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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?






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1















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?










share|improve this question









New contributor



Harold is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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    1















    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?










    share|improve this question









    New contributor



    Harold is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.





















      1












      1








      1








      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?










      share|improve this question









      New contributor



      Harold is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.











      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






      share|improve this question









      New contributor



      Harold is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.










      share|improve this question









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      Harold is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.








      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited 8 hours ago







      Harold













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      asked 8 hours ago









      HaroldHarold

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          2 Answers
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          active

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          1














          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.






          share|improve this answer























          • 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


















          1














          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



          enter image description here



          and this in box 2



          enter image description here



          *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.






          share|improve this answer



























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            2 Answers
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            active

            oldest

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            2 Answers
            2






            active

            oldest

            votes









            active

            oldest

            votes






            active

            oldest

            votes









            1














            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.






            share|improve this answer























            • 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















            1














            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.






            share|improve this answer























            • 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













            1












            1








            1







            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.






            share|improve this answer













            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.







            share|improve this answer












            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer










            answered 7 hours ago









            Michael KarasMichael 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

















            • 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













            1














            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



            enter image description here



            and this in box 2



            enter image description here



            *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.






            share|improve this answer





























              1














              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



              enter image description here



              and this in box 2



              enter image description here



              *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.






              share|improve this answer



























                1












                1








                1







                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



                enter image description here



                and this in box 2



                enter image description here



                *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.






                share|improve this answer















                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



                enter image description here



                and this in box 2



                enter image description here



                *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.







                share|improve this answer














                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer








                edited 1 hour ago

























                answered 5 hours ago









                HarperHarper

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