[Guest]

I have this set up in my house, but I can't figure it out.

You have four light switches. All of them are for the same light. The lights are off, and you have 3 switches in the down position, and one in the up position. In what combonation can you flip the switches so the light will be off, and all switches will be in the down position.

Heres the setup:

UP= U DOWN= D

D D D U

[Guest]

would be to flip the 'other' switch (or circuit breaker if you want to be technical) and then the last one down.

[Guest]

Turn the breaker off, take apart the one that is up, swapping the wires. Then flip it down, and turn the breaker back on. (although it fits the requirements by just leaving the breaker off)

[Guest]

as there is an odd number of switches turned up, it is impossible to flip the switch an odd number of times and change the light and even number of times. The only way to do it is to take apart the switches and swap the wires for the "circuit breaker"

[Guest]

All switches down - unscrew light bulb - achieved according to OP - i believe

[Guest]

All switches down - unscrew light bulb - achieved according to OP - i believe

ah but the OP states In what combonation can you flip the switches so the light will be off, and all switches will be in the down position. so unscrewing the lightbulb is cheating as it asks for a combination.

[Brandonb]

Flip the 4th switch down....

The 4th switch is the breaker switch, (maybe in the garage, but it still controls the light in that room). And the other three control the light directly.

[Guest]

ah but the OP states In what combonation can you flip the switches so the light will be off, and all switches will be in the down position. so unscrewing the lightbulb is cheating as it asks for a combination.

Disagree - says switches must be down light must be off

[itachi-san]

I actually just unintentionally did this yesterday. One of my circuit breakers tripped causing my room to have no power in 1 outlet. When I was trying to figure out the problem at first, I flipped the light switch a couple of times. Now that the breaker is back to normal my light switch is opposite, so the answer would be to trip the breaker and then flip the switches to whatever arrangement you want and then re-establish the breaker.

[Guest]

I actually just unintentionally did this yesterday. One of my circuit breakers tripped causing my room to have no power in 1 outlet. When I was trying to figure out the problem at first, I flipped the light switch a couple of times. Now that the breaker is back to normal my light switch is opposite, so the answer would be to trip the breaker and then flip the switches to whatever arrangement you want and then re-establish the breaker.

Uhhhh, I think you are mistaken itachi. Switches don't work that way. They are make/break, where the circuit is either made (light on) or broken (light off). No amount of flipping without power will change this. Here is a link with a very good description: Here

[Guest]

Uhhhh, I think you are mistaken itachi. Switches don't work that way. They are make/break, where the circuit is either made (light on) or broken (light off). No amount of flipping without power will change this. Here is a link with a very good description: Here

He's right you know. Light switches are set in their positions and a circuit breaker won't change that.

[itachi-san]

He's right you know. Light switches are set in their positions and a circuit breaker won't change that.

Well my story wasn't a lie... Can someone explain how my switch is now opposite?

[Guest]

Well my story wasn't a lie... Can someone explain how my switch is now opposite?

Mabye when you kept flipping the switch, the electric signal didn't completely pass through the wire, causing it to reverse.

[akaslickster]

Turn all 4 switches in the up position now the light should be on. Now turn the switches down for the light to go off. Worse case in scenario you just bust the light bulb.

[Guest]

Well my story wasn't a lie... Can someone explain how my switch is now opposite?

There may be a second switch, which either can operate/complete the circuit - it's normal for very large areas; such as a long hall/corridor, huge living room, and more often and stairs as a safety houshold feature.

Turn it on - Switch down

Go down stairs

Turn it off - different switch

Now the upstairs switch is off in down position

[Guest]

Well my story wasn't a lie... Can someone explain how my switch is now opposite?

Sure, I can. One of the other switches in the circuit is obviously in the other position. Switch that one back and the one you are talking about will be "correct" again.

I have installed a few 3-way switches in my day, but no 4+way ones. In a 3-way circuit I personally make both switches in the "off" position cause the light to be off. This will also cause the light to be off if both switches are in the "on" position as well. I do believe that this is how all multi-switch circuits are set up to work, but I can't be sure.

Light switches are not like a power button on a new PC. It's not the action of moving the lever on the switch that causes the electricity to start flowing, it is the fact that the path for electricity is completed. If you look at the link I provided there is a picture that shows this quite clearly.

[Guest]

This is like a puzzle from a Zelda game, You need to think outside the box.

[Guest]

This is like a puzzle from a Zelda game, You need to think outside the box.

The puzzles in Zelda often had one switch make other switches either not work at all or work oposite to it's original nature. If that is the case you need to tell us how each switch works in relation to the other switches, just like us trying them for ourselves in the game.

Saying that it is something in your home, and us knowing how those things truely operate, put us the in the box you want us to think outside of. You can't tell us it is a real life example of your home, then expect us to come up with some fantasy explination. Flipping the breaker or unscrewing the light bulb are pretty "outside the box" if you ask me, because it will achieve the requested result, but make the light unusable, thus not truely desireable.

[Guest]

You could always disconnect the switch and reconnect it upside down.

[Guest]

You could always disconnect the switch and reconnect it upside down.

GIJeff said that in post #3.