Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - receptacle wiring

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sknez
01-09-06, 11:11 AM
My son decided to help me out by changing the receptacles in my living room. All the receptacles work except for the one that works by a dimmer switch. I have 2 hanging lamps that plug into this receptacle. I never had a problem before, so I am assuming he wired the receptacle wrong. I've changed receptacles before but never one that worked with a switch. I turned the power off and took the receptacle out. I have not disconnected the wires he has attached. The receptacle does work but not with the switch. Connected to the Brass screws (small slot side) - 1-orange wire to one of the screws and 2-Blue wires to the other brass screw. Connected to the silver screws (large slot side) - 1 white wire to one of the screws and 2-white wires to the other silver screw. There are also 2 black and 1 blue wire that are not connected. My son cannot remember how the wires were connected before he took them apart. I appreciate any help you can give me. Thank you


joed
01-09-06, 01:04 PM
You have several code violations here.
1. Dimmers are not allowed to control receptacles. Imagine if some plugged a vacuum into the dimmed receptacles.
2. You are not allowed to have two wires under one screw.

John Nelson
01-09-06, 03:28 PM
This might have been a split-wired receptacle and your son forgot to break out the tab on the brass-screw side of the receptacle. Do you still have the old receptacle? Then we also have to figure out those unconnected wires.

There is no magic formula for determining how to reconnect the wires. Whenever you fail to record the prior connections, you increase the difficultly a hundred-fold. This is going to be a very long, very difficult repair. Unless you have a lot of patience and perserverence, you may just want to call an electrician to sort this mess out.

But if you want to proceed, buy several electrical test instruments: a multimeter, a neon circuit tester, and a voltage tick tester. Then prepare for 50 more posts in this thread over the next few weeks while we get it sorted out.


Snoonyb
01-09-06, 10:07 PM
After you purchase an inexpensive multi-tester, with the power off, remove and disconnect the recepticle. Next remove the dimmer and identify the wiring.
With the multi-tester, and the power back on, find and wire nut the hot pair/s.