Home electrical-low voltage?

Question

i am hooking up a new 4-way switch in my livingroom,i have the swiches all working but im only getting 30 volts ac at the light instead of 110v,do you think ive got a loose nuetral or a bad switch(there all new)?

Answer 1

You most probably don't have a neutral at the switch but there should be a neutral going directly to the light.

Answer 2

the 30 volts is a phantom voltage that is caused by the circuit not being wired correctly.

Are you using the correct combination of switches in the right place. You need both 3 and 4 way switches for the installation you describe.

Eric

Answer 3

It should be wired like below.

+-----<====x====>----light---neutral__...

+__3way    4way    3way__light__neutral__________

If you have problems, get an electrician to do it.

Answer 4

it could be voltage drop how many feet is it from the breaker and the light? what gauge wire is it using?

There could be to much load on the branch cir.

Answer 5

Here's an article on how to wire the three switches to the light:

http://www.wiringhelp.com/electrical/ele...

You need two three way (SPDT) and one four way (DPDT) to do this job.  There is no way you are going to drop 90V in your wiring unless you have several lights or appliances wired in series instead of parallel.  What did you measure the voltage with?  If you used a meter, did you set it on AC voltage measurement (not DC)?  If you can't figure this one out, you'd better hire a pro to look it over.