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I have a room with 4 outlets. Two of them were switched, with the tabs broken off. We had an electrician come in, and wire up a new ceiling fixture to that switch. Everything worked fine until I replaced all the outlets in the room. When I did, the light was always on, and the switch wasn’t working. I did some troubleshooting, when I realized that because the outlets were switched, the tabs would be broken off. I checked the old outlets, and sure enough, that was the case for two of them. The only thing is, I can’t remember which outlets were switched, and which weren’t. Is there a way to test that, so I know which tabs I have to break?

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    Do any of the outlets have different coloured wires on them?
    – crip659
    Commented Sep 21, 2023 at 13:36
  • To clarify, I think you are saying: "4 duplex receptacle sets. On 2 of those duplex receptacle sets, one of the receptacles was switched and the other was unswitched, and now both are unswitched." Is that correct? Because as written it could mean some other possibilities.
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Commented Sep 21, 2023 at 14:23
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    There were 4 receptacles total. Of the 4, 2 had the tabs broken off, which I assume meant that two of the receptacles had switched outlets. If I can figure out how to add photos, I’ll show the wiring on each receptacle.
    – user43859
    Commented Sep 21, 2023 at 15:33
  • If two of the outlets have red wires and the switch has red wires that might be a clue.
    – crip659
    Commented Sep 21, 2023 at 16:03

2 Answers 2

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Color is the key. Not always, but this time.

There are many code-compliant ways to wire receptacles. But some typical ways are:

  • Black/white - one cable - either all unswitched (both receptacles in the duplex) or all switched
  • Black/red/white - one cable - one receptacle switched, one unswitched, tab on hot side removed. Normal convention is black = unswitched, red = switched, but this is not a code requirement.
  • Black/white - two cables - this is usually "in" (from previous or panel) and "out" (to next receptacle), all unswitched. It can also be one switched, one unswitched, using an old-style (no neutral) switch loop. It can also be all switched using an old-style (no neutral) switch loop.

Since you have some receptacles with black/red/white, it is almost certain that the black/red/white receptacles are 1/2-switched and the receptacles with two black/white cables are simply "in" + "out" and unswitched.

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  • Great! Here’s the only thing: only of the receptacles has black/red/white. Two of them are black/white up and down, and one is black up and down, but only one white. So I know I have to break the tab on the red wired one; do I break the tab on the one with only one white as well?
    – user43859
    Commented Sep 21, 2023 at 16:14
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    With cables (as opposed to conduit/wires, which you don't have), there should never be a black without a white or a white without a black.
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Commented Sep 21, 2023 at 16:20
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The outlets that were switched would have to have a hot wire, (black or red) on both the upper and lower gold screws.

If all the outlets have both upper and lower wires, it's a diagnosing nightmare.

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  • Would a wire tracer help? I know there are tools to find which breaker controls the circuit that are decent price, but unknown about wire tracers?
    – crip659
    Commented Sep 21, 2023 at 15:01
  • I never used a wire tracer. My initial thought is that with the tabs on all the outlets, power is fed to all the hot wires so everything is essentially hot with the breaker turned on.
    – RMDman
    Commented Sep 21, 2023 at 16:16

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