Wiring

[Chuy]

Hello anyone

Am remodeling home I just purchased, took all switch and socket covers off to paint and was replacing all light switches and sockets. In the living room I have 2 light switches at front door one controls the outside light the other controls the light socket. I took the wires off and replaced and put back exacly how old one was. Now that light switch does not control the socket whether on or off it stays hot. What am I doing wrong?

Chuy :confused:

[Spotsky]

Hey, Chuy. Chances are, the old duplex outlet only had one outlet switched. So with todays polarity requirements, looking at your new duplex 110V outlet, the plug slots on the left are larger. Those are for the common (white) wire(s). There is a small tab on the side of the socket where the screws are that connect the upper and lower sockets. On the right side of the duplex outlet remove tab that connects the two sockets and connect the wires the way they were originally. If you had a multi-meter, and you really should have one, you could set it on A/C volts and see that one of the right side (hot) wires is switched and one of the is continuously hot. Look closely at your old outlet and you should see where the tab has been removed. You may run into trouble if you're dealing with something other than white and black (or another color) wires or if the polarity was reversed (common on the right and hot on the left). A $10 meter from Sears or where ever is the solution and a worthwhile investment if you're going to be doing more work.