![]() ![]() You’ll need to call an electrician for these instances. The latter case would be a cable that has a white, black, and red wire. The directions to the Pass & Seymour GFCI I used stated not to install it in an electrical box containing more than 4 wires (not including the ground wires) or with cables that have more than two wires (not including the ground wires). LOAD as wells as how to safely remove old outlets. Here’s a video that shares more information on LINE vs. This cable needs to be connected to the GFCI’s LOAD terminals. LOAD cables deliver power from the outlet (GFCI in this example) to another outlet in the circuit. It should be connected to the GFCI’s LINE terminals. If you’re lucky there will only be one cable entering the electrical box and it’s the LINE cable. Moral of the story: be careful and work on wires with the electricity off.Īnyhow, LINE cables deliver power from the service panel to the electrical outlet or GFCI in this case. Think of yourself reaching in and BAM! The Darth Vader wire shocks your right hand. And finally, the black wire is Darth Vader, it’s the hot evil wire that will kill you. LOAD cables.Ī typical electrical cable has 2 or 3 wires. In order to understand how to install GFCI outlets, you need to understand LINE vs. Getting shocked wouldn’t please my insurance agent or my wife? I used my handy dandy voltage detector a second time for this step. ![]() Confirm the voltage tester is working by inserting it in to a live receptacle.Īgain, test the power by touching the probes of your voltage tester to a hot wire and a grounded box, to a hot wire and a neutral wire, or insert them into the neutral & hot slots in the outlet. Even test the wires you’re not working with because they might have electricity running to them. Remove the cover plate with a rubber-gripped screwdriver then test all the wires for power. Check that there’s no electricity running to it with either a voltage tester or detector. Turn off the power to the old outdoor electrical outlet at the service panel (unless you like to live dangerously). How to Identify the LINE & LOAD Cables for an Outdoor GFCI Electrical Outlet ![]() If you feel the same way about your family and friends then what I have to share will ease your fears of electrical shock. I love them and their safety is super important. I replaced an outdoor electrical outlet that wasn’t a GFCI because my daughters are getting older and plugging electrical devices like iPods into outlets themselves. ![]() This would be bad, real bad.Īt the end of this post, you’ll have the ability to replace an old electrical outlet with a GFCI outlet and test your work for correctness. Who wants to be shocked while singing their rendition of Elvis Presley’s Blue Suede Shoes in front of their friends and neighbors. They take care of electrical safety issues without you having to give much thought.īut you should test them monthly to make sure they work. Put another way, GFCIs are a part of your home’s nervous system. If there is a ground fault the GFCI will trip (like a circuit breaker) and quickly stop electricity from flowing through a person’s body to get to the ground. Ground-fault circuit interrupters are special electrical outlets. House electrical wiring needs GFCIs in kitchens, bathrooms, and anywhere outside. If this is a GFCI, you might want to attach the onward wires to the LINE terminals, not use LOAD at all, and get another GFCI receptacle to protect the bathroom.If you use outdoor electrical outlets for holiday lights or other things that need a plug (karaoke machine anyone) then a GFCI outlet is a must. However, having your bathroom GFCI device outdoors is inconvenient at best. It could be as simple as resetting this outdoor GFCI, which may have been tripped by the power wash. Bathroom receptacles need GFCI more than any other location, so it's quite possible this outdoor GFCI is set up to protect your bathroom sockets. That would be important because GFCI receptacles can protect downline loads (which you say your bathroom is). It's quite possible it is a GFCI receptacle, since GFCI protection is now required for outside receptacles, and a GFCI receptacle is one way to do that. Is the outdoor outlet a GFCI?įrom your description, this outside receptacle feeds the bathroom. (hook up LINE only make sure the GFCI works fully then hook up LOAD if you want that particular feature). If it is a GFCI receptacle, it is very easy to hook up LINE and LOAD incorrectly, causing it and everything downline to go dead. It needs to be inspected due to its role in the circuit. You will probably need to turn off the breaker and take a closer look at the outside receptacle. It detects excessive current only (or GFCI or AFCI if equipped), it is not a detector-all. It's not unusual for the breaker to fail to trip. The problem may still be at the outdoor outlet ![]()
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