open ground on outlet controlled by 3 way switch

I have 2 outlets which I have controlled by two 3 way switches and the outlets say open ground when I plug a tester in (the kind you plug into the outlet). I have a fluorescent light plugged into both of the outlets (one per outlet) and if I unplug on neither will work.

Here are the details: 2 cable (blk, wht) coming from the power source and going to the outlets. At the outlets I have the black wire (from the power source) connected to the white wire that goes on the next outlet (or switch as the case may be). I have the white wire (from the power source) connected to the white hookup on the outlet and the black from the outgoing wire connected to the other side of the outlet in the hot place.

Obviously I've made a mess of this. If someone can point me in the right direction, I would be much obliged.


The image may be more useful:
http://robpacker.com/wires.gif

 

I have 2 outlets which I have controlled by two 3 way switches and the outlets say open ground when I plug a tester in (the kind you plug into the outlet). I have a fluorescent light plugged into both of the outlets (one per outlet) and if I unplug on neither will work.##

1-light in a receptacle? or 1- light in each rec.?



##Here are the details: 2 cable (blk, wht) coming from the power source and going to the outlets. At the outlets I have the black wire (from the power source) connected to the white wire that goes on the next outlet (or switch as the case may be). I have the white wire (from the power source) connected to the white hookup on the outlet and the black from the outgoing wire connected to the other side of the outlet in the hot place.#

The comment of "or switch as case may be" leaves us to wonder.
Is there a switch?
is this just a receptacle ckt?
And, What are you saying!?!

Nice effort but useless (drawing).

Give the exact configuration, and devices you are useing, (switch, receptacle, etc.)

 

Just like the drawing says, there are 2 3-way switches and 2 outlets. the wiring goes from power source -> outlet 1 -> outlet 2 -> switch 1 -> switch 2

The outlets are just receptacles.

At each outlet (receptacle) there is one light plugged in.

If anything else is confusing I will try to explain better.

 

re-look.

Ok you need a 3-wire from the first rec to the first sw.(top left)

Or; a 2-wire from supply to the last sw. (bottom left).

Or; a 2- wire from first rec. to either sw.

The lay out you have now won't work for what your desire.

Please excuse the useless remark, I needed a closer look. Good job.

 

Rob, I think the easiest way to fix this is to run a 3-wire/grd cable (black, red, white & ground) between the receptacles otherwise your drawing is fine. You can have half the receptacle hot all the time if you wish. You do have bare ground wires in your wiring?

Roger

 

You need THREE wire cable between the receptacles, as roger has suggested.

At receptacle 1 connect the black wires together. Connect the white wires together and to the silver screws on the receptacle (connect one white to each silver screw). Connect the red wire to a gold screw.

At receptacle 2 connect the white wire from receptacle 1 to a silver screw on the receptacle. Connect the black wire from receptacle 1 to the white wire going to switch 1. Connect the red wire from receptacle 1 to a gold screw. Connect the black wire from switch 1 to a gold screw.

At switch 1 connect the white wires together. Connect the black wire from the receptacle to the common of the switch. Connect the black and red to switch 2 to the travelers of the switch.

At switch 2 connect the white wire to the common terminal. Connect the black and red wires to the traveler terminals.

This will give you both receptacles switched.

 

Bob:....Thanks for posting the connection sequence.

I'm thinking rob doesnt have ground in his original wiring from the source. So he is testing open ground.

Roger

 

wow, thanks for all the detailed help. I will post back up with the results.

 

racraft, I followed your instructions, and sure enough, it all worked!
I'm so jealous of you guys knowledge of this stuff, amazing...
Much more rewarding than the boring programming I do at work.
Thanks again everyone.

 

I assure you that programming is NOT boring. At least not the programming that I do.

I'm glad that things are working now. I urge you to draw this out on paper and figure out WHY it works. If you can understand this setup, you should be able to tackle most others in your house.

 

Yes, I've been comparing the working results to the books I had to start with trying to understand it.
As for programming, I dig most of it (within the range of what I was hired to do anyway). The last two weeks I have spent on exporting from SQL server (cool)/importing into QuickBooks on a Windows box (lame) which leaves a sour taste for me. should be a new challenge and all that, but still sucks...

Thanks again.
RP