Has anyone ever heard of an outlet like this one that I encountered? It has the 2 hot wires and the 2 neutrals hooked on the side bolts and there is a 5th wire which is red and appears to be a little fatter than the other wires. I believe they are single pole outlets but I can't figure out what that 5th wire is and it goes into the back of the outlet.

The red wire is also a hot wire in a romex nm-b 12/3w/ground. It is a red and black hot wire, a white neutral, and the bare ground. Romex nm-b 12/2w/ground has a black, white, and bare ground. The red also acts as the traveler wire in 3 way switches. I am guessing that this is a kitchen counter outlet where they ran 12/3 for 2 circuits that share a neutral wire and then the black wire will power every other outlet and the red wire will power the other outlets along the countertop. Another possibility may be a switched outlet run by a switch near the front door. Let me know what you got and if the red wire is hooked to anything.

Dear Davey B:
With electricity assuming something could get someone killed.
Please be more explicit. What room is it in, is it a switch or receptacle outlet, What goes out when you shut the circuit breaker off?
Write back .....

The Outlets in question are (2) and they do run off of a switch by the door. They are not in the kitchen they are in the living room below a bay window. Do they require a special outlet if I were to replace them?
The switch that turns them off is a single pole switch if that helps any. The Red wire goes into the back of the outlet while the others attach to the posts.

[This message has been edited by Davey B (edited February 20, 2000).]