I have a 3 way configuration between 2 switches in my house.

Switch 1 has:
Neutral, Ground, one red [traveler], one black

Switch 2 has:
Neutral, Ground, one red [traveler], one black

Neither of these switches is a 3 way switch with 2 traveler wires. I am trying to replace both these switches with GE Z-wave smart switch and add-on switch.

I am very confused on how this is working. I am trying to read online to get myself familiar with this design. Apparently, I cannot find anything related on the internet [very possible I am not looking for the right keywords].

Can you please help me with below questions or redirect to me a web link that explains similar setup?

how is this working.
Is this considered a 3 way switch?
What do I need to do to make it wire properly? [if needed]

Thanks!

Edit on 10/26:

Thank you so much for all the tips and suggestions. The boxes have two more switches which makes it really harder to get clear picture of what is all going on in there. But, probably may makes more sense if you are used to these boxes more.

I also ran into something interesting on the switch which is connected to the lights. There is a bundle of black wires back in the box with a wire nut. When I tied my load wire into that nut, my lights turned on. So, those wires must be a bundle of line wires. I am wondering if I can completely ditch my 3 way setup for these lights and simply go with a regular smart switch? so, line + load + neutral + ground connect to the one smart switch. I can put wire nuts on the wires on other switch and just put them back into the box.

I am just afraid if I am doing anything dumb this way. Is there any reason I should avoid that?

Best Answer

I think you may be mistaken about what the wires are. Since it's not a "smart" switch, there's likely not a neutral connected to it. Instead, I would suspect that the white wire is actually being used as a traveler. This was a fairly common wiring method, before the neutral was required at all switch locations.

If this is the case, then you should mark the white wire at both ends with a black marker or tape. This would also mean that you're not going to be able to install the "smart" switch, as there's not a neutral in the box.

Remember, not all neutrals are white, and not all white wires are neutral.

I'm no good at ASCII art, so here's a crappy MSPaint digram of what the wiring might look like.