I am replacing all of the outlets in my house with newer ones. I have reached a problem while trying to replace two outlets above the kitchen counter on either side of my sink. The 4 fuses for these two outlets are housed in 2 devices that I am unfamiliar with. Each device has two sockets to screw the fuses into with a small door contraption that closes over the top of the fuses after they have been screwed in. The devices also have two sets of prongs on the back of them. The devices are inserted into slots in the fuse box.
After I hooked up the outlets I inserted the devices that house the fuses into the fuse box and turned the power back on. All four fuses blew. The windows in the fuses were black (which I have read indicates a short somewhere). I took all of the wires off of the outlets and inserted new fuses again. This time the fuses did not burn out (without the wires being connected to the outlets). Each of the outlet boxes has a black, a red, a white and a ground wire. I tested the wires for incoming power and found this to be true for the blacks and the reds. Could someone tell me where I am going wrong? If I can't solve this I will call an electrician but if it is something simple I would like to try. Thanks
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Are you saying that from the subpanel box to the outlet, there are two hot wires- red and black? Did you connect both of these hot wires to a single outlet?
Yes, there are red and black wires and when I detached them from the outlet and turn the power on, they were both hot (I tested them with a voltage tester, touching one end to the end of the wire and the other to the metal box).
This is the same set up as my parents kitchen outlets at their house. I checked to make sure.
This is the same set up as my parents kitchen outlets at their house. I checked to make sure.
When you connect both hot leads to the same outlet, you are creating a 220 volt circuit on a 110 volt outlet. If they were both connected to the same outlet originally, my guess is that they broke the connecting lug. If you look on the side of the outlet with the two brass screws, you will notice a small brass square (with a hole in the middle) between the two screws. This allows the power to pass from the bottom of the outlet to the top. When you break this lug off, power will no longer pass and only one portion is hot. If you still have the old outlets you can see if this is true.
My guess is the original installer wanted two seperate circuits to run the kitchen appliances and they are sharing the neutral wire. Try connecting just the black and white wires to the outlets and see if the fuses hold.
Let me know what happens and I'll take you from there. Don't want to give you information that will not help.......
