Detailed wiring diagram for a pass-through switch, detailed step-by-step guide. Connection diagram for a pass-through switch: connect step by step from two and three places Connecting a pass-through light switch with one key

⚡ Pass-through switches allow you to control lighting from two or more different places at once. The article presents a detailed connection diagram for the pass-through switch, as well as step-by-step photo instructions.

You are invited to familiarize yourself with the operating features of pass-through switches, the main options for their connection and the installation instructions themselves.

Why are pass-through switches needed?

Most often, such switches are used in the following places:

• on the stairs. You can install switches on the 1st and 2nd floors. We turn on the lights at the bottom, go up the stairs, and turn them off at the top. For houses with a height of more than two floors, additional switches can be added to the circuit;
• in the bedrooms. We install a switch at the entrance to the room, and another one or even two near the bed. We entered the bedroom, turned on the light, got ready for bed, lay down and turned off the lighting with a device installed near the bed;
• in the corridors. We install a switch at the beginning and at the end of the corridor. We go in, turn on the light, reach the end, turn it off.

The list can be continued for a very long time, because for almost every situation there is its own option for using a pass-through switch system.

Advantages and disadvantages

• Energy saving;
• Ease of use in long corridors and bedrooms.

• Electrical skills required;
• Pass-through switches are much more expensive than conventional switches.

Switch installation diagrams

There are several options for connecting the devices in question. We bring to your attention the most popular and successful of them.

The system is assembled from two single-type pass-through switches.

Each of these devices has one contact at the input and a pair of contacts at the output.

Prices for pass-through switch

pass-through switch

The “zero” wire is connected from the power source through the distribution box to the lighting fixture. The phase cable, also passing through the box, is connected to the common contact of the first switch. The output contacts of this switch are connected via a box to the output contacts of the next device.

Finally, the wire from the common contact of the 2nd switch is connected to the lighting fixture via a junction box.

There is an option that allows you to control different groups of lighting fixtures from two places. For example, we need to organize the ability to control lighting in a room directly from the room itself and from the adjacent corridor. There is a chandelier with 5 lights. We can install a pass-through switch system to turn on and off two groups of light bulbs in our chandelier.

The diagram shows the option of dividing the light bulbs into 2 groups. One has 3, the other has 2. The number of lighting fixtures in groups can change at the discretion of the owner.

To set up such a system, we also use 2 pass-through switches, but they must be of a double type, and not single, as in the previous version.

The double switch design has 2 contacts at the input and 4 at the output. Otherwise, the connection procedure remains similar to the previous method, only the number of cables and controlled lighting fixtures changes.

Find out what it looks like, and also read the step-by-step connection instructions in our article.

This connection method differs from previous options only in that a cross switch is added to the circuit. This device has 2 contacts at the input and a similar number of contacts at the output.

You have become familiar with the most popular installation schemes for pass-through switches. However, the number of such devices does not necessarily have to be limited to two or three. If necessary, the circuit can be expanded to include the required number of devices. The principle of operation remains the same for all cases: at the beginning and at the end of the circuit, a single pass-through switch with three contacts is installed, and cross devices with four contacts are used as intermediate elements.

We install switches to control lighting from three different places

If there are usually no problems with setting up a system to control lighting from two different places, because Since the circuit has a simple form, installing three switches can cause certain difficulties for an unprepared installer.

We will look at how to install a system of two pass-through and one crossover switches. By analogy, you can assemble a circuit from a larger number of devices.

Before starting any further work, turn off the power supply.

To do this, find the corresponding switch in the in-house electrical panel or in the panel on the site (for apartment owners). Additionally, make sure that there is no voltage in the switch wires using a special indicator screwdriver. Also perform a similar check at the installation locations of the devices.

Set for work

1. Flathead and Phillips screwdrivers.
2. Wire stripping tool. Can be replaced with a regular knife.
3. Side cutters or pliers.
4. Level.
5. Indicator screwdriver.
6. Hammer.
7. Roulette.

To install, we must first prepare grooves in the wall for laying electrical cables, power the wires and extend them to the locations of the installed devices.

Prices for Legrand switches

Legrand switch

To drill concrete walls, it is most convenient to use a hammer drill. If the partitions are made of limestone, it is better to make the indentations using a chisel, because In such material, the punch will leave a groove that is too wide and deep, which will make fixing the wire difficult and will require more cement or plaster consumption in the future.

Connection diagram for pass-through switch
for lighting control from 4 places

It is not recommended to use a hammer drill for chipping brick walls - it can split the masonry. In such a situation, the only safe solution is to lay it in pre-adapted joints between the masonry elements.

Wooden walls are not grooved - the wires are laid in special protective boxes. Most often, the cable is pulled under the baseboard and brought out directly under the switch installation site.

First step. We begin the work by connecting the wires to the electrical panel. There should not be any difficulties at this stage - modern devices allow you to connect up to 8 or more wires at once.

First you need to determine the optimal cable cross-section. Domestic power grids can hardly be called stable. The current strength in them constantly fluctuates, and in moments of overload it even increases to dangerous values. To avoid problems with wiring, we use copper wires with a cross-section of 2.5 mm 2.

Second step. Select a convenient height for installing switches. At this point, we focus entirely on our preferences.

Third step. Having decided on the installation height of the switches, we proceed to gating. The width and depth of the grooves are 1.5 times larger than the diameter of the wire.

Important point! The wires are connected to the switches from below, so we install the groove 5-10 cm below the installation points of the switches. This requirement is relevant from a purely practical point of view, because in such conditions, working with cables is easier and more convenient.

Fourth step. We lay the wires in grooves. We fix the wiring elements with small nails. We drive nails into the wall so that they support the cable and prevent it from falling out. Before attaching the wires, we need to place them under the switch (installation box). We will consider this point in the main section of the instructions. We will plaster the grooves after installing all the switches, making sure that the system is working.

Nom. current, A	Cable cross-section, mm2	Permissible cable current, A	Cable outer diameter, mm
16	2x1.5	20	13
16	3x1.5	18	13,6
40	2x2.5	27	14,6
40	3x4	32	17,6
63	1x10	75	13,2
63	2x10	60	21,6
63	3x16	70	24,9
100, 160	1x16	100	14,2
100, 160	2x25	100	27
100, 160	3x25	118	31,2

Fifth step. We make holes for installing switches according to the size of the devices used.

Let's move on to the main stage of work.

Installing switches

First step. We turn it on under the switch. We cut the cables so that approximately 100 mm of their length remains in the installation box. Side cutters or pliers will help us with this. We remove approximately 1-1.5 cm of insulation from the ends of the wires.

Second step. Install the pass-through switch. We connect the phase cable (in our example it is white) to the terminal marked in the form of the letter L. We connect the remaining two cables to the terminals marked with arrows.

In your case, the color of the cables may vary. Don't know how to lay and connect the wires in the junction box? Then do the following. Turn off the electricity and find the phase. An indicator screwdriver will help you. A phase is a live cable. It is this that you connect to the terminal with the letter L, and the remaining wires are randomly connected to the terminals marked with arrows.

Third step. We install the cross switch. 4 wires are connected to it. We have a pair of cables, each of which has blue and white cores.

Let's understand the order of terminal markings on the switch. At the top we see a pair of arrows pointing “inside” the device, while at the bottom they are pointing “away” from it.

We connect the first pair of cables from the previously installed pass-through switch to the terminals at the top. We connect the remaining two cables to the terminals below.

To find live cables, we turn on the electricity and find the phases one by one. First, we determine the first one by changing the position of the key of the first pass-through switch. We find the next phase on the crossover switch cables. Next, we just have to connect the remaining wires to the terminals below.

Fourth step. Let's start connecting the last switch. We need to find the cables in it through which the voltage from the crossover switch flows. Our cables are blue and yellow. We connect them to the terminals marked with arrows. The white cable remains. We connect it to the terminal marked with the letter L.

Prices for two-key switches

two-gang switches

We already know the procedure for identifying live cables. In the case of the second switch, we need to connect a wire that will not have voltage to the L terminal.

Fifth step. Carefully insert the device mechanisms into the mounting boxes. We carefully bend the wires to the base. We secure the devices. Fasteners in the mounting box or “claws” for clamping mechanisms will help us with this.

Sixth step.

Seventh step.

In conclusion, all we have to do is connect the lighting fixtures with the wires coming from the junction boxes, check the correct operation of the system and seal the strobes.

Good luck!

Video - Connection diagram for pass-through switch

First of all, before choosing and purchasing, you need to decide what it is - a pass-through switch, what it is needed for, and how it differs from the usual one, two and three-key switches.

A single-key pass-through switch is necessary to control one circuit or lighting line from several points located in different parts of the room or the entire house. That is, with one switch you turn on the lighting when entering a room or corridor, and with another, but at a different point, you turn off the same lighting.

Very often this is used in bedrooms. I went into the bedroom and turned on the light near the door. I lay down on the bed and turned off the light at the headboard or near the bedside table.
In two-story mansions, he turned on the light bulb on the first floor, climbed the stairs to the second and turned it off there.

Selection, design and differences of pass-through switches

Before assembling such a control scheme, here is what you should pay special attention to:

1 To connect a pass-through light switch you need three-wire cable - VVGng-Ls 3*1.5 or NYM 3*1.5mm2
2 Do not try to assemble a similar circuit using ordinary switches.

The main difference between regular and pass-through ones is the number of contacts. Simple single-key ones have two terminals for connecting wires (input and output), while pass-through ones have three!

In simple terms, the lighting circuit can be either closed or open, there is no third option.

It is more correct to call a pass-through not a switch, but a switch.

Since it switches the circuit from one working contact to another.

In appearance, from the front they can be absolutely identical. Only the pass key can have an icon of vertical triangles. However, do not confuse them with reversible or crossover ones (more about them below). These triangles point in a horizontal direction.

But from the reverse side you can immediately see the difference:

• the pass-through has 1 terminal on top and 2 on the bottom

• a regular one has 1 on top and 1 on the bottom

Due to this parameter, many people confuse them with two-key ones. However, two-key ones are also not suitable here, although they also have three terminals.

The significant difference is in the operation of the contacts. When one contact is closed, pass-through switches automatically close the other, but two-key switches do not have such a function.

Moreover, there is no intermediate position when both circuits are open at the gateway.

Connecting a pass-through switch

First of all, you need to correctly connect the switch itself in the socket box. Remove the key and the overhead frames.

When disassembled, you can easily see the three contact terminals.

The most important thing is to find the common one. On high-quality products, a diagram should be drawn on the reverse side. If you understand them, you can easily navigate through it.

If you have a budget model, or any electrical circuits are a bit of a mystery to you, then an ordinary Chinese tester in circuit continuity mode, or an indicator screwdriver with a battery, will come to the rescue.

Using the tester's probes, alternately touch all the contacts and look for the one on which the tester will “squeak” or show “0” at any position of the ON or OFF key. It's even easier to do this with an indicator screwdriver.

After you have found the common terminal, you need to connect the phase from the power cable to it. Connect the remaining two wires to the remaining terminals.

Moreover, which one goes where does not make a significant difference. The switch is assembled and secured in the socket box.

Do the same operation with the second switch:

• look for the common terminal

• connect the phase conductor to it, which will go to the light bulb

• connect two other wires to the remaining ones

Connection diagram for the pass-through switch wires in the distribution box

Scheme without grounding conductor

Now the most important thing is to correctly assemble the circuit in the junction box. Four 3-core cables should go into it:

• power cable from lighting circuit breaker

• cable to switch No. 1

• cable to switch No. 2

• cable for lamp or chandelier

When connecting wires, it is most convenient to orient them by color. If you use a three-core VVG cable, then it has two most common color markings:

• white (gray) - phase

• blue - zero

• yellow green - earth

or second option:

• White gray)

• brown

• black

To choose a more correct phasing in the second case, follow the tips from the article ""

1 Assembly begins with neutral conductors.

Connect the neutral conductor from the cable of the input machine and the neutral going to the lamp at one point using the terminals of the car.

2 Next, you need to connect all the grounding conductors, if you have a grounding conductor.

Similar to the neutral wires, you combine the “ground” from the input cable with the “ground” of the outgoing cable for lighting.

This wire is connected to the lamp body.

3 All that remains is to connect the phase conductors correctly and without errors.

The phase from the input cable must be connected to the phase of the outgoing wire to the common terminal of the pass-through switch No. 1.

And connect the common wire from pass-through switch No. 2 with a separate wago clamp to the phase conductor of the lighting cable.

Having completed all these connections, all that remains is to connect the secondary (outgoing) conductors from switch No. 1 and No. 2 to each other. And it doesn’t matter at all how you connect them.

You can even mix up the colors. But it’s better to stick to the colors so as not to get confused in the future.

The basic connection rules in this diagram that you need to remember:

• the phase from the machine must go to the common conductor of the first switch

• and the same phase should go from the common conductor of the second switch to the light bulb

• the remaining two auxiliary conductors are connected to each other in the junction box

• zero and ground are supplied directly to the light bulbs without switches

Changeover switches - lighting control circuit from 3 places

But what if you want to control one lighting from three or more points. That is, there will be 3, 4, etc. switches in the circuit. It would seem that you need to take another pass-through switch and that’s it.

However, a switch with three terminals will no longer work here. Since there will be four connected wires in the junction box.

Here a changeover switch, or as it is also called a cross, cross, or intermediate switch, will come to your aid. Its key difference is that it has four outlets - two at the bottom and two at the top.

And it is installed precisely in the gap between two passageways. Find in the junction box two secondary (not main) wires from the first and second pass-through switch.

You disconnect them and connect a changeover between them. Connect the wires that come from the first to the input (follow the arrows), and those that go to the second to the output terminals.

Always check the diagram on the switches! It often happens that their entrance and exit are on the same side (top and bottom). For example, the connection diagram for a Legrand Valena changeover switch:

Naturally, there is no need to stuff the changeover itself into the junction box. It is enough to lead the ends of a 4-core cable from it there. Meanwhile, you place the switch itself in any convenient place - near the bed, in the middle of a long corridor, etc. You can turn the light on and off from anywhere.

The most important advantage of this circuit is that it can be changed indefinitely and add as many changeover switches as you like. That is, there will always be two passing ones (at the beginning and the end), and in the interval between them there will be 4, 5 or at least 10 crossover ones.

Connection errors

Many people make a mistake at the stage of searching and connecting the common terminal in the pass-through switch. Without checking the circuit, they naively believe that the common terminal is the one with only one contact.

They assemble a circuit in this way, and then for some reason the switches do not work correctly (they depend on each other).

Remember that on different switches the common contact can be anywhere!

And it is best to call it, what is called “live”, with a tester or an indicator screwdriver.

Most often, this problem is encountered when installing or replacing pass-through switches from different companies. If everything worked before, but after replacing one circuit the circuit stopped working, it means the wires were mixed up.

But there may also be an option that the new switch is not pass-through at all. Also remember that the lighting inside the product cannot in any way affect the switching principle itself.

Another common mistake is incorrectly connecting crossovers. When both wires are placed from pass-through No. 1 to the upper contacts, and from No. 2 to the lower ones. Meanwhile, the cross switch has a completely different circuit and switching mechanism. And you need to connect the wires crosswise.

Flaws

1 The first of the disadvantages of pass-through switches is the lack of a specific ON/OFF key position, which is found in conventional ones.

If your light bulb burns out and needs to be replaced, with such a scheme it is not immediately possible to understand whether the light is on or off.

It will be unpleasant when, when replacing, the lamp may simply explode in front of your eyes. In this case, the easiest and most reliable way is to turn off the automatic lighting in the panel.

2 The second drawback is the large number of connections in junction boxes.

And the more light points you have, the greater the number of them will be in the distribution boxes. Connecting the cable directly according to diagrams without junction boxes reduces the number of connections, but can significantly increase either the cable consumption or the number of its cores.

If your wiring goes under the ceiling, you will have to lower the wire from there to each switch, and then lift it back up. The best option here is to use pulse relays.

A correctly assembled double switch connection diagram allows you to control two different lighting groups from two places independently of each other. Two two-key pass-through switches will operate in two directions.

Installation instructions:

1. Two two-key switches are mounted at selected locations in installation boxes (socket boxes).
2. All groups of connected lighting are placed: lamps, sconces or a chandelier with several points of light. Each light source must be connected to one three-wire cable: phase (L), protective (ground), working zero (N).
3. A cable of the required length (3x1.5 mm2) is selected, taking into account the fact that 6 contacts - two three-core cables - are suitable for the switches.
4. In the distribution box (BK), the wires are connected according to the diagram.
5. It is possible to install such a circuit using four single pass-through switches, but replacement will not be rational. Installing double pass-through switches is more profitable, as it saves cables and junction boxes.

A double pass-through switch can be converted into a single crossover switch. To do this, the contacts are connected to each other, and the keys are secured together to work together at the same time.

much simpler and can help organize control of electric lighting from two points.

You can find out how to choose and install the right ventilation system for a country house by clicking here.

Also, any pass-through switch can be used as a regular one. In this case, one of the contacts is either not connected at all, or is also connected for another independent adjustment of the existing lighting line. Now you know how to properly connect, or as electricians say, disconnect, a two-key pass-through switch.

Typically, one lighting structure is controlled by one electrical switch. That is, the chandelier located in the living room can only be turned off from the living room.

In addition, one switching device is usually installed per room, at the entrance. With its help, the electric lighting lamps in this room are controlled.

But there are often cases when this method of controlling lamps is inconvenient.

When the classic scheme may be inconvenient:

So, there are quite a lot of cases when a person needs duplicate rocker switches. Will come to the rescue in each of them a device that allows you to turn lamps on and off from different rooms, different keys and independently of each other.

This method is very practical and in addition to general convenience helps save energy. With the help of a pass-through electric switch, there is no need to leave the light on, for example, on the porch, all night. You can simply turn it on from the top floor as needed and turn it off near the front door.

A pass-through switch (switch) differs from a standard switching device in one design feature. It has three rather than two contacts and can switch phase from one contact to the other two in turn.

Lighting lamps connected according to this principle can be either , or . Moreover, in this way you can connect any devices, in addition to lighting, requiring a similar on/off circuit.

Schematic features

The installation diagram for this type of device is not complicated, but requires care.

IMPORTANT! At the stage of creating wiring in places where you plan to install changeover structures, you need to lay a three-core cable to the first two, and if you want to install a larger number of switches, you need to stretch a four-core cable to the next ones.

To create this type of lighting control from two places, you will need pass-through switches with two switching positions and three contacts. Wherein switching must be reversible, that is, the first node will be common to the remaining two. In one of the switching positions it closes the first, and in the other - the subsequent contact. The closedness of three connections at once is excluded in this design.

If we consider the components of a power line circuit with two reversible switching structures, then it includes:

• Junction box, otherwise called branch box. Serves to protect electrical cable connections.
• It is installed in every room, and in large rooms there are several of them.
• Connecting (two, three and four-wire)
• Two pass-through switching devices
• Directly lamp

An example of pass-through switches from two places looks like this:

• The “zero” wire goes from the source to the branch box, and after it to the lamp.
• The wire goes from the same source to the same box, and then to the common contact of the first switch.
• The changeover contacts (two) of switch 1 are connected through a junction box to the same parts of switch 2.
• The phase from the common contact of switch 2 goes to another electrical unit of the lamp.

An approximate diagram of connecting a pass-through from two places is shown in the photo below:

Installing a control system for one lighting fixture from two points is simple. He is done as follows:

• Install reversible switching structures in the required places
• Remove three-wire cables from them
• Mount an electric lamp, or several, connected in parallel
• Remove the two-core cable from it (them)
• Install the connecting pipe. The choice of location for it is determined by the shortest cable length and convenient access to the box itself
• from power supply, changeover structures and electric lighting devices
• Connect them as described above

With this connection, four contacts (two pairs) from both points are connected to each other. To turn on the lighting, the phase goes to the lighting device from the common node of the electrical switch 2.

As an example, we suggest you watch a video that shows a diagram of connecting pass-through switches from two places:

Step-by-step installation

Installation of pass-through switches is possible both with and hidden type of wiring. You can do it yourself, subject to several safety rules:

• Turn off the power to the apartment before starting work.
• Attentively check where the phase is located and where the zero is.
• Connect the wires with a neat twist, crimp and insulate them.
• Hard secure on the surfaces there is a branch box and electrical accessories.
• Determine the power of the lighting device and select a three-core cable of the appropriate cross-section based on the power consumption of electricity.

Connection diagram for a pass-through switch from two places:

Due to their design, redundant electrical switches do not have a specific “on/off” position your key. The two connecting nodes in this design are in the “closed/open” position depending on the position of the electrical contacts of the other switch. Consequently, the position of the key when the light is off will be different each time.

You can quickly get used to this feature of use and use the pass-through switches without interference.

Alternative

An alternative to pass-through redundant switches can be bistable relays or electric lamps equipped with motion and light sensors.

Bistable relays are more profitable to install, if you need to control the lighting not with two, but with four or more electrical switches. Lamps with are not as practical as a pass-through switch. The speed of movement, the number of stops and other factors will influence the constant on/off of electric lighting, which is extremely inconvenient.

The convenience of using pass-through electrical switches in everyday life has made the above-described control scheme for lighting lamps very popular. Currently, it is difficult to imagine a residential or industrial building where reversible switching structures are not used.

Noticeable energy savings lead to the widespread installation of such devices.
It is not at all difficult to implement this type of control of electric lighting devices in your home if you follow the recommendations given in our article and follow safety precautions.

In conclusion, we invite you to watch another informative and interesting video about the connection diagram and installation of pass-through switches from 2 places:

Greetings to all my readers! In the next article, I will tell you, by popular demand, how to control lighting from two, three, four, five, etc. places

Now I will show a more complex circuit for controlling lighting from three or more places.

This can be done, for example, using cross switches. What are they and what do they look like? But let's talk about everything in order.

Where in the house might you need to turn on the lights from three places?

Yes, basically anywhere, for example in the bedroom, install a switch at each bedside table plus a switch near the door.

We went into the bedroom, turned on the light near the door, then went to bed and turned off the light by the bedside table - you will agree that this is convenient.

Another option is to illuminate a long corridor, then you can conditionally divide it into three sections and place a switch at the beginning of each section.

Or another way is to illuminate the entrance to a three-story building. We entered the entrance, turned on the light, went up to our floor, turned it off. Residents of the entrance can turn on and off the entrance lighting on any floor.

Important note: in this case, the lighting will turn on/off simultaneously on three floors!

If you need to control each lamp individually from any floor (for example, on the first floor to control a lamp on the third floor or on the second floor on the first floor, etc.), then you will have to assemble a separate control circuit for each lamp from three or more places.

Yes, by the way, the circuit for controlling lighting from three places is universal, it can be easily extended to control from four, six, ten or more places))) But more on that a little later, but for now I want to start by repeating it - with a simpler circuit -

Lighting control from two places using pass-through switches

Externally, pass-through switches, and their correct name is pass-through switches, look like an ordinary single-key switch.

Why a switch? The point here is that this device is any key position does not break the electrical circuit, but only switches from one contact to another. that's why- switches .

Here is a typical lighting control scheme from two places using pass-through switches:

When you press the key of any switch, you can turn the lamp on/off, regardless of the position of the other switch.

I show the phase wire in red, the neutral wire in blue, the switches are labeled No. 1 and No. 2 for convenience.

When you press the key of switch No. 2, the light will go out, since the phase wire in it “breaks” at the place where the red line ends (the green arrow shows in which direction the contact moves):

After this, press the key of the pass-through switch No. 1 and turn on the lamp - the path of electric current through the phase wire is indicated by a red line (this will be the case in all the figures below):

We press the key of the pass-through switch No. 2, the contact flips up and extinguishes the lighting lamp:

Then we press switch No. 1, its contact flips up and turns on the light bulb:

This is how the pass-through switch circuit works to control lighting from two places. In principle, it is not difficult to remember it, despite its apparent complexity.

The main thing is to find the common terminal of the contact on the switch, that is, the terminal in which it does not switch and where the contact is fixed on one side.

Having found these terminals on both switches, we simply connect the phase wire to this terminal to one switch, and the wire from the light bulb to the second.

And we connect the two remaining terminals between the switches in any order - it doesn’t matter. The neutral wire, as usual in the switch circuit, goes to the light bulb directly through the junction box.

In total, this pass-through switch circuit will have 5 wire connections in the distribution box.

By the way, pass-through switches can also be double - that is, two separate independent pass-through switches are placed in one housing; it looks like a regular two-key switch and has six terminals.

Lighting control from three or more places

To do this you will need, as I already mentioned, a cross switch. I won’t show a photo of it, since it also looks like an ordinary single-key switch.

The only external difference is four terminals on the reverse side for connecting wires.

Just like double crossover switches, there are also double crossover switches; they have eight terminals for connecting wires.

So, in order to control the lighting from three places, you will need two pass-through switches and one cross switch.

Pass-through switches are installed at the beginning and end of the line, and crossover switches are installed between them; here is a diagram for connecting pass-through and crossover switches:

Why is the cross switch so named? The fact is that two independent electrical lines pass through this switch and it switches them into a cross.

To understand this, I made two drawings. Figure one - a crossover switch connects electrical lines directly in parallel:

But in this diagram, the electrical lines cross each other, hence the name “cross”:

Well, now in more detail -

How does a three-way lighting control circuit work using pass-through and crossover switches?

The cross switch is designated by the letter X (X). The operation of the circuit is indicated by analogy with the above-described circuit of pass-through switches.

Imagine that this is lighting control in the entrance of a three-story building. Pass switch No. 1 is installed on the 1st floor, cross switch is installed on the 2nd floor, and pass switch No. 2 is installed on the third floor.

So, turn on the light (press switch key No. 1) - the light is on, the electric current passes through the phase wire as shown in the red line:

We go up to the second floor and check the cross switch - press the button, the light turns on:

Press the key back and turn off the light:

We go up to the third floor to the second pass-through switch, press its button - the light turns on:

We leave pass-through switch No. 2 in this position, go down to the 2nd floor and press the cross switch key - turn off the light:

Again, we leave the cross switch in this position and go down to the first floor, press the key of the first pass-through switch - the light turns on:

This is how the lighting control circuit works from three places using pass-through and cross switches.

With this scheme, there will already be 7 connections in the junction box.

If it is necessary to control the lighting not from three, but from four, five or more places, then simply add the required number of cross switches between the passages, that’s all!

For example, here’s what I drew in this diagram:

If you control each light bulb from any floor, then you will have to install three switches on each floor - on the first and third floor there are three pass-through switches, and on the second floor there are three cross switches.

And collect three such circuits - one circuit for each lamp. You can make one double switch, one simple pass-through switch on the first and third floors, and on the second floor you can also make one double cross switch and plus a single cross switch - in this case, there will be two installation boxes for switches on each floor.

But you still have to collect three circuits)))

That's all for me, I hope I clearly explained the circuits of pass-through switches?

Finally, a video on the topic

“How to find the common terminal (clamp) of a pass-through switch”

I will be glad to see your comments, if you have any technical questions, please ask them on the forum, that’s where I answer questions - .

Question: “There are two bedside lamps with separate switches by the bed.
There is a switch by the door. How can I make sure that when I turn on the switch at the door, both lamps turn on, and then at the bed I can turn off one of them or both using the nearby switches?”

Answer: " You will take the very first diagram from this article and add another lamp and another switch to it (duplicate the right side of this diagram). Connect the neutral wire from the second lamp to the zero in front of the first lamp, connect the two wires from the second switch to the corresponding wires coming from the switch at the entrance of the room (the wires between the first and second switches in the diagram from this article). Everything will work, but if you had one lamp on by the bed, the input switch will turn it off, but will light the one that was not on. Explanatory picture below:”

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