PawsForThought wrote:
I am replacing a pull chain lampholder fixture in my basement that's in
the ceiling. Next to that fixture is an electrical outlet (w/4
electrical plugs). Coming from the electrical outlet is a white and
black wire that comes into the same junction box as the ceiling
fixutre. So I removed the old fixture. I now have hooked up the new
fixture - white wires to silver screw, and red wire to brass screw.
Put a light bulb in and now the new fixture works. However, the
electrical outlets do not. I have the black and white wires from the
electrical outlet twisted together and then put one of those plastic
cap things on it. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I can't get
the electrical outlet to work. If anyone has any advice, it would be
very much appreciated. Many thanks.

Well, almost certainly the black and white shouldn't be connected
together and since doing so didn't create spitz'ensparkzen, apparently,
you must have disconnected the power feed into the outlet box from the
light fixture.

You don't say where the red wire came from, and apparently this isn't
switched or there wouldn't have been a chain pull, and there really is
a lot lacking in info.

But, one of the black (or red, maybe, if it was a three-wire cable, or
is that on the fixture?) has to be a supply "hot" and the white in the
same cable is the neutral (again, assuming "normal" 2-wire w/ or w/o
ground romex cable). The feed could be from either the outlet or to
the light first, that's indeterminate but best guess would be since
nothing bad happened when you tied what should be a hot and neutral
together it came to the light first, then on to the outlet from there.
What is needed is a feedthrough from whichever direction the feed is to
the other. But, if you don't have a switch in the circuit, then the
light is going to be always on.

My real advice is to either find somebody who knows enough to look at
the situation and do it or an electrician. The connecting of the black
and white together indicates a real lack of understanding. I'd
recommend in the interim to separate those two wires and cap them each
w/ a wire nut and leave it until get some on-site advice.

Although, maybe if you try to describe how the wires were originally
more specifically it would be possible to figure out what you actually
have.