Three way switch

[dakotaman728]

I am having a problem trying to figure out how to wire the three way switch. It has 4 pins and when the switch is pushed down on the top a LED comes on. Here is the order of the pins:

__ __
__
__


Any ideas would be help!

 

[Rob454]

Re: Three way switch

- on -ground
-off
-on

You can take a meter and set it for continuity. place the switch in the off pos and none of the pins should have continuityu. put it in the on position and two of the pins should have continuity. now put it in the OTHER on position. you should have continuity between another pin and one of the pins you had continuity in the first on position. not sure if that makes sense.
basically the ground pin is your starting point. then as you place the switch in the on position on one side the continuity shoud flow between the ground and one of the pins. when you place the switch in the other on position you should have continuity from the ground and the other pin and NO continuity to the other on position.
basically you have two switches in one switch they share a ground

 

[dakotaman728]

Re: Three way switch

Thanks for the reply and I will try that out tomorrow!

 

[180Diablo]

Re: Three way switch

Thanks also rob, helped me in figuring out how to check for any continuity for my switches. I have no bow nav lights currently, bulb looks ok. Switch housing is broken (cracked) but the tip still lights up. This long weekend i'll be taking a look at the socket to see if thats the problem instead. But I still need to order 3 new switches regardless.

Also had a question, to check for current off the switch to the bow socket, would I just set my multimeter to DC mode, put the positive on one wire and the negative on the other wire and then flip the switch? If I happen to get a reading then I assume that means there IS current going up to the socket. If there is no reading, then I assume its either the switch or the wiring that is bad. So then if there is current, but no continuity, then I have myself a bad socket (or dirty connections).