Switches

 Single Pole, 3-Way, 4-Way and 220v Switches

Make sure power is turned off before replacing any electrical device.

Single Pole Switches

  1. First identify the hot (black) wire/wires, nuetral (white) wire/wires, ground (green or bare copper) wire/wires, and the switchleg (usually black for light fixtures and red for ceiling fans and they come into the top of the box, where power comes in the bottom.) Now bend the ends of the switchleg and power so you can hook them around the screws on the switch.
  2. Next, strip all the wires out 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch long. Now you must twist all the Nuetral (white) wires together and connect them with a wire nut. Do the same with the ground (green or bare), but you need to leave one of the grounds longer to attach to the switch. (You can also make a pigtail for ground if its easier for you. See diagram of ground pigtail under electrical outlets.)
  3. Now hook the ground to the green screw, the hot to the bottom screw, and the switchleg to the top screw, (noting that the switch reads on when it is flipped up and off when it is flipped down.)
  4. Finally screw the switch into the wall and attach the cover.

3-Way Switches

  • Three way switches are a little bit more complicated because there are two switches that operate one light. One of the switches has the switchleg for the light, along with the travellers, the other has the power coming into it.
  1. First identify the hot (black) wire/wires, nuetral (white) wire/wires, ground (green or bare copper) wire/wires, and the switchleg (usually black for light fixtures and red for ceiling fans.)
  2. Next identify whether the box has the switchleg or the power coming into it. You can do this usually by looking to see if the red and black wire come in the bottom or the top of the box. If the red and black wire come into the bottom of the box its going to be the box with the switchleg. If it comes into the top of the box its probably the power.
  3. Next, strip all the wires out 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch long. Now you must twist all the Nuetral (white) wires together and connect them with a wire nut. Do the same with the ground (green or bare), but you need to leave one of the grounds longer to attach to the switch. (You can also make a pigtail for ground if its easier for you. See diagram of ground pigtail under electrical outlets.) Now bend the ends of the power and the switchleg so they can be hooked around the screws on the switch.
  4. Now, hook the ground wire to the green screw and tighten it down. Then hook the power or the switchleg (depending on the box your working on) to the common (black) screw. After this you can hook the travellers (red and black wire) to the other screws. (Note which screw has the red traveller wire or black traveller wire because both three ways must be the same.)
  5. Finally screw the switch into the wall and attach the cover.

4-Way Switches

  • 4-way switches are fairly simple because they have two other three way switches attached to the circuit.
  1. In a 4-way switch there will be two sets of travellers. (No hot or switchlegs.)
  2. First strip out all the wires 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. Now you must twist all the Nuetral (white) wires together and connect them with a wire nut. Do the same with the ground (green or bare), but you need to leave one of the grounds longer to attach to the switch. (You can also make a pigtail for ground if its easier for you. See diagram of ground pigtail under electrical outlets.) Next bend the ends of the black and red wires so they can be hooked to the switch.
  3. Now hook the two red wires to the two screws on the same side of the switch. Then hook the black wires to the other two screws on the opposite side of the switch.
  4. Finally hook the ground wire to the green screw and tighten it down. Screw the switch into the wall and attach the cover and your done.

220 Volt Switches

  • These will rarely be found around the house, if they are it should be hooked to the hot water heater.
  1. First strip out all the wires in the box 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. Now twist the ground (green or bare) together, but you need to leave one of the grounds longer to attach to the switch. (You can also make a pigtail for ground if its easier for you. See diagram of ground pigtail under electrical outlets.) Then bend the white and black wires so they can be hooked to the screws on the switch.
  2. Next, hook the two white wires to the two screws on one side of the switch. Then hook the black wires to the other two screws on the opposite side of the switch. (It doesnt matter which side (left or right) the black or white wires are on because they are both hot wires. But, both white or both black need to be on the same side.)
  3. Finally, screw the switch into the box and attach the cover.
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