These tandem breakers are not to be confused with a double pole breaker which would take up two spaces in the panel and provide 240 volts. If you are needing to add just one 120 volt circuit to the panel then replacing one regular single pole breaker with one tandem breaker will do the trick.

If you need to add a double pole breaker for a 240 volt circuit then you would need to remove 4 regular single pole breakers from the panel which would open up 4 spaces and then put two tandem breakers in two of the spaces. These two tandem breakers will have the four places you need to feed the four wires from the removed breakers plus you will have the two empty spaces that you need for the new double pole breakers that you are adding.

For example, the four single pole breakers take up four spaces in the panel. Two tandem breaker only take up two spaces but give you the capability to re-feed all four wires from just two spaces in the panel, leaving you two open spaces for the new breaker.

There are a couple of things that you will need to verify before doing this. You must check the amperage rating for each single pole breaker that will be removed and make sure that the tandem breaker ratings match back up to each circuit. If all four breakers are rated at 20 amps each then you would need two tandem 20/20 breakers. You can also look at the wire size. #12 awg wire would go on a 20 amp breaker and #14 awg wire would need a 15 amp breaker.

If two were 20 amp and two were 15 amp breakers then you could get 1 tandem 20/20 and 1 tandem 15/15, or you could get two tandem 15/20 breakers.

The second thing to verify would be that all four romex cables are two conductor, in which they probably will be. You don’t want to have a 3 conductor cable that would be feeding two 120 volt circuits but using a common neutral and have those two hot wires from the same 3 conductor cable end up on a tandem breaker together. Two circuits that share a common neutral must be placed on opposite phases in the panel or you can overload the neutral.

See a Siemens Q2020 Tandem Breaker Here.

Shop For Breakers Here

3-Way Switch Diagram 1:

In the above diagram I ran up on this situation one time on a service call for a 3-way that wasn’t working right. I have to admit that upon first looking at it I had to scratch me head for a few minutes before I was able to get it working right.

This next diagram was how one was wired that I ran up on that did work and it made me wonder how it could possibly work right. After seeing how they had it wired it made sense then.

3-Way Switch Diagram 2:

I have seen 3-way switches wired about every way possible but these two had to be tops in the unusual department.

To see the answers or solutions on how to wire these to make them work just click here.

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The two common wires will be the black hot feed on one end and the load, which is the black hot wire from the switch to the light fixture, on the other end. The common lug on the three way switch will either make contact with one or the other traveler wires. If the switch is up it connects the common to traveler A and if it is switched down it makes contact from the common to traveler B.

The constant hot feed is hooked to the common lug on one end so it sends the hot to the other switch on one or the other traveler wires. When the hot feed reaches the other three way switch depending on which traveler wire is making contact with that switches common lug, it will either send the power up to the light or keep it at the switch.

Remember one traveler wire will always be making contact with the common. If the right traveler that is carrying the hot feed matches up with the common lug going up to the light, then the light will come on and if not the light will turn off.  At either end of the three way switches when you flip the switch it changes the traveler wire that is making contact with the common and if the light is on it will go off and vice versa. Simple stuff huh? If you are having problems with your three way switches below are some links to help you get it figured out.

How To Troubleshoot 3 way switches

Learn The Different Ways To Wire Three Way Switches

How To Wire A 4 Way Switch

Turn the breaker off that you are replacing. After removing the hot wire just unclip the existing breaker from the panel and take the breaker out of the panel. Depending on what brand of electrical panel you have will determine exactly how the breaker snaps in on the bussbar. Most all brands except Square D QO Series just hook on the side first and then snap right into the busswork on the panel.

The QO Series breakers snap in the same way on both ends of the breaker. On the GFCI breaker you will have a silver colored lug and a brass colored lug along with a white wire coming from the breaker. That white wire from the breaker will tie back into the neutral bar in the panel. The white neutral from your circuit will tie to the silver lug on the breaker and the black hot wire from the circuit will tie to the brass colored lug on the GFI breaker.

Once all these connections are made turn the breaker on and push the test button. The breaker should trip out if it is working properly. Replace the panel cover and that is all there is to that project.

Get Your GFI Breakers Here

The first thing to check on this would be the power to make sure the unit is receiving 240 volts. You can check this at the oven receptacle with a multimeter set on AC 600 volts. If your particular unit is hard wired and difficult to get to the power connections you can remove the element and check it first.

Most elements are secured to the inside back wall of the oven with two screws. The element ends go through two holes and have wires plugged into the ends of the element. Pull the wires off of the element and set your multimeter on the continuity beeper setting and touch the meter leads where the two wires were connected. You will hear the meter beep if the element is good and no sound if it is bad.

The power loss to the oven can be caused by a tripped breaker or a blown fuse. Sometimes you might notice that the lights work on the oven but it doesn’t heat up. This could be due to one of the fuses being blown and the oven is getting 120 volts from the good fuse but not getting 240 volts to heat the elements. Replace the bad fuse or reset the breaker should fix this problem for you.

Installing a new element is not hard either as you seen how it came out so with the new element in hand just install it by plugging in the two wires to each side of the element and inserting it through the two holes and replace the two screws that hold it in.

Make sure to kill the power to the unit before removing the old heating element.

• Bulbs- This is usually the culprit when fluorescent light fixtures will not work.  Try changing the bulbs first to see if this corrects the problem. Also remember that even if a bulb is working but has turned black on the ends it should be replaced because these bulbs put added pressure on the ballasts trying to burn them.
• Ballasts- A fluorescent ballast will last for a good long while but eventually will fail. Sometimes these ballasts will emit a strong odor that will verify the need for replacement. If you see any leakage coming from the ballast that resembles tar that is another verification for replacement.

1. The most common fluorescent ballasts are for 4′ and 8′ fixtures. Most 4′ ballasts will burn two bulbs with a four bulb fixture having two ballasts in it. One ballast will feed the two inside bulbs and the other ballast will feed the two outside bulbs.

Changing the ballasts is not a difficult job but can be somewhat dangerous if not done properly. You should always make sure the power has been turned off to the circuit before attempting these repairs.

A 4′ 2 tube ballast has 8 wires coming from it. 2 reds, 2 blues, 2 yellows, 1 black and 1 white. The black is the hot feed and the white is the neutral. These two wires should be removed first. Then you can cut the the remaining wires loose one at a time and take out the ballast.

Match the colors from the ballast to the same colors from the fixture. It doesn’t matter which two colors hook to each wire as long as the colors match.

8′ 2 tube magnetic ballasts only have 4 wires and they just match up to the colors in the fixture.

• Tombstones- These are the end sockets that the bulbs fit in to and they tend to break sometimes if the pins from the bulb are not inserted properly.  If you have to change any of these the wires just push into the bottom  of them.

Bulbs or ballasts are usually the problem in these fixtures and neither ones are very hard to change.

These fluctuations in the voltage can wreak havoc on any electronics, like a computer that is plugged in and receiving these low or high voltages. Other items can receive damage also from the unstable voltages so it is very important to have this problem repaired as soon as possible.

There are some things you can do to try and locate the problem yourself if you feel comfortable working around electricity. If you don’t feel comfortable with it then it is best to hire an electrical contractor to come in and find the problem and either repair it for you or see to it that the power company takes care of it.

To troubleshoot this yourself you will need a digital multimeter. Set the multimeter to AC 600 volts. First you can test the voltage at one or more of your electrical outlets in the house and make a note of what these voltage readings are at each location. Put the two meter leads into the hot (narrow blade) and the neutral (wide blade) in the receptacle.

While you have the voltage reading on your meter, have someone turn on a light or plug something like a toaster and watch the meter to see if the voltage changes when this toaster is turned on.

If it is a neutral problem then the voltage reading will either go up or down by a considerable amount. Sometimes these voltage spike can reach 160 volts or higher or drop down to 80 volts or lower when a load is applied somewhere else in the system.

Next you need to go to the electrical panel and remove the panel cover so you can gain access to the inside main lugs or breakers. Test the voltage here at the main lugs or the main breaker. Check from one of the hot legs to the main neutral lug. Then check the other hot leg to the main neutral lug. Turn the toaster on again while testing these voltages and make a note of the differences in each hot leg to neutral.

If the voltage on both phases are different, such as one being high and the other phase being lower then that verifies a neutral being loose somewhere in the system. You can relay this information to the power company first and they will come out and check their side of it at no charge to you. If they find the problem on their side they will fix it.

If it is not on their side they will tell you this so you can call an electrician to come out and repair the problem for you. By doing this test yourself you can save money by relaying this info to the electrician saving him the time it takes to troubleshoot it himself.

I am sure he will still check it to verify the problem but any information you can give him from your tests will help him in finding and repairing the problem.

Here is a quick glossary of the terms that are used here.

1. Hot Feed- This is the romex that feeds the circuit and is hot all the time.
2. Two Conductor Romex- A romex or cable with a black, white and a bare ground wire.
3. Switch Leg- This is a two conductor romex that goes from the switch up to the light fixture.
4. 3 Conductor Romex- This is a cable that has actually 4 wires in it. A black, white, red and a bare or green ground wire.
5. 3 Way Switch- A switch that has 3 lugs for the wires plus a green screw for the ground wire to attach. Two lugs are on one side of the switch and one lug is by itself on the other side of the switch.
6. Common Lug- This is the important lug on your 3 way switch. It will be the lug on the 3 way switch that does not have another lug directly across from it on the switch. It will be on the side with two lugs.
7. Traveler Lugs- These are the two lugs on the 3 way switch that make contact with the common lug depending on which way the switch is flipped. One traveler lug will be by itself on one side of the switch and the other traveler lug will be directly across from it on the other side of the switch.
8. Common Wire- There are two common wires in a 3 way switching circuit. One common will be the constant hot feed wire and the other common will be the black wire that goes from the switch to the light fixture.
9. Traveler Wires- These are the two wires that tie the two 3 way switches together. They will be unbroken between the two switches. These could be in a two conductor cable or a 3 conductor cable and usually run directly from switch box to switch box.
10. Neutral Wire- This is the white wire that originates in the same romex with the hot feed wire that feeds the circuit hot and will go to the light fixture along with the black switch leg wire.
11. Bare Ground- This is the bare copper or green wire that should be all twisted together at each switch and light box that will tie to the green screw on the switch and the frame of the light fixture. A very important wire for safety purposes.

Here are the three most common ways that 3 way switches are wired.

• Hot Feed At One Switch And The Switch Leg At The Other Switch.

1. This is a very common method for wiring 3 way switches and it has several variations in how they can be wired. A 2 conductor hot feed comes to one switch box with usually a second 2 conductor romex as a hot feed back out of that box. Then a 3 conductor romex runs from this switch box over to the other switch box. Then a 2 conductor romex runs from the second switch box up to the light.

a.The connections in this method would be the two black wires in the hot feed in and back out romex will tie together with a pigtail wire tied in with them that will hook to the common lug on the 3 way switch.

b. The two white wires from the hot feed cables will tie to the white wire in the 3 conductor to feed the neutrals on through and send a neutral over to the other switch box where the switch leg is.

c. The black and the red wires in the 3 conductor romex are your traveler wires and will hook to the two traveler lugs on the switch. It doesn’t matter which two goes where on the traveler lugs. Just make sure that the pigtailed black hooks to the common lug on the switch.

d. The switch on the other end will have one 3 conductor and one 2 conductor romex. The black in the 2 conductor switch leg will be your common on that end and will tie to the common lug on the switch.

e. The white wires from both cables will tie together with a wirenut. That leaves the black and the red from the 3 conductor that will tie to the traveler lugs on the 3 way switch.

2. It is possible that this variation could be wired with all 2 conductor cables. If this is the case then there will be no red wires, only blacks and whites. Then it is just a matter of finding the romex that goes to the other switch box and those black and white wires will be the travelers. Everything else will wire the same.

• Hot Feed And Switch Leg At The Same Switch Box.

1. This is the simplest way to wire 3 way switches. One switch box will have three 2 conductor cables and one 3 conductor cable while the other switch box will have just the one 3 conductor cable in it.  In this variation you will need to determine two things. Which 2 conductor is the constant hot feed and which 2 conductor is the  switch leg.

This can be determined with a multimeter set on AC voltage. You will be hunting for the black constant hot feed so you will read from the black and the white in each romex until you find the hot wire. Once you find the hot wire then you will need to determine which 2 conductor is the switch leg. This can also be done with the multimeter but this time it will need to be set on the continuity reading. If there is a light bulb in the light fixture then just read the black and the white from each 2 conductor romex that you have left and the one that reads continuity will be the switch leg.

a. The connections for this variation will be the two black wires in the hot feed in and back out will tie to the black in the 3 conductor cable. They will wirenut together and push back into the switch box.

b. The white neutral wires in the two 2 conductor hot feed cables will tie to the white in the switch leg romex and they will wirenut and push in the switch box.

c. This will leave you with a red and a white from your 3 conductor cable which will be your two travelers and the black from the switch leg cable which will be your common and tie to the common lug on the 3 way switch.

d. On the other end you will have a black, a white and a red from the lone 3 conductor cable. The black is the common and hooks to the common lug on the 3 way switch and the red and white are your travelers for the switch.

• Hot Feed Pulled To The Light Fixture Box.

1. This method is another rather simple one to wire. This box will have  the two 2 conductor hot feed in and back out cables and then the two 3 conductor cables, one from each 3 way switch box.

a. The two black wires from the 2 conductor hot feed in and back out cables will tie together along with a black from one of the 3 conductor cables. It really doesn’t matter which 3 conductor you choose here.

b. The two white wires from the hot feed cables are the neutrals and they will tie together along with the white wire from your light fixture.

c. The two reds from the 3 conductor will tie together and push up into the box. The same goes for the two white wires from the 3 conductor. They will wirenut together and push into the light box.

d. This leaves you with one black wire from the other 3 conductor cable and it will tie to the black wire from your light fixture.

e. Down at the switches, the blacks will be your common and go on the common lugs on your 3 way switches and the reds and whites will tie to the traveler lugs on the 3 way switch.

It is possible that your existing 3 way switches may not be wired like the 3 examples mentioned above. The chances are pretty good though that they are wired like one of these examples anyway.

The main goal in troubleshooting 3 way switch problems is making sure which wires are the commons at your switches and getting those on the common lugs of your switch. If you do that and you have power to the circuit and your bulbs and switches are good, then the 3 ways will work like they are supposed to work.

Just remember that each 3 way switch has to have one common and two travelers to work. The two commons are the constant hot wire and the black that goes up to the light fixture.

Always turn the power off to the circuit you are working on and if you need to check for power then be sure to kill the circuit after you are through testing.