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I'm trying to install an outlet to an existing box. Seems like this was an outlet before was taken out and cover up. I'm confused how to wire this.

There seems to be 4 sets of white neutrals and one of them seems to be hot. There are also 4 sets of black wires, two of them seems to be hot.

I have figured out one of lines (red nut on the left) is connected to a dimmer switch and another sets goes to power the ceiling lights and an outlet in a nearby bedroom.

The hot white was in a nut with another neutral whites (right red nut), when I uncapped it seems to cut off power to the lights and other outlet.

I was able to wire an outlet with power and the dimmer switch also had power, but the ceiling lights and the other outlet in the bedroom no longer works.

I just can't seem to get the outlet working and the lights working at the same time.

This is a pic of how the wires were put together from the best that I remembered. Ceiling lights no longer turning on:

This is a pic of how the wires were put together from the best that I remembered. Ceiling lights no longer turning on

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    Pigtail from the white and black bundles. The white hot is probably a switch loop. If the switch is off is it still hot?
    – isherwood
    Jan 23, 2023 at 19:57
  • @isherwood Do I pigtail all the black togethers and whites together then? Or would I have to pigtail the white hot to the black? I think when the switch is off it still has power, but I'll double check later.
    – AKN92
    Jan 23, 2023 at 21:46
  • How were all the wires originally connected?
    – brhans
    Jan 24, 2023 at 3:44
  • @brhans Two blacks, one hot, y-nut together that gave power to the dimmer switch I think. Two whites together, one being the hot-white that seemed to give power to the lights and other outlet.
    – AKN92
    Jan 24, 2023 at 4:46
  • "Seems like this was an outlet before was taken out and cover(ed) up" - Was this covered with a blank outlet plate, or was it buried behind drywall? Obviously, it's good that you're accessing the box again, but if it had been "permanently" covered behind drywall (or otherwise) that was a code violation (which you've now eliminated).
    – FreeMan
    Jan 24, 2023 at 14:16

1 Answer 1

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The white "hot" wire is probably the neutral return from another load, say for example, an incandescent light. If the switch to that light were on, you would be measuring voltage from hot, through the light, to the neutral. The other two neutrals would be (1) neutral from another load which is off or an unplugged outlet and (2) neutral back to the panel.

Similarly, the blacks would be two hots out to other loads and a hot back to the panel (not sure why you're measuring two as hot; it may be phantom voltage).

Bottom line: connect everything back together as previously. Then add a black pig tail from the cluster of blacks for hot and a white pigtail from the cluster of whites. The pigtails go to your new outlet.

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  • ITwo blacks, one hot, capped together that gave power to the dimmer switch I think. Two whites together, one being the hot-white that seemed to give power to the lights and other outlet. I think that was how it was originally. So do I just bundle all the whites and blacks together then pigtail one from each bundle?
    – AKN92
    Jan 24, 2023 at 4:53
  • @AKN92 It sounds like there was a black and a white that were not wire-nutted to the others. Where they connected to anything or just hanging there with separate wirenuts? If so, did you try using those for the outlet (maybe those fed the original outlet)? If that doesn’t work, put everything back as you found it then add pigtails to the wire clusters to feed the outlet.
    – DoxyLover
    Jan 24, 2023 at 9:05
  • Sorry, I wrote that wrong. The two blacks were in a wire nut together with a white neutral one that gave power to the dimmer. There was another black that was capped separately, that seems to be hot but gives weirdly low voltage.
    – AKN92
    Jan 24, 2023 at 22:28
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    @AKN92 Ok, this is getting plenty confusing. Just because a wire is white does not mean it’s a neutral, as in this case where it is connected to blacks. We need to go back to step one. Please edit your original post, including photos, to make it clearer. It appears my answer does not apply to your case.
    – DoxyLover
    Jan 25, 2023 at 0:08

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