Electrical switch -- no longer controls outlets -- Help??

[Doug Miller]

What a moron. Ever hear of a test lamp?

Please, don't take electrical advice from Twayne. He's completely clueless.

[Doug Miller]

That's an *excellent* description of your posts: "stupidity and ignorance".

[Harry L]

You're welcome to that belief.

[Sam E]

A lot of people are ignorant concerning electricity (I remember someone's claim that you can't use a clock on a 20A circuit. The high current would burn it up). Some are even proud of their ignorance.

[Twayne]

lol, can't read, can you?

[Mark]

Did you even THINK to draw a diagram of how the OLD outlet was wired? Seems obvious that you haven't a clue how it was wired. Was the white on the side of the outlet with the silver screws and the black and red on the side with the brass screws. each on it's own screw?

[greenpjs]

The new outlet has a piece of metal that ties the two sockets together. If you have separate wires (black and red) going to each individual outlet, you need to break that tab off on the black/red side of the outlet.

[HeyBub]

He wired it exactly like the original. The problem isn't in his wiring.

[hrhofmann]

Suppose the OP was among the 10% of males who are color-blind, he couldn't tell the difference between the gold and silver screws. He could probably tell the difference between red, black and white wires.

[bud--]

I've always heard them called "T-slots". At least about 20 years ago they were available and used for replacements on ungrounded circuits.

Never heard what the function of the horizontal slots was. Was there a real old 115V plug configuration with both slots horizontal? I never tried, but I suspect the horizontal slots are not wide enough (long direction) for a 220V plug.

[Stormin Mormon]

I can't remember the stats, but it's something like 8% have red green color blind problems, some percent are "shades of grey" color blind, maybe 1%.

I'm in the third category. I've got three what I call "color groups". Often I can't tell blue or purple. And often I can't tell yellow or orange. And often I have trouble with red, green, and brown. I've learned to carry red acetate on heating jobs, to help tell colors. And to have someone else check the colors before I power up equipment.

[gfretwell]

The NEMA 2-15 style was the standard plug for a 220v circuit before WWII. This would usually be a heater since the room A/C was not around yet. When you used a T slot on 110v plugging in a 220v heater would not cause a problem, it would just provide 1/4ths the heat. ... at least that is the story I have heard

[tim birr]

.

OP again...As I thought I mentioned in my original post, all wires were put in exactly as on the original outlet. Didn't need to draw a diagram to remember where to put the three (well four with the ground) wires in relation to the new outlet. Actually, I usually just snap a digital pix when I do need to replace complicated car wiring, etc.

It was just that crazy copper tab that needed "fixin" LOL

[Twayne]

Well; worked before the rewire, doesn't work after the rewire. Whatever was done was botched somehow. Could have been simply a wire-stressed switch that quit working and once the stress was relieved by taking the wires off and putting them back, the switch could work. But the wires don't seem to have been put back properly. I've seen cheap switches that wouldn't work if the wires stressed them just right, as in twisting the outlet, which ends up straight because of the screws holding it in.

Because of the "red" wire and the outlet controls, I'm wondering if this isn't actually a 3-way switch? In which case not putting the wires back properly would cause the same problem described. Right?

Pretty hard to see it very clearly from here.

Twayne

[Twayne]

Good point! In fact, many people don't know there's a difference anyway, nor the meaning of the color difference.

Twayne

[cjt]

If you go back and read the thread, you'll see the problem was solved long ago.

[Gary]

you posted your answer 11 years ago...wow...and, it helped me. you answered my problem