Is There Such Thing as a 3-Way Switch Loop? What's the Difference Between a 3-Way and a Switch Loop?

As a 30 year vet of electrical work, It is always feed down on the white and up on the black! The reason is that when you see a white tied to a black in the ceiling you know its a down feed to the switch and the black remains a known hot that is hooked up on the device. Down on the white Up on the black!

Never have I ever heard this explained so elequently. As a handyman I ran into this working on my aunt's 70's townhouse when I updated the three way kitchen switches. I fumbled with this for 2 hours until I called an electrician to help. It took him about a half hour until he figured out the hot was in the light fixture and was able to wire it properly. Now I understand that this was a three way switch loop.

Sir, I have to tell you (from someone who never comments) that I really appreciate your teaching methods. Very straight forward, never condescending. You can teach to complete inexperienced and seasoned electricians alike. As someone who teaches and also is electrician, I must give you credit for this great work. Thank you for delivering content that actually empowers and encourages others.

I LOVE this content. This dude teaches the basic fundamentals of electricity better than most seasoned electricians can! I wish more people taught it like this. I feel it would definitely help apprentices better understand and therefore, engage more with the trade and to be better workers.

I own a 1872 house in the Boondocks that had two major add-ons done, one in the 70s and one in the 80s. After weeks of watching YouTube videos on three-way switches, you are the first to explain what I found in the boxes—only three wires in each box! All the wiring in this house has that level of craziness and nothing matches today’s instructions or code books. Sometimes, I feel that I am living in a mousetrap, even though everything works. So, thank you for your excellent explanation. Retired now, I was a vocational instructor and very much appreciate the clarity of your presentation.

I am a retired handyman. Love your videos. On several occasions I came across three way circuits functioning wrong. Flip one switch and the light works. Go to the second switch and nothing happens. Flip the first one back light goes out, go to the second and light comes on. Return to the first switch and nothing happens. I eventually would find the right way to change the wiring to fix it, but perhaps you might do a video showing what is going on for others here.

I REALLY struggled with reidentification of wires, and 3ways/4ways in general, cant express enough how much I appreciate you clarifying this stuff!!

Hey Dustin so I’m an old electrician I did my apprenticeship in New York and Connecticut in the late 80 and early 90 and we did tons of those and dead end 3-ways and we never reidenified the neutral and I never got called out on it because it was just the normal way to do it. Now I mark everything how times change. Your a great teacher wish there were guys like you back then it would have moved our craft way further faster keep up the great work and don’t get burned out.

Many older homes used lights with a pull-chain for the light, thus the habit of running power to the light. Then when they started using switches, they just ran the loop to the switch, often called a "dog-leg". Today, it is common to run the hot to the switch location and "loop" the light.

This is exactly the issue I have with my house made in 1972, I have been beating my head against the wall trying to find out what was going on with my wiring. Now I know it's a 3 way switch loop. Thank you!

I once owned a house that had a 3-way switch loop, and I never could quite understand what was going on. Your drawing and explanation cleared that up. Thanks for the education!

Outstanding buddy I spent nearly a full weekend trying to fit new 3-way switches for the Mrs. Of course it was a perfect storm!... I'm Brit! now in Canada, we do it differently, just a DIY bloke, the house is almost a hundred years old with 70s wiring, no re-identification marks, and guess what, it was a 3-way, switch loop! Your video of the 3WSL was the only one I stumbled across, not knowing what to search for! I was at least gratified to hear you say that your electrician was confused. Magic, her switches now work. Thanks

I’ve come across this twice in California and both times I figured it out thru process of elimination. But you made it clear how the current travels. So thank you for being so informative.

I must say you have an elegant way of teaching people and it is absolutely outstanding. I did not learn anything from watching your video I knew all this already but was just Amaze how well you are able to explain this to somebody who doesn't know. Kudos to you for your teaching abilities.

Thanks dude, I'm a beginner and just 21 years old so having access to videos like this is awesome.

You have a way of explaining things that makes it so easy to understand. 3-way switching is a complex concept to most people, but it really is simple.

Hey, Dustin, very good video. You keep getting better at explaining these concepts. The digital whiteboard is a big step up. A tiny bit of constructive feedback, if I may: Even though I already thoroughly understand this material it was a little confusing to me, as a "visual learner", to follow the drawings at times. Use a coil in a circle to represent a lightbulb. The architectural symbol with its four protruding wire-looking things is unnecessarily busy. It took me a second to realize that the light fixture is supposed to be in the ceiling box and not in a different location. Consider using a light grey as a background or outline color to define the boundaries between different locations or areas. Finally, When possible redraw the conductors on the side they're entering an outlet rather than drawing in 'hops'. This will help declutter the image.

Before I started watching your channel anything electrical scared me so I never dared touch it and this stems back to a bad shock I got when I was 20. Now I do my own electrical (simple residential in my own places only) and licensed electricians say they like my attention to detail. You're an awesome teacher and this video is an awesome troubleshooting and explanatory video.

This explained everything I had questions regarding 3-way. Well Done. Thank you.

My house was built in 1995 in NYC! It has been a nightmare trying to upgrade to a smart home! Every switch in my home has used the white neutral as a hot, even in three ways. The switch loop that Dustin explained is exactly my scenario. Please do a video showing some fixes. I have invested so much money in smart fixtures just to have them sitting around with no solution. Dustin you are the only one I trust to show me the proper way to remedy this Mess.