Wiring – Separate Fan & Light control from existing 3 way

multiway-switchwiring

I have an existing 3 way switch setup for carport light. They installed ceiling fans with lights and want to control each separately.

Can I get by with installing double 3 ways and tapping the travelers for light control?
Sorry that was unclear. They have 2 existing 3 way switches that controlled 2 carport lights. They replaced with ceiling fans with pull chain lights. They want to control the lights separate from the fans. Both fans or lights now are off or on not separate. I was just wool gathering trying to get away from running wire for two new double 3 ways.

Best Answer

Anything you do involving "tapping travelers" is not gonna work. There is no magic juice there-- oh wait, this just in. Smart switches are a thing!

Travelers are precisely as simple as 2 wires: one is hot, one is not. A 3-way switch exchanges which traveler is hot or connected to the light. Here

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So if your idea is to tap the 2 yellow travelers to feed a second 3-way in the garage, this melts down into a complete disaster. If the garage switches are set to opposite travelers, then your only option from the house will be a) lights on fans off, or b) lights off fans on. You would have to walk out to the garage to get the switches there to be on the same traveler.

The only practical way (using steam-era wiring) is to have an extra 3-way switch at each location, connected by a whole second cable with its own set of blue travelers and gray neutral... and then keeping hot and neutral carefully separated.