wiring dilemma

shmelvin

My kitchen has a plate with 3 switches one controls the main light two controls the fan and 3 controls the dining room light.
here's the problem.. switch number 3 only works when switch number 2 is on.
How do I isolate number 3 to work on it's own without number 2 being switched on?
attached is a (rough) diagram
Now I find I am not allowed to post attachments, if anyone can help I can email the drawing.

any help would be much appreciated.

HouseHelper

Switch number 3 has been wired using the switched wire of #2 as its hot feed. Turn the breaker off, look for a wire that is common to switch #2 and #3 and relocate it to the other terminal of #2. This may be a simple task or it may require rewiring several things, but it should solve your problem.

shmelvin

The only common wire to switch #2 and #3 is the ground?
3 pieces of romex come into the box each set of wires (1 black 1 white) goes to an individual switch...it's just that for some reason switch 3 is also controled by switch 2. (switch 2 must be on for switch 3 to work)

HouseHelper

Then somewhere there is a junction box that contains wires common the switches 2 and 3. This is possibly at light #2 or #3. That makes thing a little harder to diagnose, but not impossible. You will have to look at the wiring at each fixture to determine what you have.

Just another reason I always wire hot to the switch and not the light!