So I have this old duplex light switch in my house that I am trying to replace. It is probably from the 1950s. There are 2 sets of wires connected to it.The top switch controls a light and it has 2 terminals with 1 black and 1 white wire going to them (they are from one set of wires). The switch below controls an outlet and it has 4 terminals with 2 black and 2 white wires going to them (these are the second set). Note that the outlet it controls is also controlled by another switch on the other side of the room. I have never seen a switch like this before and I can't find one at the home improvement store either. I don't even know what it is called. But it looks as if the bottom switch is a double pole and top switch is single pole. Can anyone tell me what type of switch I need OR is there a different type I can use in its place? Thank you
It sounds like you have a 4-way switch on the bottom. This type of switch cross connects its contacts and is used between 3-way switches. That plug is controlled from at least 3 places.
There was an old style set of electrical devices that were modular. You could snap in a non-grounded outlet, an indicator light, or different style switches into a narrow metal frame or holder. The devices were a bit smaller than modern ones and the holders came in 1, 2, and 3 stacked groupings.
If this describes what you have then they have not been around for awhile and were very hard to find 20 years ago. I have not seen any duplex switches with a 4-way currently made.
Options are to replace the duplex box with a 2-gang and use standard 1-gang switches (A single and a 4-way) or eliminate one of the other locations, wiring it through, and use a single pole + 3-way duplex switch in that location.
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