Outlet Wire Connections

I have a *NON*-GFCI 15A 125V duplex receptacle outlet in the garage. (It reads 15A 125V on the front of the receptacle.) I was installing cabinets along that wall and had to remove the outlet's coverplate and receptacle so that the cabinet could be installed flush to the wall. I removed the receptacle and taped off each wire individually (connecting nothing together) and installed my cabinets. Shortly after that, I discovered that many of the other outlets in the house did not work! Ugh! I assume that all those outlets are wired in series and I broke the circuit? I removed the cabinet so I can reconnect the wires. Here's where I need help.

I have FIVE wires: TWO black hot wires, TWO white neutral wires and ONE bare ground wire. Which wires do I connect - - And how? (Wire nuts?) And if matters WHICH white or WHICH black wire, how do I figure that out?

Many thanks! Heather

Reply to
Heather
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Wire nut the two blacks together, then wire nut the two whites together. Done

Reply to
RBM

You had an amateur wiring job there. The receptacle was through wired, both back wires on the brass terminals and both white wires on the silver terminals. the bare wire was connected to the green ground screw on the receptacle. This leaves the current path through the jumpers on the receptacle, not a good wiring practice. The more workman like way to do it is to wire nut a pigtail to the black wires and connect that to the brass terminal.. Do the same with the white wires pigtailed to the silver terminal.. Leave the ground wire on the green terminal. I you have a metal box, I would pigtail it with the ground wire or install a grounding clip on the receptacle screw. HTH

Joe

Reply to
Joe

If you wire nut the wires together, you will have created a junction box. You are not allowed to conceal a junction box inside a wall or behind a cabinet.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

The outlets are 'technically' not connected in series. Using that term is genarally incorrect for house wiring.

It does sound as though you have, by removing that outlet, broken the wiring that allows electricity to go through to the other outlets on that circuit.

So far it sounds as though your insurance company and the local fire investigator would not be impressed!

Best advice is to get someone who knows what they are doing to; a) Turn off the power to at least that circuit. b) Using the proper kind of wire nuts or connectors, firmly join the two black wires together. c) Similarly connect the two white wires together. DO NOT JUST TWIST THE WIRES TOGETHER AND TAPE THEM! Those wires are carrying all the electrical load for other outlets further down that circuit. And the last thing you need is a bad connection heating up inside a hidden box! FIRE! d) The ground wire should be firmly connected to the metal box that holds, or used to hold the outlet. But see item (f). e) The now empty outlet box has become an electrical connection box. Since it is illegal and unsafe to cover up any electrical conection box it should be provided with a, preferably in this case, metal cover- plate. That metal plate should not be covered up by anything, so the box should either be relocated or perhaps it may be OK to cut a hole in the back of any cupboard in front of it to clearly reveal the location of and provide access to the connection box. f) Turn on the power again and test the circuit to ensure that i) It is working and ii) Wired correctly. Including ground continuity through to the outets; the ground wire is for safety; so don't skip that, even though things may seem to work in those outlets further along!!!!

Reply to
terry

If you wire nut the wires together, you will have created a junction box. You are not allowed to conceal a junction box inside a wall or behind a cabinet.

Reply to
RBM

If you wire nut the wires together, you will have created a junction box. You are not allowed to conceal a junction box inside a wall or behind a cabinet.

That's not what NEC 370.29 says. If her cabinet can be easily removed for access, I don't see it as a problem. The OP only asked how to make the splice and nothing about possible code violations

Reply to
RBM

ideally cut a hole in the cabinet, and use a blank cover plate

Reply to
hallerb

re: The OP only asked how to make the splice and nothing about possible code violations

True, but don't you think the "nice guy" in all of us should at least point out possible problems associated with what a poster is asking about?

Here's an extreme example - if a poster said "I have a bunch of luan lying around and want to build some stairs. How wide is standard tread?" Don't we have *some* obligation to point out that luan might not be the best material for stair treads?

Reply to
DerbyDad03

I mean, it is a garage cabinet! Outlet box extension if needed.

Oren

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Reply to
Oren

Terry laid it out very nicely in a reply to the OP. You replied to me. I merely answered the OP's question. The NEC says boxes must be accessible without removing any part of the building. I have no idea what type of cabinets or how they are attached. Without that information I can't be sure any violation has been created. Code also requires an outlet in the garage, and it must be gfci protected. Maybe she has one, she didn't say and I didn't ask. Don't blame me for giving her a straight answer to her question

re: The OP only asked how to make the splice and nothing about possible code violations

True, but don't you think the "nice guy" in all of us should at least point out possible problems associated with what a poster is asking about?

Here's an extreme example - if a poster said "I have a bunch of luan lying around and want to build some stairs. How wide is standard tread?" Don't we have *some* obligation to point out that luan might not be the best material for stair treads?

Reply to
RBM

Well put. Code is the problem of the OP to sort out. How the hell do we know if she's got seventeen outlets marked 15A on a 10A run, with plain-jane 14/2 running through her pool to the kid's treehouse?!?

Come on.

a

PS - I wonder if the cabinet in question is going to be used to store oily rags - it's always next to the one with the blasting caps in it.

Reply to
a

black to black, white to white, and leave the ground alone. ALSO, you can't cover that box with the cabinets.

s

Reply to
S. Barker

Wouldn't that cause the pig to get electrocuted?

Reply to
obnoxious

An cabinet that has been secured by screws and or bolts shoulkd be considered a part of the structure and it cannot block access to a junction box. If the cabinet is free standing and movable without having to remove screws and or bolts then it should not be considered part of the structure. As others have stated, wirenut the blacks together, the whites together, and the bare copper or green grounds together ensuring that a ground is conected to the box if it is metal. Make sure the box has a cover installed and is accessible.

Reply to
Eric9822

No electrical box shall be made inaccessible! So you may need to move the box or change the cabinet to make it accessible. No wires shall be connected outside a box. Use wire nuts, do not use black tape. Can assume anything, but usually all black wires are connected together. All white wires are connected together. An outlet tester and a little neon tester are good inexpensive tools.

Reply to
Phisherman

Only the pigtail is used, not the whole pig. >Sheesh<

Joe

Reply to
Joe

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