• Jul 13,2008
• In: Recent Entries

Broken Electrical Outlet

We were moving some furniture around and banged a dresser up against this outlet while it still had cords plugged into it. Needless to say, running a dresser into cords plugged into an electrical outlet ends up breaking the outlet and faceplate into peices.

So I got an outlet to change. First things first, I need to cut off the power to the outlet at the breaker panel. One method to make sure that you have the right breaker turned off is to plug a radio into the outlet that you will be working on, start turning off breakers one by one and when you hear the radio go off, you know you have it. So, with the radio blasting, I start flipping breakers and hear the radio go off. Got it! Back to the outlet, I plug the cord of the radio into the lower recepticle of the outlet just to make sure it’s also dead (when I assume how something is wired I usually end up getting a shock and tingles up the arm that’s holding the screwdriver. So I like to make sure).

Next step would usually be to take the faceplate off, but the dresser took care of that. Removing one screw at the top and one at the bottom (filled with paint of course) I’m able to pull the outlet out of the outlet box. Once the outlet is pulled out of the box I notice the outlet was originally or somewhere along its life installed upside down. White wires (neutral) on the right and the black wires (hot) on the left. It should be the other way around. But anyways, loosened the four screws that hold the wires and working the wires out from around the screws, the old outlets out.

With the old outlet gone, the new one can be installed. I’ve installed the black wires to the copper colored screws and the white wires to the silver colored screws, making sure that the wires bend clockwise around the screws (having the wires loop clockwise around the screws helps to keep the bend from opening up while the screw is tightened down). With the screws tightened down and the outlet now wired, I can put it back in the box. I put a little bend or kink in the wires about halfway between the outlet and the inside of the box (this helps the wires fold nicely inside the box) and with a little shove I can push the outlet back in the box and fasten it with the upper and lower screws. Now all that’s left is to install the faceplate and one screw in the center holds that in place.

Back at the breaker panel I turn the breaker back on and then head back to the outlet. I give the new outlet a test with the radio and everything is good to go.!

All in all not to bad of a job.