Can Miswired Receptacle Affect Others?

[John Ross]

If one or more receptacles are wired backward (hot wires on neutral side and vice versa), can that affect other outlets on that circuit?

I guess I am confused since they are wired together through the receptacles is it possible to introduce current to the neutral wire (which would then screw up the next one)?. I was wondering if doing one wrong could cause a ripple effect so that even if another is wired correctly (black wires to hot side and white wires to neutral side), it may not in fact be functionally correct.

Or does the backward wired one(s) only affect itself and the others are fine? Note: There would be NO GFCI's in this scenario.

-- John

[RBM]

If at one receptacle, you wired the hot wires to the neutral side and the neutral wires to the hot side, it would only affect things plugged into that outlet. You can buy a plug in outlet tester to prove out all the outlets

[John Ross]

That's a relief! I had a few receptacles in a room replaced and at least one was wired backward. So I was concerned the newly correctly wired ones may still be "wrong."

These are 2 prong outlets. Those testers are for 3. Is there a way to test the 2 prong outlets? I should note that the screw on the plate does NOT provide a ground.

-- John

[JoeSpareBedroom]

How old is the wiring in this house?

[Steve Barker]

easy enough to check. get a plug in tester.

s

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Read the other messages. He said he has nothing but 2 prong outlets, and the boxes aren't grounded. He's got a mess on his hands.

[bud--]

You can use a neon tester

neon 'lamp' has 2 parallel rods and it glows orange on voltage (like a neon sign). Plug one lead into a receptacle slot and touch the other lead. The lamp will glow *very dimly* if the slot is 'hot'. You probably will have to cup you hand around it to block other light. These lamps work at very low current and can light even if you are insulated from everything (capacitive current).

There are also many 'non-contact' voltage detectors like

light up or make sound when placed at the 'hot' receptacle slot. (Some may have to be closer to the conductor - don't know about this one.)

[Steve Barker]

Right you are. I hadn't read the OP's second message.

s

[Ken]

Get a non-contact voltage tester. Hot side will make it beep, neutral side will not.

Ken

[Mark Lloyd]

Think about it. If you have one receptacle wired to another, and the first is wired wrong it is not a "correct" source for feeding the other.

[Doug Miller]

You need to think about it a little more yourself.

[G Wood]

OK, no troll, I'm confused.

If you have two outlets on a circuit, and outlet one has hot wired to neutral, would it not make sense that the downstream plug will also have juice at the neutral side as well? Or are you implying that it just really isn't an issue when plugging something into either outlet?

Tnx Gary

[RBM]

It only affects the outlets that you connect the wires incorrectly on. The hot wire stay hot, and the neutral stays neutral. If you reversed the "load" connections, then you'd be running your hot through a white wire, and neutral through a black or colored wire

[HeyBub]

If one outlet can have the lines switched, a downstream outlet can have them switched again.

Two prongs make a right.

[Kurt Ullman]

Go to your room, young man!!! (g).

Kurt (A good pun is in the ARGGGHHH!!! of the beholder) Ullman

[Mark Lloyd]

These require ground to be connected properly, in order to detect a hot/neutral reversal.

[Mark Lloyd]

Is that supposed to be saying something?

[Mark Lloyd]

It could be miswired too, correcting (for the second outlet) the first miswiring. In that case, correcting only the first would make the second one wrong.

I know someone who recently said that it didn't matter which wire (hot or neutral) was connected where. Not with AC.

He didn't know much.

[aemeijers]

As long as they match colors on the sides of the outlets, if one is miswired, the downstream ones can still be okay. If they cross colors at an upstream outlet, you are screwed. When I replaced about 16 2-holers with 3-holers here (grounded metal boxes, grounded romex, luckily), about half were polarity-reversed 'as found'. No apparent pattern, or effect from one box to next. Just made sure they all had the same color wires on the same color screws, and the little 3-prong idiot meter happily lit up green on all of them.

aem sends....

[Stormin Mormon]

If the one socket is backwards, then that one socket is backwards. Should not affect any outlets downstream. That is, figuring that both black wires are on the same (wrong) side of the outlet, and the both white wires are on the other side.