I have a dining room light on a 3 way switch that also extends power into the hallway from the first switch. All the wires have been removed and now I'm lost. Trick is, there is a 14-2 power supply to the fixture, then a 14-3 from the fixture to the 1st light switch. This is where the power is suppose to branch power into the hallway (and other rooms/porch) while also continuing to the 2nd 3 way switch (which is a dead end switch).
Is there suppose to be a 4 way switch at the first 3 way switch location? I'm able to get the 3 way switches to work alone, the hallway (along with basement hallway, another room and porch lights) alone or both with the issue of only one switch working the dining room light.
I've looked online for this situation with power coming into the fixture on a 14-2 and leaving on a 14-3 without any luck.
P.S. Sorry about the sloppy drawing.
Best Answer
Your problem: too many hots, not enough neutrals, because the prior installer didn't know how to pigtail
Your problem is that in the fixture box, you somehow have two wires carrying always-hot power down to the switch but nothing carrying neutral to the switch location. Atop being a violation of 404.2(C) in the current NEC, this is what is stymieing your plans to tap power for the hallway circuit at the switch box, as you need two to tango: a hot to get power from the utility, and a neutral to return the "spent" electricity back to the utility (they want their electrons back, so to speak :).
Anyway, what you need to do is get into the light fixture's box and move the white wire in the 14/3 over from being nutted in with the always-hots to being nutted in with the existing neutrals and remove any tape flags or bands from said white wire while you are in there. Once that's done, you can button the light fixture back up and move onto the first switch box.
There, we take the tape off the white wire from the 14/3 to the light fixture box, remove it from the switch common screw, and then nut it to the white wire in the 14/2 exiting that box. From there, we take a black or red 14AWG pigtail (if you don't have any suitable wire laying around or shuckable scraps of NM handy for that matter, simply get some THHN of the appropriate gauge and color and use that) and nut it in with the junction of the red and black wires in the switch box, then land the other end of the pigtail on the black common screw on the switch that we just vacated. Once that's done, you should be able to button the switch back up, turn the power on, and enjoy having everything work again!