I know a lot of you guys/gals have probably ran into this set-up before but last week was the first time for me. Old 2 story house with a light in the downstairs dining room controlled by 2 3-way switches. Switch(es) have gone bad and the light can't be turned on. I remove a switch and find there are no markings to identify any terminal as common. Can't ring out a switch because they show no continuity between any terminals in any switch position. Each switch box contains 3 cloth covered wires- red, white and black. The white wire is a grounded conductor, the black is hot and the red rings out as a traveler between the boxes. I figure the only way to hook this up to 2 new 3-way switches is to connect the "traveler" to the common terminals and the hot/neutral wires matched up to the traveler terminals. It worked but I am at a loss as to why anyone would choose such a complicated 3-way set-up. I figure that in one switch position the neutral is broken to the light and in the other position the hot is broken. Can anybody offer any insight to this wiring method?
