Another electrical question

[Bugsinrugs]

Replacing switches in a 4 gang box. Two of them are three way switches. One is wired with the hot and neutral on one side of the switch with the traveller (red)wire on the other side. The other three way switch has the hot wire and traveller on the same side with the white wire( neutral) on the other side. Maybe it has to do with that light circuit has three switches controlling the lights. Can someone set me straight please? Also, there is one switch in the box that I haven’t a clue on what it controls. It’s definitely hot but it’s a mystery.

[rockfan4]

There's no piece of tape on the white wire?
The switches could have been wired by someone who didn't really care about the colors in use, and wired the two 3 ways differently. I'd pay more attention to the screws they're connected to. To verify, you could always look at the connections on the other switch in the 3 way circuit. They could have used red for hot, and the black and white for travelers, or white with a black piece of tape on it for the hot and then use the black and red for travelers.

As far as the unknown switch, it could control an outlet, a yard light, the electric grid guarding the daughter's bedroom window, anything. There are tracing tools if you really have to know.

[Bugsinrugs]

I have a garage that’s not connected to the house. When I turned off the power to the house. When I shut power to the house the mystery switch was still hot. That tells me the switch controls something in the garage. Since it is a one way switch it must control an outlet. All switches and lights in and outside of the garage are accounted for. And yes, the white wire did have black tape around it. Thanks!

[E Sully]

Sounds like episodes from Friends and Home Improvement!

https://youtu.be/pMuVm1Y669U?si=QlVkAb6OxP82QrsK

https://youtu.be/I6vcQHlpwVA?si=70Ah5DQRaqvMUId3
(Bucks dog house outside.)

Wiring varies depending on where the light comes into the circuit, beginning, middle, or end of the run. I usually start by removing all the switches and identifying each wire with a volt meter to find the hot leg and neutral, then continuity to identify which ones would be travelers and switch legs and wires to the light.
I've spent a lot of time over the years tracing out and re-wiring 3 and 4 way switches for friends. Many times after the house was painted and the painters removed and reinstalled the switches. Insulation colors do not necessarily have a set meaning. As mentioned with the white wire with black tape.
The switch names can also be confusing. 3 way basically control from 2 locations and putting a 4 way between them controls 3 or more locations. My brothers brand new house caused a dead short when you turned on one of the light switches in his daughters bedroom, and a friends house they used the bare copper ground wire as one of the travelers because they ran a 2 wire romex instead of a 3 wire.

The NEC has also updated the electrical code requirements on new installations. In the old days you could have a switch box with travelers and a hot or switch leg. Now, with a few exceptions, switch boxes require a neutral also.

The garage wiring sounds interesting. If you are shutting the main breaker to the panel and that stays on something is weird. A circuit tracer would help find where the power originates, but it can be a challenge.
The guys that own the local Porsche shop told me he had a problem. He said when he turns on the light switch in the house to the detached garage, it works for about 10 minutes and then the breaker trips. When I opened the box in the garage, I saw one of the things I hate in older homes. Nothing more fun than working with wasps nests and crumbling insulation. A weak splice can lead to heat build up and eventual fire or tripping of a breaker. Similar to what happens to homes with aluminum wire.