With nm cable the wire colors for travelers will be black and red using 3 wire cable. Since the 3 ways have the load on the common terminal the travelers can both test hot.

How Can I Add Wiring To Get My Three Way Switch To Work
3 way switch no traveler. If it was wired with knob and tube originally its possible that the 3 way switch was old enough to be wired as carter 3 way. The hot wire leading from the 3 way switch circuit will have no power since all power must travel through the switches. In this setup the load is switched between h n on h h off n h on and n n off. There is no standard for wire colors on 3 way switch travelers. Three way switches have three terminals with the one that is not for the two travelers being called the common. In a situation where a 14 3 romex is the only wire in a switch box the white is either a traveler or load.
The switching was designed for a a watchman that had to punch a time clock that he carried with him. In any 3 way there is a master and slave switch. Four way switches have four terminals to connect two traveler pairs to the incoming pair and the outgoing pair. At joshslade needs to determine which 3 way setup he has so we can help him reconfigure the wiring if possible to make this work. Image from popular mechanics october 1971. The wt00z is great for use in dual switch 3 way applications creating a virtual 3 way switch without need for a traveler wire fitting into any standard single gang electrical junction box.
With conduit the wire colors for travelers could be any color. Thats why i suggested looking at the faq thread. The master switch requires a line 110vac with neutral and ground and load. There are three screw terminals on the body of the switch in addition to the green grounding. There are two clear giveaways that identify a switch as being a three way type. There are no onoff markings on the switch toggle.
A three way wall switch is a common type of light switch that makes it possible to control a ceiling light or other electrical fixture from two different locations in a room. At the hot end the incoming hot wire is connected to the common terminal. If one of the black hot wires does have power then that is the wire for the always on plug. The colors will vary depending on whether nm cable or conduit was used. Here in us wire color isnt consistent. Such markings are not needed with this type of switch as they are.
In the 2nd diagram below blue wires are used for travelers. A 3 way lighting circuit consists of 2 light switches controlling a single load ie. Traditionally the slave requires a line and traveler wire to the master. In a hallway or large room for example installing three way switches at both ends lets you turn the light fixture on or off from both locations. The chicago 3way or tunnel lighting was was allowed by special permission from the inspection dept.