Another difficult 3-way wiring issue?

[r.mariotti]

Thanks to those who last time provided great information that I used to correct all my 3-way light circuit switches. They all work fine. Except ONE. It appears to be a simple hall ceiling light with a 3-way switch on each end.

Here's what I found: one end had 4 wires coming in, the other the standard 2. The 4 wire end as 2 reds and 2 whites and the blacks are connected external to the switch. I've tried to use the diagnostic techniques discussed here and after trying a zillion combinations I still can't get them to work.

If I remember correctly (stupid me - I didn't take a photo) the two red wires would connected to the same terminal while the other two whites were each connected to a separate terminal.

I am hoping that some industrious electricians can help me figure this out as it is the very last switch not functioning in the entire house.

TIA

[Steve Barker]

what it boils down to is IF you only have TWO (2) wires in one of the switch boxes, it is NOT a three way.

[RBM]

When you say "wires", I think you mean cables. Wires are individual conductors. You'll need to identify the cables at each end of the circuit to proceed. It would make sense to have a 2 wire and a 3 wire cable at one end of the circuit. The other end of the circuit with 4 cables, probably has the feed into the circuit and a couple of taps, feeding other lights or outlets. Once you identify what each cable is doing, or going, it'll be easy to connect the 3 way part of the circuit

[Metspitzer]

Take a picture of that you have now. Make sure you can see every wire in the box.

[trader4]

And figure out where the various wires go. For example, with everything disconnected one cable should be be supply and now you can mark it. You can buy a circuit tracing tool that puts a signal on the wires if you need to. Then compare what you have to the online schematics that show how 3 ways are wired.