help with changing receptacles

dirt286 · #1 IP: 68.36.16.252 April 8th, 2009, 06:06 PM

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** · #2 IP: 98.30.163.230 April 8th, 2009, 07:27 PM

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 · #3 IP: 68.36.16.252 April 8th, 2009, 09:12 PM

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** · #4 IP: 76.22.81.239 April 8th, 2009, 10:11 PM

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 · #5 IP: 68.36.16.252 April 8th, 2009, 11:36 PM

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 · #6 IP: 12.50.73.162 April 9th, 2009, 03:57 AM

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