I know there are a few other threads about this topic but I have a differant situation.

I recently bought a condo(was built and used to be an appartment) and the wiring is all messed up. It all works fine but it was hacked from day 1. One breaker controls the bathroon and 1/2 a bedroom and another breaker controls the other 1/2 of the bedroom and the second bedroom and 1 outlen in the living room. Who knows what other breakers are really controlling. I got shocked changing out an outlet is how I found out about the first bedroom. It tingled a bit more than when my trucks plug wires shocked me

Anyway my main question is that when I moved in every room(3 rooms) had 1/2 of 1 outlet controlled by the rooms light switch. After putting in new outlets and repluging in all the wires exactly where thay came out from the switch no longer controll the 1/2 outlets in any room but the outlets still work(both top and bottom). Is there a special outlet for being switched or did I do somthing wrong?? Can I switch just the black sides(from upper outlet to lower and vise) or the white sides to see if I might have repluged wrong? Or will that blow things up? Any ideas????? Is there anything car related that this might be like to set up???

Thank you

 

Best thing I can tell you is get the meter out and find out which blacks are hot and which are on a switch.
Glenn

 

Look at one of your old outlets.You will notice on the brass screw side,between the two screws,there is a small bar attaching them together.When you want to split them so one is switched and the other is not,you simply remove that little piece of brass.Do this only on the hot (brass) side.

 

KT is absolutely correct...gotta separate the upper and lower portions of the outlet when one side is switched and the other hot.

And do yourself a favor, go to Home Depot or Loews and buy a neat device where a small transmitter plugs into the outlet and sends a signal through the wire (the transmitter will have a small LED that glows when circuit is hot). At the panel, you scan the breakers with a receiver that picks up the signal. By adjusting the sensitivity on the recveiver, you isolate EXACTLY which breaker controls that circuit. Flip that breaker and it's now safe to work on the circuit.

You can also use it in light sockets, if you get a screw-in light adapter that has slots for a 2-bladed prong. Just plug the transmitter in and go test the panel.

Safety first!!

 

Thank you guys. I kinda thought it was somthing simple but wasn't sure.
Car wiring seems so much easier(more straight forward), or I'm just more experienced with it.

As for the tester I will check it out and depending on the price I may stick with the lamp plugged in method(when it goes out I got the right breaker)

So far I have to say this site has impressed me with all the knowledge and how nice everyone seems to be. Now if I can just stop pressing the wrong keys on the keyboard so it doesn't take 10 minutes to type a short reply.

 

I have meters and testers and a light that has two orange and one red light on it to tell if the outlet is wired correctly and if it is on,but I think the best way to kill the power to an outlet is by using a drill.I plug it in,turn it on,and then go flip breakers.That way,I can listen for the drill to shut off and dont have to keep running back into the room to see if the light went out!

 

King Triton,

I'am with you. I have all the test gear but instead of a drill, I use a radio. It's the long range version of your method I guess.

Gene

 

And safer for the grandchild too

 

Yea, I've tried all the tricks (radios, lights....well, never a drill motor) while flipping c/b's to test the circuit...but it got old having to reset clocks and timers in every room, including the one you wanted to kill the circuit in to begin with.

The gizmo I'm talking about isolates a circuit down to the specific breaker, so you get "one shot, one kill"... first time, every time!

 

You hit the nail on the head about the 'bar' between the upper and lower outlets.


Next - I HAVE to get me one of these 'gizmos'!!!
I've used just about every trick in the book and this sounds like the it's slicker than grease on a doorknob.
Thanks!!!

I'll tell one about 'Captain Dummy' - I plugged a radio into the outlet and went to the garage to 'flip' the breakers.

I radio never heard the radio go 'off'.

I flipped every breaker. Finally, I went back upstairs to see what the heck had gone awry.
I found out my son (13 at the time) heard the radio go off. . . he pulled the plug out of the back of the radio and the battery back-up (6 D batteries) took over!!! "Hey Dad. Listen. . . . Alabama has a new song!!"
I was sooooooooo mad!!! That's right. . . I AM Captain Dummy!

 

7283. just for your own info. if your going to keep that circiut as a split circiut, then you need to know it has to be a 2 pole breaker, so both circiuts are shut off at the same time. [thats why you got shocked lol ] that circiut should be run with a three conductor wire. black and red for the switched and continouse circiuts, and the white for the common neutral, and of course your ground wire. hope this helps, good luck

 

00BlueOval...(errr...Captain??)...that's funny! And it's also the reason I don't rely on anybody shouting "OK, it's off!" down to me while I'm at the breaker panel. Then run upstairs and find they had it (lamp, radio, whatever) plugged in the wrong outlet LOL!.

With the "gizmo", I'm in total control of killing the right circuit.

 

That is a great lil tool..Im gonna have to get one.
Glenn

 

The one I want switched is the one that was originaly switch. The one I got shocked on was a non switched outlet. I tell you, I found out this condo is so hacked in the electrical department. It's so hacked that one of the electrical boxes is broken and they used a butterfly molly to hold the outlet in. I had already redone the room and found this out and did not feel like repatching than repainting part of the wall so I had to keep it that way. I know that is wrong but I had a room mate moving in in 2 days and needed the room done. Also allong with being hacked, I took off some interior door trim molding and the whole door almost fell out of the wall, yep the trim was/is holding the door in. I want to get out of this place so bad.

 

Yep, drills work pretty good. I was drilling through an old top plate to add a new circuit, and drilled right through a wire from the old **** and tube system that someone, in a moment of passion, had sandwiched between the doubled plates. Although there were 4 circuits in the old house, the drill managed to shut them all off by breaking one little wire.