receptacle wiring

I have a few questions.

#1) I need to put a receptacle next to a switch that feeds an out side light. I believe the power comes into the switch and up to the light. There are two black wires on the switch and the white wires are connected together. ( there is only one set of wires going to the light) What do i need to do to get power to the receptacle?

#2) I also need to put a receptacle next to a switch in a bathroom. I believe th power comes from the light down to the switch. ( only one set of wires at the switch) is it possible for me to power an outlet under these circumstances? If not what are my options?

#3) Do all outlets outside need to be GFI?

#4) last one . I have 3 outlets on my kitchen counter with no Gfi. How do i determine which outlet the power is coming into so I can put my GFI there?

Thanks

 

#1. Take the hot side black wire off the switch and pigtail it to the switch and to the outlet. Take another pigtail from the white to the outlet. And hopefully there is a ground wire there someplace to hook up to the outlet, if not you will need to run one. If you get the wrong black wire, your outlet will need the switch one to work.

#2. You can do it the same way as #1, but you MUST use a GFCI outlet. Make sure you do pigtails, wiring in series can screw up GFCI outlets depending whats on the circuit elsewhere.

#3. No. If you have GFCI breakers running all the outside outlets.

#4. Ummm this could be tricky. Are you sure they are all on the same circuit? Turn off the breaker and check that all 3 are dead. With the power off, disconnect the black wires from one of the end outlet, put on wirenuts and then see if the others are still dead. Repeat until you find the start of the series. Also, you might be able to trace the kitchen outlet circuit in the basement and figure out where the power is coming up in order to figure out the setup.

 

1. You need to tap off the white wires, and off the black wire that is the power feed. If you can't tell which black wire is which, then either test it (if you have any test equipment), or simply pick one at random (if you pick the wrong one, the receptacle will only be hot when the switch is on, and then you can pick the other one). How you tap off the black wire depends on exactly where the receptacle is (separate box, same box but separate device, or same box and combo device). In either of the first two cases, you will need a "pigtail" (short piece of black wire).

2. Not possible. To add a new receptacle, pretend the switch doesn't even exist. You can get power at the light fixture itself, or at some other unswitched receptacle (but not one outside the bathroom).

3. Yes (with a few very rare exceptions, e.g., for ice-melting equipment). Post back if you think you might have an exception.

4. First, make sure that they are not protected by a GFCI receptacle or breaker located somewhere else. An $8 circuit tester with a GFCI button can be used to determine this. If no protection already exists, figure it out by trial and error. Try this:

• Shut off the breaker.
• Remove one of the three receptacles from the box, disconnecting and separating all wires.
• Chase the kids out of the kitchen and turn the breaker back on.
• Test the other two receptacles. If they are now dead, you have found the one at the head of the circuit. If not, shut off the breaker again, put it back together, choose another receptacle and repeat this procedure.

 

Thanks for your input. I will let you know how this project turns out. Going on vacation and will not be attempting this for a few weeks. Just doing some research. I do have one question regaurding the bathroom outlet. If I can't fish the wire from the light to the outlet without ripping the wall apart ( for my power supply) Why can't I find a power source from outside the bathroom? Maybe from the basement or maybe run power from the panel? please advise what my options are and thanks again.

 

It's not an option if you want to be code-compliant. I can't offer any other explanation.