End-of-Run Electrical Receptacle Wiring

There are 2 main types of receptacle wiring; one that continues on to another receptacle and one that is end-of-run. This type of wiring refers to the type of circuit. An end-of-run means that the electrical connection stops at this point. A sign of an end-of-run is that only 1 cable is in the receptacle box. If you have a continuing circuit then there will be 2 as one cable will send the electricity to the next receptacle.

End-of-Run Wiring

Normally each receptacle will contain 5 different places, normally screws, in which wires can be attached. There will be one wire that goes into the receptacle box. To connect the wiring you will need to strip the wire as inside that large wire will be a black, white and green or bare wire. The black wires are hot and should be connected to the brass screws and the white wires are neutral. These are attached to the silver screws. Make sure all wires are attached on the same side of the receptacle. You will also need to attach the green wire to the grounding screw. The green wire sometimes may be a bare copper wire. There is no need to attach wires to the other side of the receptacle as this is end-of-run so it is not attached to anything else.

When to Use End-of-Run

Normally you will find end of the run in each room. This is because normally you will have one circuit breaker per room. If you have a specific light or socket wired to one light switch then that light will have end-of-run wiring. Not every socket will be end of run or attached to a switch. You may have an appliance, such as a washing machine, attached to a socket. There is no switch because you use the on/off switch on the machine. You can easily create an end of run receptacle by disconnecting the outgoing cables. Just be aware that any sockets after this receptacle will no longer work unless you wire them to a different circuit.

Safety Issues

Whenever you do your own wiring there are safety concerns as you are dealing with electricity. It is important that you turn the circuit breaker off for the circuit you are working on. Turning off the switch is not enough as the wires will still contain a charge and be hot. You can use a tester to ensure that there is no current flowing though the wires. Grounding is also important. If you have a metal receptacle box then it will be necessary to ground the box. This is in addition to attaching the grounding wire.

Adding New Wiring

When you are adding new wiring to a system, you want to connect this to the current end-of-run receptacle. This will have the space needed to connect the new wires. If you are inserting a receptacle box elsewhere, then make sure you connect the same colored wires together. Once you have done one receptacle wiring you will find all the rest to be very easy. This is a fairly easy household task because all wiring is color coded in the same way. Standard receptacle wiring in one house will be the same as the wiring in another house.