How to Replace a Receptacle

For safety's sake, you want all the receptacles in your house to stay in perfect working condition. Replacing a receptacle that no longer holds a plug securely, or replacing an ungrounded receptacle with a grounded one, is a relatively easy task.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Neon Tester
• Lamp Or Radio
• Wire Nuts
• Electrician's Pliers
• Screwdriver
• Wire Nuts

Shut off power to the circuit

1. Locate the receptacle's circuit breaker (or its fuse, on older systems).

2. If the panel doesn't have a circuit map, identify the circuit by plugging a lamp or radio into the receptacle and turning off 15-A or 20-A breakers or fuses one by one until the power at the receptacle goes off.

3. Remove the cover plate and the two screws that secure the receptacle to the outlet box.

4. Identify what type of receptacle and cabling you have. In most cases, one cable goes into the box and one comes out. You'll find the receptacle at the end of the line if only one cable goes into the box. Less often, two cables (each on a separate circuit) may power each half of a duplex receptacle, and other cables may pass through or terminate in the outlet box. A receptacle that's wired in series will not work if the wiring at a receptacle between it and the service panel is disconnected. Type NM (nonmetallic, plastic-sheathed) cable has at least two conductors (insulated wires)--one black (hot) and one white (neutral)--and one bare copper grounding wire. Grounded receptacles should only be used with grounded systems.

5. Use a neon tester to verify that the receptacle doesn't have any power by probing a metal box or grounding wire with one lead and touching each terminal with the other lead.

6. If either two black wires or one black and one red wire connect to the two brass-screw terminals on one side of the receptacle, and the slotted metal tab between the top and bottom brassscrew terminals has been removed, two circuits are feeding the receptacle. Make sure to shut off both of these circuit breakers.

Swap an old receptacle for a new one

7. 

   Carefully pull the receptacle out of the box (see illustration) and note how it is wired or make a diagram.

8. Loosen or remove the terminal screws on the receptacle as needed to disconnect the wires.

9. Attach the insulated wires to the new receptacle as they were attached to the old one. Connect any black or red wires (hot) under the brass-screw terminals; connect any white wires (neutral) under the silver-screw terminals.

10. If you are using Type NM cable and only one cable enters the box, connect its bare ground wire to the ground terminal on the receptacle, which usually has a green terminal screw.

11. If you are using Type NM cable and more than one cable is present, connect all grounding wires and a separate length of bare wire (called a jumper ) by twisting the wire ends together with electrician's pliers and twisting on a wire nut. Secure the other end of the jumper under the receptacle's ground-terminal screw.

12. If you are using metal boxes and Type NM cable, you must ground the receptacle to the box in one of two ways. You can install a jumper wire, called a pigtail, under the ground-terminal screw on the receptacle and under a grounding screw on the box. Or you can use a special receptacle with a spring-type grounding strap, which you ground by screwing it into the box.

13. If you are using armor-clad cable, the cable grounds the box itself, but you need to ground the receptacle to the box via a terminal screw or by using a receptacle that has a spring-type grounding strap. If the cable has a thin aluminum wire, you shouldn't connect it to anything.

14. Bend the wires back into the box, then attach the receptacle and its cover plate. Restore power.

Tips & Warnings

• Before you shut off the power, make sure you've shut down any computer on the circuit.
• If there is any chance someone might turn on the breaker while you're working, put tape over the breaker or tape a note to the service panel.
• Always use receptacles that have screw terminals, and use the screw terminals on receptacles that also have push-in connections on the back. The latter aren't as reliable and may not meet code approval in your jurisdiction.
• Wire connectors are color coded for the maximum or minimum number of wires of a particular gauge you can join with the device. Be sure to use the appropriate one.
• Wrap a conductor or grounding wire clockwise two-thirds to three-quarters of the way around a terminal screw so that when you tighten the screw, the wire tends to wrap tighter around the terminal and not get pushed out from under it.
• To tighten a screw terminal, turn the screw until it's in full contact with the wire, and then make an additional half turn.
• If your home is wired with aluminum rather than copper wiring, you must use fixtures and wire connectors that Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has approved for use with aluminum and copper (Type CO/ALR).
• Don't leave bare wires exposed. The screw or connector should cover them.