A kitchen light controlled by two switches went from working fine to not at all. I removed the light fixture and checked for power. Neither switch gives me power . Both switches are getting power. The rest of the lights on the breaker are good. Any ideas where to start ? Thanks

you got power to switch right but nothing leaving the switch , your switch is bad

you did check right at switch right ?

Disclaimer: Not an Electrician
My least favorite things to troubleshoot are ... it was all working fine before. The likelihood of both switches going bad at the same time has a lower probability than- A switch that was thought to be bad was wired wrong with a traveler wire and common in the wrong position, most likely with the first switch in the circuit. Also if you have wire nut terminations behind the switch make sure all connections are tight. You can check continuity across the switch to make sure its working.

You should have power all the time to the common on one of the switches no matter what position either switch is in. The switch leg going to the lights should be on the common of the other switch. The position of the travelers doesn't matter then. Make sure all neutrals are together and both switches should work if the light fixture is good. If it doesn't work then it could be a switch. It's sometimes hard to tell which switch. Either change one and try the light, or just go ahead and change both switches. Unless one is a dimmer, 3way switches are not expensive.

^^^^^Yep^^^^^

Chris

I agree likely a bad switch, Probably a good time to replace both switches. Just be sure to identify the common screw on the new ones. It is usually a different color, than other two. 3 way way circuits baffle a lot of folks. My dad an electrician , taught me to draw a picture of the circuit, if it was confusing. Trying to explain a 4 way switch , circuit to someone , without a picture, can be interesting. Old243

You should have power coming into only one switch, not both. So my guess is one of the switches is bad, the one that feeds this 3 way light. It’s bad so is sending power to the other switch but not to the light. Disconnect the switch with multiple 3 wires in the box, then check if there is power at the other switch? If not you found your bad switch and replace it.

Here is a common way to do this. A 2 wire into switch box provides power. A 3 wire comes out of switch box going to other switch bow. Then a 2 wire from second switch box goes to light. In this scenario you should disconnect the switch in the first box described above. If after doing that you have power coming into that box but none at the other switch then you found your problem, replace the switch you disconnected.

There are other ways to hook up a 3 way light system but this is the most common.

Tell us what you find.

The first thing I would do is check the bulb in the fixture. You didn't mention that. If the bulb is good then I would check the continuity across each switch. IF you have continuity across both switches then either the fixture is the problem or you have a compromised wire where you can't see it. Again, get out the ohm meter to check each wire. But my guess is that the simplest explanation is the correct explanation. 1. bad bulb 2. bad switch 3 bad connection

A meter or non-contact voltage tester is needed. A meter is better.

One of the two switches will have a constant hot in the box... It should be attached to the common screw which is often black colored (not always) but is different from the other two in some way. If you don't have power coming in to one of the boxes to a common screw you have an issue elsewhere.

If you have power to the common screw then you have to see if power is coming out of the first switch on both of the travelers (one at a time depending on the toggle position) and headed to the second switch. If you have power leaving the first switch, check for power coming in on the travelers at the second switch (one at a time depending on the position of the toggle of the first switch). If there is no power then there is a break in one or both travelers between the switches... Not likely but still a possibility.

If you have power coming in on the travelers to the second switch but nothing coming out of the common connection going to the light (depending on toggle position of 2nd switch)... Then the second switch is bad.

If you have power coming in and going out at both switches, your problem is either in the box at the fixture, or the fixture itself. Pull the bulb and look at the base of it... If there is carbon and signs of arcing on the base of the bulb, check the tab down in the socket. Expansion and contraction will weaken the tab and it will end up being pushed to the bottom of the socket and not contacting the bulb base. You can bend the tab back up, BUT MAKE SURE IT ISN'T ENERGIZED BEFORE YOU DO.

If you have power everywhere you should, but nothing works, try a different bulb. If that doesn't work check the neutral connections wherever they are spliced together (you can do this as you go through checking everything else). If your meter shows voltage but it's low or moves up and down, take a good look at all the neutral connections.

This isn't an exhaustive list of things to check but it's a good start.

Mike

Mikes description of a bad socket , in the light fixture , might well be the problem. Older light fixtures usually had porcelain sockets. Today the socket is usually plastic. The connecting leads are usually spotted or crimped on . the outer neutral shell likely aluminum rather than copper. Leads to corrosion. Stuff made as cheap as possible today.
May sound, a bit stupid, but use your nose, usually you will smell a burned bakelite smell , where a connection is heating. Happy huntin old243

Got it ! Had a loose wire at a stab connection. Went ahead and replaced both switches and used the screw connections. Back to working now. Thanks to all !

Never use those push in locations on a switch and especially on a receptacle. Always use the screw terminals. After a few years of use the push in spots will work loose. Loose connections causes sparking. Sparking causes heat. Heat causes fire. Fire causes.......etc.

Saw that exact thing burn down a million dollar lodge here. Loose stab connection in a light switch upstairs. A bit of sawdust in the wall cavity and a spark was all it took

Stab connections are the reason they are now requiring arc fault breakers.

Good man.

If risk of fire isn't a good enough motivator to get rid of the back stab connections... How about the fact that I've made a pile of money on service calls due to them?

It's such a common issue I'm almost ashamed I didn't think of it before anything else. Lol

Mike