Breaker Off / 3-way and 4-way switches
4-way switch wiring
A 3-wire cable on each side of the 4-way switch box. The two 3-way switches sit at the ends of the run.
- Black: hot
- White: neutral
- Red: traveler
- Bare: ground
- Wire nut
How to tell this is your box
The 4-way switch has four brass screws in two pairs and no dark COMMON screw. Each pair takes the two travelers from one side.
Watch for this. If the light works from the 3-ways but the 4-way only works in one position, the two pairs are mixed up: swap one traveler from each side.
The job, in order
- First 3-way: black from the panel to the dark COMMON screw; black and red travelers to the brass screws.
- 4-way: the travelers from the first switch go on one pair of screws, the travelers to the second switch on the other pair.
- Second 3-way: travelers on the brass screws; the black up to the light on the dark COMMON screw.
- Whites join through every box; grounds pigtail to every device.
Every connection, box by box
Read from the same circuit the drawing is made from. A simulator checked it in every switch position: the light turns on exactly when they should, nothing shorts, and every device is grounded.
At the panel
- The black wire to the first 3-way switch goes to the breaker.
- The white wire to the first 3-way switch goes to the neutral bar.
- The bare copper wire to the first 3-way switch goes to the ground bar.
In the first switch box
- The black wire from the panel goes to the dark COMMON screw.
- The black wire to the 4-way switch goes to one brass traveler screw.
- The red wire to the 4-way switch goes to the other brass traveler screw.
- The white wire from the panel and the white wire to the 4-way switch join under one wire nut.
- The bare copper wire from the panel and the bare copper wire to the 4-way switch join under one wire nut with a ground pigtail to the green ground screw.
In the 4-way switch box
- The black wire from the first 3-way switch goes to one screw of the first pair.
- The red wire from the first 3-way switch goes to the other screw of the first pair.
- The black wire to the second 3-way switch goes to one screw of the second pair.
- The red wire to the second 3-way switch goes to the other screw of the second pair.
- The white wire from the first 3-way switch and the white wire to the second 3-way switch join under one wire nut.
- The bare copper wire from the first 3-way switch and the bare copper wire to the second 3-way switch join under one wire nut with a ground pigtail to the green ground screw.
In the second switch box
- The black wire from the 4-way switch goes to one brass traveler screw.
- The red wire from the 4-way switch goes to the other brass traveler screw.
- The black wire to the light goes to the dark COMMON screw.
- The white wire from the 4-way switch and the white wire to the light join under one wire nut.
- The bare copper wire from the 4-way switch and the bare copper wire to the light join under one wire nut with a ground pigtail to the green ground screw.
In the light box
- The black wire from the second 3-way switch goes to the fixture's black lead.
- The white wire from the second 3-way switch goes to the fixture's white lead.
- The bare copper wire from the second 3-way switch goes to the fixture's ground.
Parts for this box
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This job
Leviton 3-way toggle switch, 15 A A standard 3-way: a dark common screw and two brass traveler screws. About $2.37 as of October 22, 2026 Check the current price -
Every job
Klein Tools NCVT3P voltage tester The non-contact tester for proving every wire in the box is dead before you touch it. About $24.98 as of October 22, 2026 Check the current price -
Every job
Ideal Twister wire nuts, 100 bag The tan connectors that fit two to four 14 or 12 AWG wires. About $12.99 as of October 22, 2026 Check the current price
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