I am going to replace a receptacle that has two neutral wires and four hot wires. Two of the hot wires and the the neutral wires were connected to the outlet and the other two weren't, I believe they are feeding to one downstream. I know it's as simple as connecting the wires how they were before, but how can I tell what hot wires belong to the receptacle I am replacing. I would create a pigtail but I don't want to overload it.
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2A picture would help a lot.– MonkeyZeusCommented Mar 29, 2021 at 12:25
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Your description is lacking some details. No cable has two black wires in it. Are any of them just pigtails?– isherwoodCommented Mar 29, 2021 at 13:27
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1Don't miss our FAQ on the subject of changing receptacles.– Harper - Reinstate MonicaCommented Mar 29, 2021 at 16:13
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Can you please post photos of the inside of the box please?– ThreePhaseEelCommented Mar 29, 2021 at 23:40
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UPDATE: All four of the hot wires are black, not red. One of the black wires is coming from the top, one from the right, and two from the bottom of the box.– imNeroCommented Mar 31, 2021 at 3:58
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1 Answer
By 4 hot wires are you saying 2 white, 2 black and 2 red wires? If so, typically the the red wires are used for switched receptacles and the black are your feeds. You can break a "tab" between the upper and lower receptacle to separate them and have one always hot and one on a switch. Typically the red wires SHOULD be the switched wire and the the black SHOULD be the hot wires. If you want top and bottom hot all the time or both switched, nut off the other set and hook up just the ones you want.
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1I wouldn't suggest to OP to split a receptacle that wasn't split before. As OP said, 2 of the wires were not connected to the outlet. Commented Mar 29, 2021 at 16:12
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