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Home Electrical

Rules to finding the problem.

1) Check the circuit breakers - make sure they are completely on

2) Check for CGFI outlets. If neutral to ground has resistance and the hot is dead, you most likely have a tripped CGFI. Search bathrooms, kitchens, garages and every other outlet in the house until you find it.

3) Check every outlet in the house for power. You may be surprised to find the source of your problem is hidden behind boxes in a room you don't use. The boarder between live and dead is likely where your problem lies.

4) Use the Wiggle Test - plug in an incandescent light in a dead outlet and then wiggle a plug in all dead AND live outlets in that circuit. Use a wood chopstick to wiggle wires in light switches. When the bulb flashes, you have found your problem.

5) Check the outlets with a bulb and volt meter or an outlet tester.

6) Start replacing everything (updating to current code as you go) starting at the dead live boarder (including the "working" parts) $ or call an electrician $$$.

Receptacle Tester

Outlet Tester Lamps
1	2	3	This is the most common lamp configurations used on most testers. Alternate order 2-1-3 found with Ideal (not Ideal/Sperry), AMProbe AMPPY, Extech CB10 and Etcon CT101. Alternate order 3-2-1 found with Electrician's Best Friend and DK.
Neutral slot to ground hole	Neutral slot to hot slot	Hot slot to ground hole
Red	Yellow	Yellow or white

Common Readings			Likely Condition	Notes
Dark	Lit	Lit	Correct	In some cases the outlet still might not run normal items. A hot ground wire plus reverse polarity could give this reading (rare).
Dark	Dark	Dark	Open hot	Hot is not present. Can be false if neutral and ground wires are both poor
Dark	Dark	Lit	Open neutral	Only true if the ground and hot wires are fairly good
Dark	Lit	Dark	Open ground	Only true if the neutral and hot wires are fairly good
Lit	Lit	Dark	Hot/neut reversed =Rev. polarity	Only true if all three wires are fairly good. A hot ground wire could give this reading
Lit	Dark	Lit	Open neutral with load turned on downstream	Reading called "Hot and ground reversed", which is rare. More likely the neutral is open.

Uncommon Readings			Likely Condition	Notes
Dark	Lit	Dim	Poor ground	Inadequte ground
Dark	Dim	Lit	Poor neutral	Inadequte neutral
Dim	Lit	Dark	Poor ground with rev. polarity	--
Lit	Dim	Dim	Open/poor true neutral with rev. polarity --most tester models	Reading called "Hot on neutral with hot open," which is rare. True means without regard to wire color.
Lit	Dark	Dark	--other tester models
Lit	Dim	Dark	--other tester models

Wire Colors

US:

Black	Hot	120V input	Short Slot
White	Neutral	120V return	Long Slot
Bare	Ground		Half Round
Green	Ground		Half Round

Test light from Black to White should light

Test light from Black to Ground should light

Test light from White to Ground should NOT light

Resistance from Neutral to White should be zero (unless GFI is tripped)

Ground Fault Interrupter

These are mini circuit breakers used as outlets. They should be used anywhere where water may be encountered, to include:

Washrooms
Kitchens
Anything outdoors
Garages
Wet bars

mikeholt.com GFCI_requirement_page2.pdf GFCI Requirements

A single GFI outlet be used to protect everything in a circuit, or these can be used individually in each outlet to be protected. The advantage of using individual ones, is that less confusion and/or inconvenience is created when one is tripped and must be reset.

Wire Gauge

Service Wire Gauge Versus Amperage
Copper	Aluminum	Amperage
10	8	30
6	6	60
6	4	70
4	2	100
2	1/0	125
1/0	2/0	150
2/0	4/0	200

Copper Ground Wire Gauge
Copper	Service Amperage
8	100
6	125
4	150
3	200

Correct Wire Gauge For Home Circuits
Breaker / Fuse Size (Amps)	*Wire Gauge (Copper)**	Most Common Application
15	14	General household receptacles and lighting.**
20	12	Kitchen countertop receptacles for small appliances.
30	10	Water heaters.
40	8	Electric clothes dryers
50	6	Electric ranges.
* If you have aluminum wiring then the gauge should go up one level. As an example; for a 15 amp circuit using aluminum wire the correct wire gauge is 12. ** More and more new homes are being wired with a minimum of 20 amp circuits for general receptacles and lighting applications.

Wire Nuts

Gray	300V #22 to #16 AWG Min. 2 #22 Max. 2 #16
Blue	300V #22 to #14 AWG Min. 2 #22 Max. 3 #16
Orange	600V* #22 to #14 AWG Min. 1 #18 w/ 1 #20 Max. 4 #16 w/ 1 #20
Yellow	600V* #18 to #12 AWG Min. 2 #18 Max. 4 #14 w/ 1 #18
Red	600V* #18 to #10 AWG Min. 2 #14 Max. 2 #10 w/ 2 #12

Recommended wire sizes vary per brand and type.

3 Way Light Switch

These can look confusing at first and there are several ways to wire these and of these, a few will actually work.

Notice how the lone black wire goes into the Common portion of the switch, while the paired wires go into the Traveler portions of the switch.

Note that a natural wire is also left out of the light wire in these drawings, but will most likely be present in you home's wiring.

Tamper Resistant Outlets (TR)

nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=1508&itemID=36117

childoutletsafety.org/

It is important to protect children with tamperproof outlets all throughout your home, as outlets are tempting toys for unsuspecting children. Sticking fingers or foreign objects into sockets puts them at risk of being shocked or burned. Reduce this risk by calling Mr. Electric to install child proof outlets in your home today.

Over 2,400 kids will be injured by placing metal objects into electrical outlets and treated in the ER each year.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that over 95% of these injuries will involve burns. These burns range in severity, but many result in serious, even fatal injuries. Even minor injuries can leave a child emotionally traumatized. It is important to note that pediatric burns are more serious than adult burns because their skin is thin and offers little resistance to electric flow or heat. For this reason infant and toddler burns leave more serious burns and scars. Alarmingly 70% of the time adult supervision is present when an injury occurs. It only takes a second for a child to find danger by sticking a metal object or their finger into an outlet.

Because of this, these are required by code in most residential (NEC2008) and child pediatric facility (2002 (NEC Article 517.18C) applications.

Weather Resistant Outlets (WR)

2011 NEC Section 406.9 Receptacles in Damp or Wet Locations. All 15- and 20-ampere, 125- and 250-volt nonlocking receptacles shall be a listed weather-resistant type.

These outlets are required by the 2008 National Electrical Code in damp or wet locations, such as patios, decks and pool areas, or any other residential outdoor location. The 15-amp and 20-amp weather-resistant outlets are built with UV stabilized thermoplastic and corrosion-resistant metals for superior performance outdoors, including cold impact resistance. You can choose from combined weather/tamper-resistant outlets or weather-resistant GFCIs with or without tamper-resistance. Note: Outlets in damp or wet locations should always be installed with weather-resistant covers.

406.9 Receptacles in Damp or Wet Locations.

(A) Damp Locations.

A receptacle installed outdoors in a location protected from the weather or in other damp locations shall have an enclosure for the receptacle that is weatherproof when the receptacle is covered (attachment plug cap not inserted and receptacle covers closed). An installation suitable for wet locations shall also be considered suitable for damp locations. A receptacle shall be considered to be in a location protected from the weather where located under roofed open porches, canopies, marquees, and the like, and will not be subjected to a beating rain or water runoff. All 15- and 20-ampere, 125- and 250-volt nonlocking receptacles shall be a listed weather-resistant type.

(B) Wet Locations.

(1)[/B] 15- and 20-Ampere Receptacles in a Wet Location. 15- and 20-ampere, 125- and 250-volt receptacles installed in a wet location shall have an enclosure that is weatherproof whether or not the attachment plug cap is inserted. For other than one- or two-family dwellings, an outlet box hood installed for this purpose shall be listed, and where installed on an enclosure supported from grade as described in 314.23(B) or as described in 314.23(F) shall be identified as “extra-duty.” All 15- and 20-ampere, 125- and 250-volt nonlocking-type receptacles shall be listed weather-resistant type.

Wall Plates

There are may ways to cover your outlets and switches.

Size	Color	Width	Height
Narrow	White	2"	5.5
Standard	Stainless	2.75"	5.06
Midway	Brass	3.25"	4.5
Jumbo/Oversized	Black	3.5"	4.5

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