help with changing receptacles

[dirt286]

I have changed a bunch of receptacles in my house and after putting in brand new ones, a few of them do not work. I have tried other brand new ones also to see if maybe I had a bad one but that still doesn't work. Please help with any suggestions.
thanks

[Mr T]

First off, get one of those 3 light plug in outlet testers. THey are $5 and will tell you if it's wired correctly or not.

Did you put the wires under screws or did you plug them into the holes in the back of the outlet? If you plugged them into the holes (backstabbing), remove them and put the wires under the screws.. THis is a more reliable wiring method.

Map out your circuit. If you notice that all the outlets are dead past a certain outlet, check that outlet and the one before it in the chain. The problem may be in a outlet that seems to work ok.

[dirt286]

the wires are under screws not the other way. right now there are 3 that are not working. One of them is at the end of a circuit and the other two are in the middle of their own circuits. Im not sure if i mentioned this but they worked fine before I changed them and I know im not an electrician but its pretty simple to change them and there are many more that work fine. This is the first time I had any problems when I was changing them in two rooms. I just don't get how they can just not work now.

[suemarkp]

Are these new receptacles or taken from another location? Have any of the feedthru tabs on the side been broken off (new ones won't be broken off, unless you deliberately broke them off. But a split wired or switched outlet could have one or both broken off)? This would prevent power from going to the next receptacle and half of the one with the broken tab(s).

Next step is to use a meter or $3 tester that Mr T mentioned to see what is missing -- hot, neutral, or both.

[dirt286]

these are brand new receptacles that replaced ones that worked fine (they were just old and replaced with new white ones) I did check to see if the tabs were broken off the old ones which they werent. i did know to check that but dont really understand the purpose of that. An explaination of that would be nice to understand. I will get a tester tomorrow but isn't that just going to tell me that they are not working?? I think the obvious is that they are wired wrong since the olds ones worked fine but I just can't see that and also can't see why they just would stop working... Like I said on one of them is at the end of a circuit and only has 1 white, 1 black and a ground. How could I have messed that up??? I appreciate the attention guys and i'll get a tester tomorrow

[CR500]

Any chance that you didn't strip the insulation far enough and the screw isn't touching the copper wire?

[Fischer]

Only a couple of things that I can think of, and it all starts with going from the first replaced outlet.

Your receptacles may be bad. May be an internal problem where the male end of a plug will not make proper contact when inserted into the receptacle.

You should also have a circuit tester (2 leads with an indicator light, or a multi-tester and you would use the ACV or AC voltage setting to see if there's a live circuit).

Check the wire feeding the first receptacle that isn't functioning(called the line). See if you get a proper circuit. Then check the wire exiting and going to the next receptacle (called the load). If you don't have a circuit there, it's an internal problem or a broken tab-that may not appear to be broken or you're not making proper contact.

On the last receptacle that isn't working, again check to see if you have a live circuit, if you do, then the fault is in the receptacle itself, if you don't then you have either a connection problem or a bad receptacle just before it.

[Wgoodrich]

Did you make a hook around the screw or just stick the end of the conductor under the screw ? Sounds like the end of circuit dead receptacle is the easiest to diagnose. Look at the receptacle that feeds that last receptacle for a wire that broke or came off the screw.

Wg

[dirt286]

ok i got one of those testers and no lights come on....according to the little chart on it that says "open hot" no clue what that means. I know "hot" is the wire that brings in the power but not sure what open means.:s:

[Mr T]

Hot is the black wire. Open means that there is a break in the wire or its disconnected somewhere. Also but unlikely, your hot may be fine and your neutral AND ground are both bad.

Try the tester in both plugs of each outlet. If it works in 1 half but not the other then you have a issue with one of the split tabs missing.

Map out what works and what doesnt. Check them all. It is possible for the problem to be at a outlet that works. That outlet may not be sending power down the chain.

[Fischer]

ok i got one of those testers and no lights come on....according to the little chart on it that says "open hot" no clue what that means. I know "hot" is the wire that brings in the power but not sure what open means.:s:

See my above response and trace the wires not the receptacle to see if the wires are hot.

[dirt286]

thanks for all the help guys, turns out that one of the outlets the black wire kept falling off for some reason as i was putting it back inside the box. everything works again, whew.

[Mr T]

Kept falling off what? a outlet screw, hole in the back of the outlet or a wire nut?