Prep lots of pigtails and get decent outlets etc..

Careful: Be sure the wire isn't aluminim! That'll make it a
whole 'nother story.

Doing any work there sounds to me like a huge liability - are you
sure you want to do that?

HTH,
PopS

wrote in message
...
: My neighbor called me yesterday and said that their trailer
house had
: been without power in half the house since a lightning storm
about 4
: days ago. He said he flipped all the breakers, and used a neon
tester
: to check for voltage at each breaker.
:
: I checked and found each breaker also working, but over half
the
: lights and outlets not working. That's when I discovered the
: nightmare. They use some special outlets and switches that I
have
: never seen. They use no box. The wires come from the wall and
right
: into the outlet or switch itself. But the rear of the outlet
is
: covered with a plastic cover, so it sort of is it's own box.
Pulling
: it apart, (and gettting off those plastic snap in covers is a
major
: pain in itself), I found that the wires are not even stripped,
just
: pushed into metal snaps. Some of the wires were loose, and
worse yet,
: when I tried tu take the wires out of these snaps, several of
the
: outlets or switches just fell apart. In other words, there is
no way
: to really trace anything without a huge hassle.
:
: I have never seen these devices before, and hope to never see
them
: again. I was in the electrical business for several years but
worked
: on only a few trailer houses, older ones, and those had
standard
: outlets in shallow boxes. At least that was pretty normal
despite the
: lack of box space. But these new contraptions are total
garbage.
:
: Normally to trace a problem like this I just remove cover
plates and
: test from outlet to outlet, but not on this job. And each
outlet
: seems to have 3 or more cables, and all crammed into those
snaps,
: where many are not even pushed in far enough due to too many
wires.
:
: After 5 hours of screwing around, I finally got the idea to
shut off
: the breakers to the two lines that were not working and back
feed from
: a working outlet to the bad ones, using a long extension cord.
That
: way I found that there was power at each fixture, but nothing
back to
: the breakers. Of course, with no wiring diagram, it's like
finding a
: needle in a haystack. Also, when I applied this backfeed power,
we
: heard pops and cracks in two switches. I opened both of them,
and
: found loosely clamped wires, but that did not solve the
problem.
:
: I finally told the guy there might be a few sparks. I placed a
direct
: short across one of the outlets, and backfed my power. There
was a
: large surge, but the breaker did not trip. Note: I had a
jumper wire
: directly across the hot and neutral.
:
: OK now for the totally rediculous. I was hoping that direct
short
: would blow a few sparks and indicate the problem device, before
: tripping the breaker. Instead it fixed the problem......
(your guess
: is as good as mine). All I can figure is that it "welded"
whatever
: wire was loose back to the clip. Everything is working again,
except
: for two lights and one outlet bacause the clips broke, and I
just
: wirenutted the wires together temporarily, eliminating the
outlet and
: 2 switches.
:
: However, I did warn the owner that this problem is not only
going to
: reoccur, but I feel they got a fire hazzard, and told them I
really
: think every outlet and switch on both of those circuits should
be
: replaced, and told them to not connect any heavy appliances to
any of
: those outlets. They already agreed to have me replace all of
them.
: (That will be a pain too, because all the cable ends are very
short,
: and the wall cutouts are all too small for boxes).
:
: I am posting this to ask if anyone else has ever run across
these
: totally junk outlets and switches? What are they even called?
Are
: they something made just for trailer houses, because I have
never seen
: them anywhere else? Do they make any sort of boxless
replacements
: that use actual screws to attach the wires?
: There are 16 outlets and 8 switches on these two lines, and
with those
: short cable ends, I'd like to do this as easily as possible and
still
: be safe. Even if I could get replacements of the same type, I
would
: not use them.
:
: Mark