javascript variable setting

I have a small if statement that runs when a function is run. The issue is that th开发者_Go百科e variable timeout_value is always defined as 0 even after the if statement executes successfully. What am I doing wrong?

//update on interval
var timeout_value=0;
        //set interval based on number of users
if (json.countusers==2 && timeout_value!=3){
    alert(timeout_value);
    timeoutID2 = setInterval(refresh, 3000);
    timeout_value=3;
}

Are you defining var timeout_value=0; in the right scope? Move it out of your method.

Do you call this from inside a function? var makes the variable local, so it is not available in the global scope.