First box has 14/2 from panel, 14/2 to outlet, 14/3 to the other switch
Second box has 14/3 from the first switch and 14/2 to the light.. how can I wire these up for 3 way switch.
Electrical – 3 way switch with outlet always live
electricalmultiway-switchreceptaclewiring
Related Solutions
Congratulations! You just found a Carter 3-way!
This configuration switches each "side" of the lamp between hot and neutral, as depicted in the illustration below:
(source: Wtshymanski/Wikipedia)
However, due to the switch in the neutral wire, it was possible for the shell of the lampholder to be hot even if it was switched off, leading to a shock hazard! As a result, this configuration was banned by the NEC and remains forbidden to this day. You were correct in removing the Carter 3-way from service.
The second circuit feeding the Carter 3-way was also a rather egregrious Code violation (300.3(B)/310.10 if nothing else), but your work has cured it as well. (While the current configuration isn't completely Code-conformant, you've gotten as close as you reasonably can without running new wire.)
To explain a bit:
Both travelers (Red and Black) must be continuous from the first to the second switch. Then from the second switch you would connect the non-traveler (now the switched wire) to each outlet.
If the outlets are along the path of the travelers then that means that each outlet will have 4 wires (+ground): the neutral, the switched wire and the 2 travelers.
Convention for the color codes in the switches are
- red and marked white = traveler.
- black = switched wire
- white = neutral.
current code also requires you to pull the neutral to the second switch (left capped off if not used) as future proofing for when you want to connect a timer or motion sensor.
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Best Answer
Here's the headache. Cables are color-coded to distinguish wires from each other. They're not color-coded by function, which makes 3-ways super confusing. We're gonna fix that. Get a common 5-pack of colored electrical tape.
There is only one /3 cable. On both ends of that cable, tape both the red and black wires yellow. Yes, really; both wires get marked yellow. They are travelers, and they are interchangeable.
Over in the second box, with the cable to the lamp, tape its black wire red.
Now your wiring looks a lot like this
Buy about couple feet of /3 cable that same size (or #12 if you don't know the size). From this we will make pigtails. You can also just buy 8" lengths of black, red and green #12 solid THHN if you'd rather.
On one 3-way switch, identify the black screw and put a black pigtail on it. On the other 3-way, also on the black screw, put a red pigtail on that. You could use another color and mark it with red tape.
Oh, almost forgot the grounds (safety earthing). I tend to ignore them, even though it is vital to hook them up, and do them first. So -- also, put bare or green pigtails on the ground screw of each switch. Either color is fine, they are equivalent but the green is less likely to short against stuff because it's insulated.
The 3-way switch with the black pigtail goes in the first box (with supply). This will be obvious in a moment.
In both boxes, the yellow wires go onto the brass screws on the 3-way switches. Join all the bare and green wires with one wire-nut and shove em into the back of the box. Join all the white wires to each other with one wire-nut, and shove em into the back of the box. Then do all the black wires similarly, then all the reds. And you're done.