Ground/Hot Reversed
 

My tester indicates Ground/Hot Reversed in a wall outlet. Wiggling
something in that outlet like a plug turns off power in that room at
times.
How is this reversal corrected?

Ground/Hot Reversed
 

On Nov 1, 1:22 pm, Jerry wrote:
My tester indicates Ground/Hot Reversed in a wall outlet. Wiggling
something in that outlet like a plug turns off power in that room at
times.
How is this reversal corrected?

With a screw driver.

However, the first correction that should be made is at the breaker
box. Find the breaker that powers this circuit and turn it from off.
You probably have a loose wire in that outlet and it could be a fire
hazard. Even if you do not want to fix this yourself, turn off the
breaker until the outlet is fixed.

The Fix - Done with the breaker off!

First: Remove the outlet cover and receptacle - it will be visually
self-explanatory.

Next: The white (neutral) wire(s) go on the silver screw(s), the black
(hot) wire(s) go on the gold screw(s) and the bare (ground) wire(s)
goes on the green screw. Note: If all the wires were tight when you
pulled the outlet out, then the outlet itself may be damaged
internally. Head to the store and buy a new one.

Next: Put it all back together, neatly and carefully pushing the wires
back into the box.

Finally: Turn the breaker on and retest.

Ground/Hot Reversed
 

Jerry wrote:
My tester indicates Ground/Hot Reversed in a wall outlet. Wiggling
something in that outlet like a plug turns off power in that room at
times.
How is this reversal corrected?

Plug in testers will give erroneous readings under several different
sets of faults. In fact the only time they are likely to be correct is
when the fault is limited to a single failure such as only the neutral
being open.

The receptacle in question needs to be rewired. I would bet some
serious money that the receptacle was wired using push in spring
pressure terminals were the wire is stripped and pushed into a hole in
the back of the body of the receptacle to be held in place only by a
small spring strip. These push in terminals are a constant cause of
trouble calls.

Now the other news. The tone of your question suggest that you have no
experience dealing with electrical issues. If that is true then you
should not tackle the job by yourself. There are too many things that
can go dangerously wrong to be dabbling with electrical construction or
repair.
--
Tom Horne

Ground/Hot Reversed
 

On Thu, 01 Nov 2007 10:35:06 -0700, DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Nov 1, 1:22 pm, Jerry wrote:
My tester indicates Ground/Hot Reversed in a wall outlet. Wiggling
something in that outlet like a plug turns off power in that room at
times.
How is this reversal corrected?

With a screw driver.

However, the first correction that should be made is at the breaker
box. Find the breaker that powers this circuit and turn it from off.
You probably have a loose wire in that outlet and it could be a fire
hazard. Even if you do not want to fix this yourself, turn off the
breaker until the outlet is fixed.

The Fix - Done with the breaker off!

First: Remove the outlet cover and receptacle - it will be visually
self-explanatory.


Thanks; replaced receptacle and problem solved.

Next: The white (neutral) wire(s) go on the silver screw(s), the black
(hot) wire(s) go on the gold screw(s) and the bare (ground) wire(s)
goes on the green screw. Note: If all the wires were tight when you
pulled the outlet out, then the outlet itself may be damaged
internally. Head to the store and buy a new one.

Next: Put it all back together, neatly and carefully pushing the wires
back into the box.

Finally: Turn the breaker on and retest.

Ground/Hot Reversed
 

On Thu, 01 Nov 2007 10:35:06 -0700, DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Nov 1, 1:22 pm, Jerry wrote:
My tester indicates Ground/Hot Reversed in a wall outlet. Wiggling
something in that outlet like a plug turns off power in that room at
times.
How is this reversal corrected?

With a screw driver.

However, the first correction that should be made is at the breaker
box. Find the breaker that powers this circuit and turn it from off.
You probably have a loose wire in that outlet and it could be a fire
hazard. Even if you do not want to fix this yourself, turn off the
breaker until the outlet is fixed.

The Fix - Done with the breaker off!

First: Remove the outlet cover and receptacle - it will be visually
self-explanatory.

Next: The white (neutral) wire(s) go on the silver screw(s), the black
(hot) wire(s) go on the gold screw(s) and the bare (ground) wire(s)
goes on the green screw. Note: If all the wires were tight when you
pulled the outlet out, then the outlet itself may be damaged
internally. Head to the store and buy a new one.

Next: Put it all back together, neatly and carefully pushing the wires
back into the box.

Finally: Turn the breaker on and retest.

And test any receptacles wired upstream or downstream from the one you
fixed.
--
54 days until the winter solstice celebration

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"All your western theologies, the whole mythology of them,
are based on the concept of God as a senile delinquent."
-- Tennessee Williams

Ground/Hog Reversed
 

On Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:22:09 GMT, Jerry wrote:

My tester indicates Ground/Hog Reversed in a wall outlet. Wiggling
something in that outlet like a plug turns off power in that room at
times.
How is this reversal corrected?

Good grief. If you have a reversed Ground Hog in your wall outlet you
really have a serious problem. The poor thing is getting
electrocuted. No wonder he's reversed. He needs you to help.