Author Topic: House Wiring Question (Read 1404 times)

Zeke Menuar · « **on:** November 27, 2005, 09:40:14 AM »

Been in the garage cleaning up. One of the plugs out there is installed upside down. This plug gets hot when anything is plugged into it. Even the wimpy florescent light for my reloading bench gets the plug hot.

The other plugs each have a TV set (gotta get my football fix in) and a space heater. Those plugs are fine. No heat buildup.

This place is a rental. Plan to call management to get the plug fixed.

I don't know much about house wiring. Why is this happening and what is the usual fix? Did someone wire the plug wrong?

Thanks
ZM

hogcatcher · « **Reply #1 on:** November 27, 2005, 09:45:25 AM »

prob .. a loose wire , or bad recepticle.. if all other plugs are good....

Graybeard · « **Reply #2 on:** November 27, 2005, 09:52:01 AM »

Plug orientation is immaterial to function. Current building codes will usually specify the third ground side up so that if the wire is partially out of the plug and something falls over it there will be no shorting out as it's the ground anyway.

Plugs do go bad at times. Other than that a loose wire is the most likely culprit.

Zeke Menuar · « **Reply #3 on:** November 27, 2005, 10:27:32 AM »

I am asking for my own information. My only training in wiring is: Left, Right, Ground. After that I get a professional.

Gotta learn how to fix this simple stuff. We'll be in position to get a real honest-to-goodness house pretty soon.

Thanks
ZM

Sourdough · « **Reply #4 on:** November 27, 2005, 10:51:18 AM »

Since it is a rental, need to let the landlord know so he can fix it. In short, it is a fire hazard. I would not use it till it was fixed. Yes I know some people will say I'm screaming wolf so to speak, but with 35 years in housing maintenance, that's what my experience dictates.

Shorty · « **Reply #5 on:** November 27, 2005, 11:17:13 AM »

'Must have been a non-union electrician!

:roll: :wink:

Swamp Yankee · « **Reply #6 on:** November 27, 2005, 12:56:46 PM »

Zeke,
Nine times out of ten you will find a loose conection. Unless it is a dedicated circut you will find a number of plugs on that circut, so........if the heater is down stream from your plug your plug is carrying the load of the heater and what ever else is pluged in down stream. It's an easy fix, just shut off the power and replace the plug. Black goes to the brass screws and the white goes to the silver screws and the ground goes to the screw that is attached to the device strap. Don't wait to long to have this fixed................Jim

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #7 on:** November 27, 2005, 01:43:27 PM »

Swamp Yankee Is 100% right , This is a fire hazard and should be fixed ASAP

A new receptical is about $ 1.00 A whole lot cheaper than a fire .

1 - Turn off power

2 - Remove receptical

3 - Remove wires from receptical

4 - Install wires on new receptical / Black to Gold , White to Silver , Bare or Green to ground screw on end of receptical

5 - Install receptical into wall box ( Make sure no wires are pinched )

6 - Turn power back on

Trust me :shock: 20+ years as an electrian , It is that eazy

unspellable · « **Reply #8 on:** November 28, 2005, 06:30:07 AM »

Ground pin up or down has been a question. The receptacles in my house are about 50/50. When I've had occasion to replace a receptacle I've been putting them in ground pin down because many of the plugs seem to be designed to work that way.

Two pin polarized plugs drive me nuts. The rule seems to be the less need there is for a polarized plug the more liley it is to be on the appliance. For example a battery charger with the 120 VAC line going to the two sides of a transformer primary and the whole shebang in a plastic case is guaranteed to have a polarized plug. Where as a metal cased drill motor will have a non-polarized plug.

magooch · « **Reply #9 on:** November 29, 2005, 09:42:26 AM »

The ground pin hole goes down.

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #10 on:** November 29, 2005, 12:30:48 PM »

magooch

AS OF 1-1-05 The NEC ( Nat. Electrical Code ) states that the ground port of the recptical is on top .

This was changed to provide for ground protection , should the plug be part way removed and something should fall on to it , the first point of contact will be to ground

rockbilly · « **Reply #11 on:** November 30, 2005, 02:42:55 PM »

:shock: The correct method of eliminating this hazard is:

1. Go inside and open a cold one.
2. Have a seat in your favorite chair.
3. Pick up the phone and call the landlord. Scare the heck
out of him by telling him the plug is hot and smoking BAD. That you are afraid the house is about to burn down.
4. Relax while you wait for his electrician to show up.

I am not saying this to be funny. By fixing it yourself you could be open for a lawsuit if there is a fire, or if there is further damage to the house as a result of you working on it. Only repair it yourself if you have written permission from the owner. I had a renter that attempted to make a repair to a hot water heater. The water leak caused over $30,000.00 damage to the walls and hardwood floors. My insurance company is suing him because I had not given approval to do the work. They will never collect because the kids don't have anything, but they will go several years of BS with the courts. And all this time, my son-in-law, the plummer was available to do the repairs. :cry: :cry: :cry:

ShadowMover · « **Reply #12 on:** November 30, 2005, 06:44:30 PM »

That would fall into the "No good deed goes unpunished" category, right? Good advice on the liability issue.

Daveinthebush · « **Reply #13 on:** November 30, 2005, 08:04:29 PM »

Quote

Trust me 20+ years as an electrian , It is that eazy.

:-D I am sorry but I have to. Do you mean 20+ years as an electrician?
I would think that after 20+ years of a career you could at least be able to spell the title. :-D

Sorry..................long day with the kids today. :roll:

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #14 on:** December 01, 2005, 12:16:31 PM »

Dave --- I was wondering how long it would take for someone to see that :-D :-D :-D

Yes - 20 years as an ELECTRICIAN

IBEW Local 32

Rockbilly has a good point about the Liability though .

Daveinthebush · « **Reply #15 on:** December 01, 2005, 02:58:50 PM »

Stimpylu32:

Thank you for seeing the humor. I work with teens all day and some days just need to vent a little when I get home. Some of that venting is done on a target and some with humor. Meant no personal attacks. I was once an inginear. So don't feel bad

mitchell · « **Reply #16 on:** December 02, 2005, 01:15:35 AM »

Quote from: stimpylu32

A new receptical is about $ 1.00 A whole lot cheaper than a fire .

68 cents at walmart . don't wait get this fixed.

mitchell · « **Reply #17 on:** December 02, 2005, 01:17:54 AM »

Quote from: stimpylu32

IBEW Local 32

(

IBEW :" I'm Broke Every Wednesday" that place

??

(dads a electrician 20+ years also)

45454 · « **Reply #18 on:** December 07, 2005, 10:13:04 PM »

And I have 20+ years as a cannery mechanic :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D
And sometimes I HAVE to convince our electrician of a problem. :shock:
With the other 2 guys at work, they're great

:-D :-D :-D

unspellable · « **Reply #19 on:** December 08, 2005, 11:29:47 AM »

Have you ever stopped to consider that the elctricity comes to you on the black wire and goes back on the white wire? The electric company has made no new electricty since 1947. They have spent all the time since figuring out ways to jack up your bill.

If you doubt this, just disconnect the white wire and the electric company will stop sending you electricty on the black wire.

unspellable · « **Reply #20 on:** December 08, 2005, 11:36:01 AM »

Have you ever stopped to consider that the electricity comes to you on the black wire and goes back to the electric company on the white wire? The electric company has made no new electricty since 1947. They have spent all the time since figuring out ways to jack up your bill.

If you doubt this, just disconnect the white wire and the electric company will stop sending you electricity on the black wire.

There is an urban myth that light bulbs produce light. This is not true, they absorb darkness.

There is a little neon night light in a ceiling fixture in my basement. It does not work. Unless I turn on a flashlight, then the night light turns on. It turns off as soon as I turn the flashlight off. Aside from the obvious perversity of nature, can anyone explain this effect? I will award the winner 3 attaboy's.

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #21 on:** December 08, 2005, 12:26:19 PM »

unspellable

First , If you think that they stop sending you power on the black wire . Call 911 before you do this , Put your foot in a bath tub full of water and grab the black wire see what happens . NO NO NO -- NEVER DO THAT

You may very well DIE from it .

Second , The neon light is probably a Photo eye unit that is wired in a N.C. contact and not on a N.O. contact .

It is supposed to turn on when the lights in the rest of the room go out , and turn off when the lights come on .

williamlayton · « **Reply #22 on:** December 08, 2005, 08:45:50 PM »

HUMMMM, with all this rhetoric I am wondering if the dagone receptacle has been repaired? Sounds like where I used to work. Takes thirteen meetings and somebody to get fired just to adjust the heat.
Just noticed that little box below the right hand of the post comment section. Hummm, wonder what that is for??!!
Blessings

unspellable · « **Reply #23 on:** December 09, 2005, 03:24:35 AM »

The white wire is connected to ground at the service drop. If you stick your foot in a bath tub full of water you are connected to the white wire. That means the electric company can get their electricity back again and they will send you some more. But this trick will do nothing to reduce your bill.

The neon night light has a neon lamp and presumbably a ballast resistor in a small translucent white plastic housing with two prongs on the back to plug into a standard outlet. It's plugged into an over head fixture. There is no photo eye involved. It is designed to be on full time. At present, if the room is other wise totally dark the light will be off. If I turn on any other source of light, the neon lamp comes on. This works even if the other source of light is a rather small flashlight aimed at the floor.

Hint: When the other source of light is turned off, the neon light flickers two or three times before going out.

There is an answer to this problem.

magooch · « **Reply #24 on:** December 09, 2005, 04:16:09 AM »

Quote from: stimpylu32

magooch

AS OF 1-1-05 The NEC ( Nat. Electrical Code ) states that the ground port of the recptical is on top .

This was changed to provide for ground protection , should the plug be part way removed and something should fall on to it , the first point of contact will be to ground

Thanks for the info stimpy, but I have to wonder why they now give more importance to the rare chance of something falling on the plug than they do to having the ground being the last to lose contact if the plug works its way loose.

unspellable · « **Reply #25 on:** December 09, 2005, 04:55:13 AM »

Why does my neon lamp turn o nwhen there is another light source present and turn off when the room is other wise dark? It's a simple neon lamp, no control circuit.

I'll speed this up by offering a few more hints.

1. The fact that this lamp is operating from an AC as opposed to DC circuit is a significant factor in the answer.

2. The lamp used to glow full time. This business of being off in the dark and on when there is some other light source present started after the lamp had been running for some time.

3. Consider that the lamp requires a ballast. This is not significant to the answer but may jog your thinking in the right direction.

4. This effect used to be actually imployed in practical devices. A very closely related effect was used in old time elevator buttons with neon indicator lamps in them.

unspellable · « **Reply #26 on:** December 09, 2005, 05:00:24 AM »

My comments about the electricity arriving on the black wire and going back on the white wire were meant as humor, but I once told this to a gal who knew nothing about electricity and she took it seriously. I then had to explain to her that if I gave her a seat and a crank with a belt going to some machine, she could turn the crank, work would get done, and the belt would be continuously returning to her. But would she sit there and turn the crank all day with out being paid?

Brett · « **Reply #27 on:** December 09, 2005, 11:03:46 AM »

My first college room mate, Keith, was an Electrical Engineering major. For reasons too long to go into here we had too replace a light switch in our dorm room one night. (Let's just say alcohol was involved and leave it at that.) Anyway, yours truly figures the best place to get one on short notice is from the empty room across the hall. Being careful to touch only one wire at a time and being very careful not to ground myself against the metal box or nearby metal door jamb I proceeded to remove the switch from the wall while Keith kept watch. Just as I finished, keith gets this real puzzled look on his face and ask "How do you know the power is turned off?" To wich I replied "What makes you think that the power is off?" and proceeded to explain to the EE major about electrical circuits. To show him that there was no problem as long as you do not complete the circuit by touching both wires or a ground, I took one of the bare wires between my fingers and said "See... go ahead take the other one." So he takes hold of the other wire and says "cool!.... What happens if I did this?" and reaches out and pokes my bare arm with a finger on his free hand. :eek:

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #28 on:** December 09, 2005, 01:39:52 PM »

Over the last 20 + years i have learned that when someone tells me that they are an Electrical Engineer , The first thing i ask is TYCO or LIFELIKE :-D :-D :-D