2 white wires connected to outlet

[jimzz2006]

I am in the process of replacing outlets in the house I just acquired. This outlet is controlled by a switch, It has two white wires and two black wires coming to the box. The two black wires are tied together and the two white wires are connected to the outlet.
It works just fine, I just wanted to make sure it is proper or if one of the white wiresShould have black tape on it??

 

[ycgoat]

No, I don’t think it is correct.


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[ycgoat]

One cable from the panel and one cable from the switch. The black from the panel should be tied to the white going to the switch; white from the panel should be tied to the silver outlet screw; black from the switch should be tied to the copper colored outlet screw, and yes the white tied to the black should have black tape for identification.


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[ycgoat]

Ideally you would just switch the black and white coming from the switch, but I can say for sure with out a meter and checking the switch.


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[ycgoat]

Typo above I can’t say for sure with out a meter


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[MJO]

Is that how the back wires were tied together? If they were I'd start checking all the electric in the house.

The white wire shouldn't be used the way it is but since it is it should be taped black as far back as you can go. All the wires should be tested to make sure exactly what they are and that the polarities are correct.

 

[ycgoat]

The White is allowed to be used as a constant hot to the switch, be here it is the switched leg. The idea being that if you put a meter on it it shows as energized.


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[MJO]

The White is allowed to be used as a constant hot to the switch, be here it is the switched leg. The idea being that if you put a meter on it it shows as energized.


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I'm not 100% sure but I think using the white/neutral as a hot (black in this case) for a switch only applies to switching a light fixture.

 

[ycgoat]

The switched outlet is for a lamp, and was required by code. The house is old and likely did not have a ceiling light.


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[ycgoat]

If the splice was folded down against the conductors it would have been legal at the time it was installed.


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[ycgoat]

To verify which cable comes from the panel, with the power off, check for continuity to ground on the white wires. The panel white will be a grounded conductor.


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[ycgoat]

Also, put a wire nut on the splice and make sure it is a 2 prong outlet. To use a 3 prong outlet on an ungrounded circuit it has to be GFCI protected


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[TRWham]

Also, put a wire nut on the splice and make sure it is a 2 prong outlet. To use a 3 prong outlet on an ungrounded circuit it has to be GFCI protected


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Looks like a metal box that may be grounded. If that is a self-grounding receptacle and the box is grounded it is allowed.

 

[jeffmoss26]

yikes!

 

[Zeke]

Is it possible that the outlet at one time was 1/2 switched? The 2 taped black wires maybe were once part of a pigtail that energized the switch, returning power via a white wire (one of them) AND was attached to either of the split gold lugs with the other white being a common neutral.

This could have been done with an outlet that had lugs and a backstab, but maybe this was before backstabs. Otherwise, I can't see why the 2 blacks are even in there. Looks impossible for that device to be in a chain.
I'm thinking someone replaced the outlet and removed one wire from the pigtail and never put the wire nut back on.

Things like this are a complete nuisance when chasing down trouble.

 

[teamextreme]

Nothing wrong with that wiring in general, other than a common mistake in wiring a switch leg outlet. The hot comes in on the cable on the right. The black ties to the black leaving on the left which goes to the switch, but it should tie to the white. Many people think tieing the black to a white wire can't be right, but that's the way you do it. The white going to the switch will be hot, it's better to have it hot all the time instead of only when the switch is on, as is the case here. The white wire going to the brass side of the outlet should be taped black, and is the switch leg coming back from the switch. Or if you want to fix it and switch the colors around you'd tape the white that ties to the black. And please fix that god-awful wire nut splice on the black wire.

 

[The Cobbler]

Is it possible that the outlet at one time was 1/2 switched? The 2 taped black wires maybe were once part of a pigtail that energized the switch, returning power via a white wire (one of them) AND was attached to either of the split gold lugs with the other white being a common neutral.

This could have been done with an outlet that had lugs and a backstab, but maybe this was before backstabs. Otherwise, I can't see why the 2 blacks are even in there. Looks impossible for that device to be in a chain.
I'm thinking someone replaced the outlet and removed one wire from the pigtail and never put the wire nut back on.

Things like this are a complete nuisance when chasing down trouble.

I think Zeke has it nailed . originally the receptacle was probably split, one side hot all the time, the other side switched . the feed wire would come from the panel, the hots would be separated. someone replaced the outlets, didn't know they had to remove the tab to isolate each side, kept blowing breakers. figured out this way .

 

[Terry D]

This is a switch leg. There are 2 romexes in that box. One is the not and neutral feeding power in. The other one is a switch leg going to the switch. Normally, you would feed power to the switch on the white wire, so you would have a black and a white tied together. Then off the load side of the switch would be the black. This way you would have a black and white on the receptacle. The switch leg here is just wired backwards. It will still work this way, but having two whites on a receptacle can be confusing. One of those white wires is the hot being returned from the switch.

 

[cosmopedro]

I am in the process of replacing outlets in the house I just acquired. This outlet is controlled by a switch, It has two white wires and two black wires coming to the box. The two black wires are tied together and the two white wires are connected to the outlet.

It works just fine, I just wanted to make sure it is proper or if one of the white wiresShould have black tape on it??

I can only say if you’re not comfortable tracing out wires in your house, get an electrician to do it for you... not arguing with ANYONE on this thread but I just troubleshot a rental unit of a co-worker and discovered the previous owner had installed a ceiling fan switch - and switched the NEUTRAL side of the fan motor instead of the hot side...

I’m not creative enough to have made that story up - and I walked away from that troubleshooting session more than a little concerned because his ‘electrician buddy at work’ said to wire it back the same way and leave it!


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[frank001]

One cable from the panel and one cable from the switch. The black from the panel should be tied to the white going to the switch; white from the panel should be tied to the silver outlet screw; black from the switch should be tied to the copper colored outlet screw, and yes the white tied to the black should have black tape for identification.

Tape is ok, but I like to use a black Sharpie pen to turn the white wire black. Just makes for a neater job.

 

[ycgoat]

Tape is ok, but I like to use a black Sharpie pen to turn the white wire black. Just makes for a neater job.

Yeh, that is a nice trick of the trade.


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[dave*99]

This is a switch leg. There are 2 romexes in that box. One is the not and neutral feeding power in. The other one is a switch leg going to the switch. Normally, you would feed power to the switch on the white wire, so you would have a black and a white tied together. Then off the load side of the switch would be the black. This way you would have a black and white on the receptacle. The switch leg here is just wired backwards. It will still work this way, but having two whites on a receptacle can be confusing. One of those white wires is the hot being returned from the switch.

Winner

 

[jimzz2006]

Is that how the back wires were tied together? If they were I'd start checking all the electric in the house.

The white wire shouldn't be used the way it is but since it is it should be taped black as far back as you can go. All the wires should be tested to make sure exactly what they are and that the polarities are correct.

yes I am going through all the outlets, switches and ceiling lights. I found why the 3-way hall light switch wasnt working. 2nd switch was a standard on/off switch with the red wire connected to the ground screw.
No wire nuts on any of the connections.

 

[nadogail]

IMHO, this whole thing smacks of somebody, very possibly a "Happy Home Owner" playing electrician.

 

[rburke65]

Well I don’t think there is a problem here. One of the white wires is the switched hot from the wall switch. It will only be “hot” when the switch is in the “on” position. If you can identify it, then either tape it with black tape or a black sharpie.