Switch – 4-way switch – common wires are not normal

I am not an electrician and I have read all I can about 4-way switches/circuts. I am trying to replace a 4 way switch + 2 three way switches with zwave. I have done other 3-way installations (with only two switches) but this has me stumped. Once I can determine where is line and load, I can do the rest on my own.

As I understand, one of the 3-way should have a constant line from the breaker and the other 3-way should have the load going to the light. I have a Voltage Tester (not multimeter).

Here is the problem –

• When the light is on, I cannot detect any voltage on any of the three
  terminals of the 3-way switches. Two of the 4-way switch terminals
  have voltage.
• When the light is off, 1-2 terminals of the 3-way switches have voltage.
• I haven't run all the permutations but it is very weird and not following anything I am reading online.

What the hell? 🙂 The way I have been testing other 3-way circuits is that the terminal that always has the voltage whether the light is on or off is my line from the circuit breaker. The terminal that only has voltage when the light is on is my load to the light. The other two are travelers. I was hopping to apply this concept to my 4-way circuit (at least to the ends of the circuit, I know the middle has 2 pair of travelers) but it's not following the laws of physics 🙂 All 3 switches work – I can open and close the light from any switch.

It is supposed to work like this

My 4-way switch

My first 3-way switch showing no voltage when the light is on

My second 3-way switch showing no voltage when the light is on

I would really appreciate any pointers in the right direction!!