The foyer in my house has two lights about 1/4 away from each end, and there are two switches at either end. Something like the following:
Switch A Light 1 Light 2 Switch B
Switches A & B control lights 1 & 2 in the following way:
Switch position Result Comment A_up, B_up Both lights on ==> lights 1 & 2 are in parallel A_down, B_up Both lights off As expected A_up, B_down Both lights off As expected A_down, B_down Both lights OFF THIS IS THE PROBLEM
It is the 4th case (A_down, B_Down) that is baffling me. In a regular
3-way switch, the lights should come on. In effect, my 3-way switch behaves like a "2.5-way switch, so to say". These two switches have ALWAYS behaved like this for last 6 years, since I bought the house (but the seller may have redone these, since switches look different than all other switches in the house).I would greatly appreciate your advice and suggestions on the following.
Q1. Does this indicate a problem at Switch A? Or Switch B? Both?
Q2. Can this be rectified by opening the switch boxes?
Q3. I have a tester and have done the following electrical work in the past, without any problems: replace house fuse; replace the outlet box for the 200 V (dryer); extend the power line and add a motion detector light to the outside of the garage. Should I attempt to rectify the
3-way switch myself, or should I pay an electrician? (Seems silly to pay $75, minimum for the visit, to rectify such a simple problem).Thanks a lot.
Bhoot Nath