How to Hook UP GFCI Split Recepticle

[Handyguy]

Hello All,

I have a question regarding hooking up a GFCI in my kitchen. I belive I am working with a split recepticle hooked up to a double pole breaker as I have three wires (red, white, black) and a ground wire and the breaker is a double pole breaker. I am having a heck of a time finding anything to explain how to hook this up properly. Of course the instrustions only explain how to hook up if you have two wires or 4 wires. The current recepticle has the white wire in the bottom left screw, the black is in the top right screw, and the red is in the bottom left screw (not sure if that helps or not).

I have hooked up GFCI's before but they were always regular outlets with only two wires. I hate that I do not have GFCI's in the kitchen but I don't want to hook one up incorrectly and cause even more problems.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

[Homer]

Sorry, but you can't use GFCI receptacles on a multiwire circuit (shared neutral) unless you split the circuit so that each half has it's own neutral.

In the case of split recepacles the neutral is shared all the way from the panel to the receptacle.

The only way to protect split receptacles is to replace that 2-pole breaker in the panel with a 2-pole GFCI breaker that is rather pricey. If your panel is old, then you may be out of luck and need to add a small subpanel to accomodate the GFCI breaker for the circuit(s).

This issue has been discussed many times here in the past.

Homer