Converting two 3 way switches to a GFI outlet & pole switch

[slgdc1433]

I have a 1918 rowhouse and am running into some trouble with a couple 3 way switches. I have a porch light that is controlled by a 3 way switch outside on the porch and another 3 way switch inside the front door. We'd like to convert the outside switch to a GFI and control the porch light using the interior switch.

The interior outlet contains a black, a white, and a red wire that are connected to the 3 way switch. There are also two additional white wires that are tied to each other but not attached to the switch. The outside outlet contains a black, a white, and a red wire.

We were able to get the GFI outlet operable but hooking it up to the live and the neutral and leaving the red off. We tried just about every combination in the interior outlet to get the switch to operate the light but have been unsuccessful. Does anyone have any guidance?

Thanks in advance.

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[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Red wire is secondary wire same as Black. If you can connect ground wire(Green or bare copper) your hook up is complete.

[Nate Nagel]

I'm assuming that you have a feed coming into the first switch, the one you're keeping, with a 2-wire cable (white/black) from the breaker box and a 3-wire (white/black/red) going to the 2nd switch, the one that you're trying to change to a GFCI. Then from that box there's another

2-wire going to the light fixture.

What you should do is take the first switch out, and connect all the blacks in the box together (one will be on one of the "switched" terminals of the 3-way switch, just remove it from that terminal and wire nut it to the feed. You might need to make a pigtail from the feed (brass) terminal of the 3-way to the wire nut; alternately, if the feed wire is long, you can take your strippers and make a maybe 1/2" long stripped section of insulation in the feed, loop that around the screw, then wire nut the actual end of the wire to the black leaving the box.) Leave the red where it is. Then at the second box, where you're installing your GFCI, wire nut the red to the black going to the light fixture, leave all the whites wire nutted together, add a pigtail to connect to the GFCI. The black on the incoming 3-wire cable connects to the GFCI as well.

Obviously all ground wires should be connected together and all ground terminals of any devices should be connected to ground.

If the lack of "on/off" lettering on the remaining switch bothers you, just replace it with a regular SPST switch and keep on rolling. If that doesn't bother you, but you find that "up" is now off, move the red wire from the one silver terminal to the other at the switch. (a 3-way switch is basically a SPDT switch w/ no center off terminal.)

If my comments don't exactly describe your situation, post back and tell us what's different, and we'll try to puzzle it out for you.

good luck

nate

[despen]

Caution, I am not an electrician.

I'm confused as to why you'd want GFI on a porch light. Do you need to stand in water to operate the switch?

Anyway, if I wanted to do this, I'd be inclined to replace the circuit breaker with a GFI breaker. Snap one out, snap another in. Then the entire circuit gets GFI protection.

[Nate Nagel]

The way I interpreted it was that he wanted to have a receptacle at the location of the second switch, and that it needed to be a GFCI due to the location. Hopefully the OP will chime in and clarify.

nate

[RBM]

only have a three wire cable interconnecting the two switches, and a switch leg from the light fixture. The "feed" is in the box where the fixture is, so you are either missing the "hot" leg or the "neutral", depending on how it was wired.

[hrhofmann]

Do you have a voltmeter???? Please let us know, then we can walk you thru this step by step>>>>>

[JIMMIE]

Obtain yor favorite continuity checker so yo can map out the wires b'tween the switch outlet and lamp locations and draw a diagram. Dont try to figure this out in your head. Dont expect someone to verbally give you instuctions. Once you've done this if you still cant figure it out call an electrician..

Jimmie

Jimmie