Can I wire 3-way switches so that when they are both in the same orientation the light will be off?

Question

I replaced my 3-way switches. Is it possible to have either switch shut the light off, by pulling down on the toggles Either switch does shut the light off, but then one toggle is up, and the other is down. I want both to be down after shutting the light off. If there is a way, can you give a diagram of how to wire it?

Answer 1

There are four possible combinations of two 3-way switches:

1. Both up
2. Both down
3. First up, second down
4. First down, second up

Two of these will have the light or fixture on, two will have it off. I prefer #1 and #2 to be "off", with #3 and #4 on.

If your light is off for #3 and #4, and you'd prefer it the other way, you can exchange the traveller wires at (only) one of the two switches. The travellers are generally connected to two silver screws, with the common wire on a darker screw.

Answer 2

Just mount one switch bottom-up, or invert the two travelers if you can't mechanically 'rotate' the switch.

Answer 3

There is no way to achieve what you want with 3-way toggle switches, either thru wiring or physical orientation of the switch. During use they will often be mismatched. The only solution to get them to be uniform and to match the current lights operation is to use a push button type switch, lutron and creston make some nice ones, but they are not cheap. Google Image Search "Lutron Maestro Switch".