Bad wiring, yikes!

[Lu-Max]

Today I decided to spend my extra day off troubleshooting the shop wiring of the home I recently moved into while also adding two 20A circuits for my tools. The previous owner built the 2 1/2 car detached shop with some help from friends back in the late 80s. My personal inspection revealed issues with improper grounds, missing grounds, Hot/Neutral reversed on outlets, etc. On one particular circuit I could not figure out why it had a constant current draw with no user on the circuit. I unplugged and turned off everything yet the draw remained.

After searching everywhere for the cause I finally thought to crawl in behind some thick bushes that are growing against one outside wall and sure enough, I found a receptacle with no cover or other type of weather seal. Just a regular interior-type, unprotected receptacle installed on the outside of the shop exposed to the elements. It turned out to be on the circuit with the current draw. When I took it apart I discovered a short that was not causing the breaker to trip. No telling how much electricity was wasted due to this short. I'm just glad it didn't start a fire and hopefully my electric bill will reflect the repair.

It is properly repaired now to code with a moisture proof fixture and I installed a GFCI breaker on that circuit. Now I will be examining the remainder of the wiring a bit more closely.

 

[Taildragger]

Thant could have been bad! Better check the rest out top to bottom after finding that..

 

[DMaxRocks]

Wow...that is scary. Glad you found the problem in time and no real damage was done!!!

 

[plow]

Quick question. Is it bad to reverse the Hot and Neutral? I'm thinking it being alternating current it wouldn't matter.

 

[CNGsaves]

OP . . . is this house you recently bought . . . or are you doing this for landlord on rental??

Either way, that was "virtual fire" just ready to happen . . . . scary !!

 

[AndyCBR]

It was just a tiny resistance heater all those years keeping the surrounding box warm!

 

[404]

Quick question. Is it bad to reverse the Hot and Neutral? I'm thinking it being alternating current it wouldn't matter.

Yes, it is bad. In theory it makes no difference, but in practice it does. With polarized plugs the switch is on the hot side.

 

[404]

Lu-Max, the PO in my house used masking tape to save on wire nuts.

Were those wires under the screws, or in the push-in holes?

 

[Mr. T]

In theory it makes no difference, but in practice it does.

I was under the impression that it does in theory as well. Almost everything is switched on the hot leg. So if the legs are reversed everything in a circuit still has potential to ground except for the short length coming in to the switch. Which can be dangerous in certain situations.

P.S. I always disconnect something before opening it up but just saying...

 

[justsam]

I suspect that receptacle failure was not only an issue with moisture, but it looks like that was a backstabbed device, and no doubt had other receptacles fed from it, drawing current through the backstabbed connection.

In regard to does it matter about reversing hot and neutral, yes it does. Just because AC alternates polarity, does not mean that one conductor is not at ground potential, in this case neutral is to be at ground potential, and is connected to a ground as it enters the residence. It is always the longer slot on a polarized receptacle, and the silver colored screw terminal.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Were those wires under the screws, or in the push-in holes?

From what I see in the pic, I would say they were push in. The only wire that has a C on the end of it (or appears to ever have had) is the ground. The remainder are straight. The screws show no evidence of having had a screwdriver in them by the OP either.

Charles

 

[404]

I was under the impression that it does in theory as well. Almost everything is switched on the hot leg. So if the legs are reversed everything in a circuit still has potential to ground except for the short length coming in to the switch. Which can be dangerous in certain situations.

P.S. I always disconnect something before opening it up but just saying...

In theory everything is working perfectly.

 

[Lu-Max]

He only used the push-ins. Each receptacle I have checked, push-ins.
I have now found a few more reversed polarity, paired with correct polarity on the same circuit. Oy!

This is a house I will be buying, right now it is a lease-option.

 

[Mustang51js]

And that's why I try to never back stab outlets or switches, the only time I do is for a temporary setup

 

[sberry]

I just did one where at every switch loop they fed the hot to the device but landed it on the common. We were testing a switched outlet and some other stuff, wondered wtf. It was a pushing factor to rewire the whole place.

 

[djjsr]

The previous owner built the 2 1/2 car detached shop with some help from friends back in the late 80s.

Apparently with no electrical permit or inspection.

The guy that did that wiring probably thought he knew what he was doing.

Sometimes you don't know what you don't know.

 

[Lu-Max]

^^^
I'm assuming that you are using your real name?
FYI: Most of us make up our usernames.

 

[Milton Shaw]

Reversing the hot/neutral creates a lot of shock hazards. For instance on a screw in light bulb the outside screw part is supposed to be connected to neutral, if reversed it would be hot all the time and shock hazard when just changing a bulb. All lights have polarized plugs to put the neutral on the thread and hot on just the center point of the fixture/bulb.

 

[checkthisout]

The issue was the lack of a cover to keep moisture out, not the backstab'n.

Of course you could argue that the corrosion would not have affected a screwed connection as badly due to the greater contact area, in which case I think you would be right!

 

[Nick Danger]

I hope you took a slow walk around the rest of the outside to make sure there weren't any more outdoor receptacles.

 

[The FIB]

That photo is a good example of why I don't:
A) run the circuit load through the device ( I pigtail instead)
B) use plastic boxes
C) backstab

 

[Mustang51js]

The issue was the lack of a cover to keep moisture out, not the backstab'n.

Of course you could argue that the corrosion would not have affected a screwed connection as badly due to the greater contact area, in which case I think you would be right!

Yeah but I've seen this same issue many times inside,and it's always the neutral that melts the outlet. I think back stabbing works for a circuit that doesn't have much of a load on it,but if you start using dehumidifier and vacuume cleaners that's when you usually start having issues over time

 

[Lu-Max]

Same location, but new and improved.

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

That photo is a good example of why I don't:
A) run the circuit load through the device ( I pigtail instead)
B) use plastic boxes
C) backstab

Do you think its OK to backwire on the same side of the receptacle?

 

[checkthisout]

Yeah but I've seen this same issue many times inside,and it's always the neutral that melts the outlet. I think back stabbing works for a circuit that doesn't have much of a load on it,but if you start using dehumidifier and vacuume cleaners that's when you usually start having issues over time

I wouldn't argue. Over time, heat cycling due to max loading must tax the tangs that contact the wire inside the outlet.

 

[reader2580]

The wiring in the house I bought last summer was just as bad as what the OP showed. It was a shock the house hadn't burned to the ground due to electrical issues.

One receptacle was badly charred as the wires were loose. (I believe the screws were used.) My father found a wire nut that wasn't tight or something and was charred. The service neutral at the panel was loose and the insulation was charred. The service hots at the panel were also loose. None of the receptacles had any tension to hold plugs in.

My father and I rewired about half the house. We replaced every switch, receptacle, and light fixture in the entire house. My father had been an electrician at one point so he knows what he is doing.