Greg Guarino wrote:
On 10 Sep 2006 16:26:38 -0700, wrote:
I replaced four regular power receptacles this afternoon. Some on one
circuit some on another. There was one receptacle that had a red wire.
I wired the receptacle like the one that was there before. Black and
red on the same side opposite white. When I searched this group I see
the red is a switched power source.
Red doesn't have to be a switched line.
My problem now is a can't turn on
both circuits at once or they both blow. The funny thing is all
receptacles have power! That is very strange. Could the wires be
crossed giving power to the other circuit some how?
It sounds like the red and black are two hots on different phases. If
so, and assuming you're in the USA, you created a dead short with a
potential of 220 volts. That's bad.
You could get a meter and figure this out, but I'm reluctant to tell
you how if you don't know. It might be better to get an electrician.
Greg Guarino
This sounds like the most likely scenario.
Your house has two hot lines coming in. Both are 110 volts but are on
opposite cycles. Some things like electric heat, electric dryers and
electric stoves are designed to use both lines. For those appliances,
each line basically grounds the other.
You probably have a switch recepticle that is typical for a lamp that
is switched. In on older house, it might just be wired on and covered
up long ago. But it's probably there.
So without removing the tab, you are creating a dead short on that side
of the recepticle where the two wires are connected. That's why both
breakers are blowing -- which is a very, very good thing. If they had
been on the same phase, you'd probably be worse off in the long run
because you'd effectively have to go twice as high before you tripped
one and it might have caused a fire. So if this is the case, consider
yourself lucky.
There are two very simple tests to do. First off, if any lamps were
switched, turn the switch the other direct and see what happens.
Basically, nothing should happen except the lights should work okay and
not blow anything. (Caution, don't have anything else except lights on
the circuit. The other test is to turn on 1 breaker. Everything
should work okay. That lets you know if the scenario is true. If ALL
lights and ALL recepticles work, then you know you have a problem.
Assuming this is the case, both breakers should have tripped basically
as soon as you threw the second breaker. It shouldn't take any time
when you did it.
Just out of curiosity, if this isn't the case, are there any GFIs on
either circuit?
Good luck with it.
In the US it is getting late. Shut both down and check to make sure
all is dead before you go to sleep. Then double check your work in the
morning.