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ok to start with I was going to change my hall way lights but first was going to install a dimmer at the top of the stairs, well long story short when I pulled out the old switch and yes I did not turn off power and pop the circuit breaker, then I noticed that my stair lights were out, thinking I broke the 3 way switch I replaced it and quite sure I did it right, well no lights. also replaced the dimmer sw down stairs and checked that the breaker was good, voltage at both terminals, there was, power from box has two black wires, upstairs has 1 black 1 red and one white plus the ground. there is no hot wire upstairs I get a flicker of voltage on the white wire but not a constant voltage. and yes I checked the bulbs, which was not an easy thing to do because they are so high up, HELP I'm lost I did not mess with the sw that controls the stair lights when I pulled out the sw next to it that's when I pop the breaker.

Robert Ganzenmuller
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  • Hello, and welcome to Stack Exchange. A picture or diagram might help us better understand what you're dealing with. – Daniel Griscom Feb 18 '16 at 02:04
  • So the downstairs switch box has ground, neutral (white), and power in (black), as well as ground, white, and black going to the upstairs switch box? Do you have a multimeter, or one of those power detectors that you beep and light up when power is present? – rknicker Feb 18 '16 at 01:22
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    Your description is dangerously confusing and incomplete. If anyone here offers advice based on his best guess at what you're asking, and you confidently follow that advice, you could quite possibly set your residence on fire or electrocute yourself. OTOH many people ask confusing questions at first and then through continued dialog and refinement eventually get the help they need. – A. I. Breveleri Feb 18 '16 at 02:39
  • The goal of StackExchange and its users is to edit your question until it represents a clear description of the problem you face, and then post cogent solutions so the best ones can be voted up and the correct one can be accepted. – A. I. Breveleri Feb 18 '16 at 02:42
  • Please list all the loads (lights & outlets), and all the junction boxes, with the cables coming into each one, and the wires in each cable. (I don't think you need to open up the junction boxes with the outlets yet, just the ones with the switches.) Do not worry about burdening your question with too much information -- you (or someone) can always remove the truly irrelevant. – A. I. Breveleri Feb 18 '16 at 02:47

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First thing, you should probably shut your breaker off if you haven't already because it sounds as if you have some wires crossed here.

From your description it sounds like you have:

  • Lights
  • Downstairs Dimmer Switch
  • Upstairs Dimmer Switch

This is requires a 3-way switch circuit... but I'm not able to determine which one you have.

Generally, Black and Red wires are the "hot" wires (or your line wires). White is your neutral, and of course green or copper is ground. If you're getting voltage flickering on the white wire, you're likely registering return power on the circuit. If it's flickering without you touching the switch, you could have a lose connection somewhere.

You shouldn't have only 2 black wires in one of the boxes. There should also be some white wires connected via a wire nut, as well as one or two additional red wires. Without knowing more, it's difficult to determine what type of 3-way switch wiring you have. You may want to check out the diagrams here to determine what you have: http://www.do-it-yourself-help.com/3_way_switch_wiring.html

Side note: Having 2 dimmers in series on the same circuit isn't a good idea. The 1st dimmer can only increase the power to the total level of the 2nd dimmer. Which is why normally when you have two switches on a dimmable light, only one of the switches is a dimmer.

Good luck!

bryanx
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