light switch replacement

[akkelley]

I have a light switch with 3 wires - red black and white. My new switch only has two screws. Do I leave one wire off? Or do I put two wires on one screw?

 

[supersparks]

I have a light switch with 3 wires - red black and white. My new switch only has two screws. Do I leave one wire off? Or do I put two wires on one screw?

simple answer: wrong switch

 

[yankey-sparky]

It sounds like you have a three-way switch installed. Do you have two switches that control the light in question?

If so, you bought the wrong switch to use as a replacement. You need to go back and get a three-way switch.

If there is only one switch that controls the light, I'd be interested to find out where that third wire is going.