switched outlet
#1
11-25-07, 07:12 PM
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switched outlet
i have a double switch. top switch controls outside light, bottom switch controls receptacle. there are 3 2-wire cables going into box. there are 2 brass screws on each side of switch. on left side there is 1 black wire at top, bottom screw empty. on the other side, black wire on each screw. all whites tied together with wire nut. i only want half of the receptacle to be controlled by switch, other side to be hot always. is there a way to do this with existing wiring?
#2
11-25-07, 07:32 PM
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You have to replace the one two wire cable with a 2 wire plus ground cable, connect the whites together, black to le left side, red to the switch. At the outlet, white to neutral, red and black to each end of the hot side, breaking the tab.
#3
11-26-07, 04:59 AM
The answer to your question is most likely no, you have to replace the cable between the receptacle and the switch. However, to be absolutely certain of this, tell us the wiring at the receptacle.
In the future, do not reference switches and receptacles with terms left, right, top or bottom, as these terms mean very little. In your case, for example, the terminals could just as easily be reversed.
In the future, do not reference switches and receptacles with terms left, right, top or bottom, as these terms mean very little. In your case, for example, the terminals could just as easily be reversed.
#4
11-26-07, 03:04 PM
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the recptacle is in the middle of the run. thats why i wanted to make 1 side of the receptacle always hot. as it stands now, i have to turn on the switch in the house so that the receptacles and the light, which also has a switch, have power. anyway, the switched receptacle has the 2 wire cable going out to another receptacle and the 2 wire cable coming in fron the switch. black to each brass screw and white to each silver screw. the tab on both sides of receptacle is intact. i thought i read in a book that you could mark the white wires black, break the tab and attach them to hot side?
#5
11-26-07, 03:32 PM
Be careful what you read. Not understanding what you are doing is a good way to get into trouble.
In your case power goes through the switch box. The only way to make half the receptacle switched and half always hot is to replace the cable from the switch to the receptacle.
In your case power goes through the switch box. The only way to make half the receptacle switched and half always hot is to replace the cable from the switch to the receptacle.
#6
12-04-07, 08:58 PM
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I've see this in other posts. Many people just tape the switch "on". Otherwise you have to rewire. You cannot remove the switch and wire it to always be "on" unless you have a light fixture that is on a switch in the same room.
