
Harold
New contributor
asked 8 hours ago
HaroldHarold
83 bronze badges
83 bronze badges
New contributor
New contributor
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
If you have an electrical box at the second switch bank location with enough cubic inch volume you should really keep each circuit separate (i.e. not inter tie the neutrals). The primary reason is that you want the current in the hot line (in this case the travellers) and the neutral of each cable to be the same.
Another good reason for that would be that at some time in the future it may be desirable to bring an alternate power feed to the first switch bank location to feed one lighting circuit separately. You do not want to intermix the neutrals from two separate circuits.
Thanks for your rapid response! That's along the lines of what I was thinking. I just wired it and kept everything separate at the second switch box as you suggested.
– Harold
7 hours ago
add a comment |
Neutral is not ground
Neutral is the normal path of current return. Ground is an emergency path, only used if something is seriously wrong (in lieu of sending power through a human, and it helps to get breaker to trip). Because of that, it's OK to spiderweb all grounds to each other. This should never be done with neutral.
Currents must be equal in each cable or conduit
Because AC current in wires causes AC magnetism, and the wires' magnetism must cancel each other out. If it doesn't, it will cause eddy current heating, and noise/vibration leading to fatigue, breakage and arcing, both of which can start fires.
It's a lot to sort out. Mark the wires.
They sell 5-packs of colored electrical tape for about $5 at the hardware store. Typically blue red yellow green white.
So you might do something like this in box 1
and this in box 2
*The neutrals will be a wire from each cable that need be wire-nutted; I simply didn't bother drawing the wire nuts.
Note how the 2 travelers are color coded the same. That is because there is no need to distinguish travelers from each other.
I also spiraled the travelers' markings quite some distance, but the switched-hot only the width of the tape.
Now that looks super clear on the drawing, however in the box, things may be so confusing you need to mark the neutrals too. But you cannot use red, yellow or blue (hot colors) on a neutral wire, or you will inadvertently redefine it as a "hot" wire, which is wrong. White, gray and green don't have that problem. They won't redefine a hot because you're not allowed to redefine a hot to a neutral or ground. White and gray are neutral colors, and green won't redefine a neutral to ground, because that's not allowed either. So brace for an argument with the inspector, but I say using white, gray or green on both hot and neutral does not change the purpose of the wire, therefore is only marking for identification.
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "73"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);
else
createEditor();
);
function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);
);
Harold is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fdiy.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f169127%2fconnect-neutrals-together-in-3-gang-box-load-side-with-3x-3-way-switches%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
If you have an electrical box at the second switch bank location with enough cubic inch volume you should really keep each circuit separate (i.e. not inter tie the neutrals). The primary reason is that you want the current in the hot line (in this case the travellers) and the neutral of each cable to be the same.
Another good reason for that would be that at some time in the future it may be desirable to bring an alternate power feed to the first switch bank location to feed one lighting circuit separately. You do not want to intermix the neutrals from two separate circuits.
Thanks for your rapid response! That's along the lines of what I was thinking. I just wired it and kept everything separate at the second switch box as you suggested.
– Harold
7 hours ago
add a comment |
If you have an electrical box at the second switch bank location with enough cubic inch volume you should really keep each circuit separate (i.e. not inter tie the neutrals). The primary reason is that you want the current in the hot line (in this case the travellers) and the neutral of each cable to be the same.
Another good reason for that would be that at some time in the future it may be desirable to bring an alternate power feed to the first switch bank location to feed one lighting circuit separately. You do not want to intermix the neutrals from two separate circuits.
Thanks for your rapid response! That's along the lines of what I was thinking. I just wired it and kept everything separate at the second switch box as you suggested.
– Harold
7 hours ago
add a comment |
If you have an electrical box at the second switch bank location with enough cubic inch volume you should really keep each circuit separate (i.e. not inter tie the neutrals). The primary reason is that you want the current in the hot line (in this case the travellers) and the neutral of each cable to be the same.
Another good reason for that would be that at some time in the future it may be desirable to bring an alternate power feed to the first switch bank location to feed one lighting circuit separately. You do not want to intermix the neutrals from two separate circuits.
If you have an electrical box at the second switch bank location with enough cubic inch volume you should really keep each circuit separate (i.e. not inter tie the neutrals). The primary reason is that you want the current in the hot line (in this case the travellers) and the neutral of each cable to be the same.
Another good reason for that would be that at some time in the future it may be desirable to bring an alternate power feed to the first switch bank location to feed one lighting circuit separately. You do not want to intermix the neutrals from two separate circuits.
answered 7 hours ago
Michael Karas♦Michael Karas
46.6k5 gold badges36 silver badges91 bronze badges
46.6k5 gold badges36 silver badges91 bronze badges
Thanks for your rapid response! That's along the lines of what I was thinking. I just wired it and kept everything separate at the second switch box as you suggested.
– Harold
7 hours ago
add a comment |
Thanks for your rapid response! That's along the lines of what I was thinking. I just wired it and kept everything separate at the second switch box as you suggested.
– Harold
7 hours ago
Thanks for your rapid response! That's along the lines of what I was thinking. I just wired it and kept everything separate at the second switch box as you suggested.
– Harold
7 hours ago
Thanks for your rapid response! That's along the lines of what I was thinking. I just wired it and kept everything separate at the second switch box as you suggested.
– Harold
7 hours ago
add a comment |
Neutral is not ground
Neutral is the normal path of current return. Ground is an emergency path, only used if something is seriously wrong (in lieu of sending power through a human, and it helps to get breaker to trip). Because of that, it's OK to spiderweb all grounds to each other. This should never be done with neutral.
Currents must be equal in each cable or conduit
Because AC current in wires causes AC magnetism, and the wires' magnetism must cancel each other out. If it doesn't, it will cause eddy current heating, and noise/vibration leading to fatigue, breakage and arcing, both of which can start fires.
It's a lot to sort out. Mark the wires.
They sell 5-packs of colored electrical tape for about $5 at the hardware store. Typically blue red yellow green white.
So you might do something like this in box 1
and this in box 2
*The neutrals will be a wire from each cable that need be wire-nutted; I simply didn't bother drawing the wire nuts.
Note how the 2 travelers are color coded the same. That is because there is no need to distinguish travelers from each other.
I also spiraled the travelers' markings quite some distance, but the switched-hot only the width of the tape.
Now that looks super clear on the drawing, however in the box, things may be so confusing you need to mark the neutrals too. But you cannot use red, yellow or blue (hot colors) on a neutral wire, or you will inadvertently redefine it as a "hot" wire, which is wrong. White, gray and green don't have that problem. They won't redefine a hot because you're not allowed to redefine a hot to a neutral or ground. White and gray are neutral colors, and green won't redefine a neutral to ground, because that's not allowed either. So brace for an argument with the inspector, but I say using white, gray or green on both hot and neutral does not change the purpose of the wire, therefore is only marking for identification.
add a comment |
Neutral is not ground
Neutral is the normal path of current return. Ground is an emergency path, only used if something is seriously wrong (in lieu of sending power through a human, and it helps to get breaker to trip). Because of that, it's OK to spiderweb all grounds to each other. This should never be done with neutral.
Currents must be equal in each cable or conduit
Because AC current in wires causes AC magnetism, and the wires' magnetism must cancel each other out. If it doesn't, it will cause eddy current heating, and noise/vibration leading to fatigue, breakage and arcing, both of which can start fires.
It's a lot to sort out. Mark the wires.
They sell 5-packs of colored electrical tape for about $5 at the hardware store. Typically blue red yellow green white.
So you might do something like this in box 1
and this in box 2
*The neutrals will be a wire from each cable that need be wire-nutted; I simply didn't bother drawing the wire nuts.
Note how the 2 travelers are color coded the same. That is because there is no need to distinguish travelers from each other.
I also spiraled the travelers' markings quite some distance, but the switched-hot only the width of the tape.
Now that looks super clear on the drawing, however in the box, things may be so confusing you need to mark the neutrals too. But you cannot use red, yellow or blue (hot colors) on a neutral wire, or you will inadvertently redefine it as a "hot" wire, which is wrong. White, gray and green don't have that problem. They won't redefine a hot because you're not allowed to redefine a hot to a neutral or ground. White and gray are neutral colors, and green won't redefine a neutral to ground, because that's not allowed either. So brace for an argument with the inspector, but I say using white, gray or green on both hot and neutral does not change the purpose of the wire, therefore is only marking for identification.
add a comment |
Neutral is not ground
Neutral is the normal path of current return. Ground is an emergency path, only used if something is seriously wrong (in lieu of sending power through a human, and it helps to get breaker to trip). Because of that, it's OK to spiderweb all grounds to each other. This should never be done with neutral.
Currents must be equal in each cable or conduit
Because AC current in wires causes AC magnetism, and the wires' magnetism must cancel each other out. If it doesn't, it will cause eddy current heating, and noise/vibration leading to fatigue, breakage and arcing, both of which can start fires.
It's a lot to sort out. Mark the wires.
They sell 5-packs of colored electrical tape for about $5 at the hardware store. Typically blue red yellow green white.
So you might do something like this in box 1
and this in box 2
*The neutrals will be a wire from each cable that need be wire-nutted; I simply didn't bother drawing the wire nuts.
Note how the 2 travelers are color coded the same. That is because there is no need to distinguish travelers from each other.
I also spiraled the travelers' markings quite some distance, but the switched-hot only the width of the tape.
Now that looks super clear on the drawing, however in the box, things may be so confusing you need to mark the neutrals too. But you cannot use red, yellow or blue (hot colors) on a neutral wire, or you will inadvertently redefine it as a "hot" wire, which is wrong. White, gray and green don't have that problem. They won't redefine a hot because you're not allowed to redefine a hot to a neutral or ground. White and gray are neutral colors, and green won't redefine a neutral to ground, because that's not allowed either. So brace for an argument with the inspector, but I say using white, gray or green on both hot and neutral does not change the purpose of the wire, therefore is only marking for identification.
Neutral is not ground
Neutral is the normal path of current return. Ground is an emergency path, only used if something is seriously wrong (in lieu of sending power through a human, and it helps to get breaker to trip). Because of that, it's OK to spiderweb all grounds to each other. This should never be done with neutral.
Currents must be equal in each cable or conduit
Because AC current in wires causes AC magnetism, and the wires' magnetism must cancel each other out. If it doesn't, it will cause eddy current heating, and noise/vibration leading to fatigue, breakage and arcing, both of which can start fires.
It's a lot to sort out. Mark the wires.
They sell 5-packs of colored electrical tape for about $5 at the hardware store. Typically blue red yellow green white.
So you might do something like this in box 1
and this in box 2
*The neutrals will be a wire from each cable that need be wire-nutted; I simply didn't bother drawing the wire nuts.
Note how the 2 travelers are color coded the same. That is because there is no need to distinguish travelers from each other.
I also spiraled the travelers' markings quite some distance, but the switched-hot only the width of the tape.
Now that looks super clear on the drawing, however in the box, things may be so confusing you need to mark the neutrals too. But you cannot use red, yellow or blue (hot colors) on a neutral wire, or you will inadvertently redefine it as a "hot" wire, which is wrong. White, gray and green don't have that problem. They won't redefine a hot because you're not allowed to redefine a hot to a neutral or ground. White and gray are neutral colors, and green won't redefine a neutral to ground, because that's not allowed either. So brace for an argument with the inspector, but I say using white, gray or green on both hot and neutral does not change the purpose of the wire, therefore is only marking for identification.
edited 1 hour ago
answered 5 hours ago
HarperHarper
87.3k5 gold badges63 silver badges177 bronze badges
87.3k5 gold badges63 silver badges177 bronze badges
add a comment |
add a comment |
Harold is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Harold is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Harold is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Harold is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Thanks for contributing an answer to Home Improvement Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fdiy.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f169127%2fconnect-neutrals-together-in-3-gang-box-load-side-with-3x-3-way-switches%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown