M > In a rental house there is a kitchen ceiling light, and a dinining area M > light. There is a wall switch with two switches. The switch plate looks M > like an electrical outlet, but instead of two plug-in's there are two M > switches that toggle side-to-side (and old style?).
Not an old style -- still available at the hardware stores. The two horizontal switches are used in a single-gang wall box where originally there was only one vertical switch. (The "outlet" style switch can also be combined with a pilot light, or switch plus outlet. As you noted uses a standard outlet cover vs. switch plate.)
M > Anyway, we just evicted a tenant, and I now find that turning one switch o
M > and off operates BOTH lights together. Turning the other switch on and off M > ALSO operates both lights together. M > We didn't own the home that long before we rented it out, but I could swear M > that the switches operated the lights independently before.
Probably did -- that's why the two switches!
M > I didn't get a chance to pull the box out and look yet (there ain't much M > room), but assuming there are four wires coming into the box, is it possibl
M > the tenant could have accidentally ..or purposefully ...reattached the M > terminals to function as described above?
Oh, probably! I'm thinking the (evicted) tenant damaged the original switches and replaced. ...I'm thinking like outlets there are links between the two switches on both sides -- don't have one "in stock" downstairs so can't check this. A link needs to be removed for the switches to operate independently. Or else there is a link on one side and the tenant wired it backwards.
To troubleshoot you'll need to know what's normal -- anything else is probably wrong. Others have provided explanatory details.
Black White
120v feed--------SW1------Light1------120v neutral | --SW2------Light2------120v neutral
If a link is placed on the right side of the switches either switch will the turn on and off Light1 and Light2. (If the left link is removed and a right link is added SW1 would always light L1 and L2 but SW2 would never do anything.)
- ¯ barry.martinþATþthesafebbs.zeppole.com ®
- Support Search and Rescue: get lost!