Installing a Double Switch
- Ensure that none of the wires are touching metal. You're going to need to test the wires now, and if they are...
- Turn the power back on to find the feed wire if you don't already know which one it is. If your wires are not...
- Determine which side of the switch is for feed wires and which is for neutral wires. There is a metal,...
Full Answer
How do you wire a double outlet?
Run the Cable
- If you’re going through the attic, use the spade bit to drill a hole through the top plate, directly above the new electrical box location. ...
- Feed your fish tape into the wall opening, pushing it up into the hole you made in the top plate. ...
- Should you encounter a fire block, proceed with Step 6. ...
How to wire a double receptacle two different ways?
Wiring a Middle-of-Run Electrical Outlet
- Direct-Wiring Through the Receptacle. If you know the circuit breaker that controls the flow of power to the outlet you will be working on, flip it to the off position.
- Wiring With Pigtails. ...
- When to Call a Professional
How to install double outlet?
Plan the Outlet Location
- Before you install an outdoor outlet, determine which exterior wall you want it to be on.
- Locate an interior outlet that is on that exterior wall. ...
- Make sure the indoor outlet can handle the new exterior GFCI outlet without overloading. ...
How to wire 2 outlets in one box?
- Locate the known areas and rooms in your old house which you think aren’t grounded.
- After locating them, turn off the breaker if the power is still coming into the house.
- When the breaker is shut-down, dismount the assemblies of electrical outlets, circuit boards, and other electronic components inside your home.
How to connect two outlets to the same wire?
Connect the second outlet to that cable using the same procedure, and you're done. If you want to wire them to the same circuit, you'll need jumper wires. Remove the individual wires from a 6-inch length of cable of the same gauge as the wires in the box and expose the ends with a wire splicer. Connect one end of the black wire to ...
How to connect a white wire to a silver lug?
Finally, make a hook in the end of the bare ground wire, wrap it around the green lug on the bottom of the outlet and tighten the screw. Advertisement. if you are wiring the outlets on different circuits, you'll have a second live cable in the box.
How to wire a live circuit?
Start by wiring the first receptacle to the live circuit cable. Pull the cable through a hole in the back of the electrical box, separate the wires and strip an inch of insulation off the end of each one. Attach the black wire to the bottom brass lug on the outlet. Connect the white wire to the bottom silver lug in the same way.
What is a double gang outlet?
This is called a double gang outlet, or a quad outlet. When you run both of them on the same circuit, the easiest way to wire them is to use short lengths of wire to connect them together. Outlets are designed to make connecting them in this way easy. If you do this, plan the circuit so it will not be overloaded by the appliances you plan ...
Do Christmas lights need to be wired in series?
If you actually wired the outlets in series, you would have to plug devices into the both receptacles on the first outlet, and the devices would have to be working for the second outlet to get power. Christmas lights are wired in series, and everyone knows what happens when one of the bulbs burn out.
Can you wire a double gang outlet in series?
Daisy Chaining Is Not Wiring Outlets in Series. When you make a double gang outlet by daisy chaining them, you're actually wiring the outlets in parallel. It's a small difference in terminology that makes a big difference in practice. If you actually wired the outlets in series, you would have to plug devices into the both receptacles on ...
Step 1 - Turn off the power
WAIT!! Did you remember to turn the power off? It is always a good idea.
Step 2 - Attaching wire to the electrical receptacle
The first this to do is attach the bare wire to the back of the electrical box (wrap around one of the screws) but leave enough of a "tail" to attach the the green or blackish screw at the bottom of the plug. This ensures that the plug and the box are now grounded.
What is a 3 wire circuit?
Here 3-wire cable is run from a double-pole circuit breaker providing an independent 120 volts to two sets of multiple outlets. The neutral wire from the circuit is shared by both sets. This wiring is commonly used in a 20 amp kitchen circuit where two appliance feeds are needed, such as for a refrigerator and a microwave in the same location.
What is a ground fault circuit interrupter?
Here one ground fault circuit interrupter protects multiple duplex receptacles coming after it, known as multiple-location protection. Two-wire cable runs from the gfci to all the following outlets. The line terminals on the gfci are connected to the circuit source and the load terminals are connected to each following outlet with a pigtail splice. This keeps each duplex receptacle connected directly to the gfci.
How are switches connected?
The switches are connected with pigtail wires to the same source. The black wires running to the two separate light fixtures are each connected to one of the switches. The source neutral and ground wires are spliced to the wires running directly to each light fixture box.
What type of cable runs into a GFCI box?
Three-wire cable runs into the box. The black and red wires are both hot and each is connected to one of the receptacles. The white, neutral wire is splice to each outlet so they share the return path. This is appropriate for standard duplex receptacles, but should not be used for GFCI receptacles.
How are neutrals spliced?
The neutral is spliced with a pigtail to the neutral terminal on the receptacle and to the white wire running through to the neutral at the light fixture located in a separate box.
What happens if the first outlet in a circuit is damaged?
If the first outlet in the circuit is damaged internally in some way, it may affect the flow of electricity to the outlets that follow. Usually this is not the case though. If the copper tab between the terminals screws remains intact, even if #1 stops functioning, outlet #2 will most likely still work.
