Half switched outlet only working halfway!!! Help?

Question

On the same wall I have a switch and an outlet.

In the box with the switch, I have a red wire, black wires (coming from the top and bottom), white wires (top and bottom), and ground wires.

In the outlet, I have the same.

In the switch, I have the red on the top, the black on the bottom - so that when the switch is turned on to the up(on) position, it is turning on the red. Off is turned to the black wire. The black wire I have connected to the switch is the one coming from the top of the box.

In the outlet, I have both the white (neutrals) hooked up to the left side screws (silver screws), the red hooked up to the bottom right (gold) screw, the black coming from the bottom to the top right (gold) screw. The tab is gone between the two gold screws.

Problem is that power is flowing in the red wires (I can plug in a light and it will turn on and off with the switch), now that I have broken the tab, neither black wire will allow power to flow to the other outlets down the line.help

Answer 1

Let me see if I understand you. In your switch box you have 2 cables. One is a 2 conductor with a ground (black, white and bare copper) and one is a 3 conductor (red, black, white and bare copper). You also have the same cables in your receptacle box. If this is correct, I believe the 2 conductor cable in your switch box is the power supply.

I believe the problem is you don't have the black wire connected from your switch to your receptacle to provide constant power to half of the receptacle.

Step #1, turn off the power and verify that it is off with a volt meter.

In your switch box you need to connect the bare copper wires together leaving a tail to connect to the ground screw on the switch. Your white wires get connected together, wirenutted and tucked into the back of the box. Now you need to connect the black wires together with an additional 6" piece of black wire. Put a wire nut on these and connect the loose end of the 6" piece of black wire to one of the terminals on the switch. The red wire gets connected to the other terminal on the switch. It doesn't matter which wires connects to which terminal.

At your receptacle, you need to connect the bare copper wires together leaving a tail to connect to the ground screw. Connect all of your white wires together with an additional 6" piece of white wire. Put a wire nut on these and connect the loose end of the white wire to one of the silver colored screws on the receptacle. Connect the black wires together with an additional 6" piece of black wire. Put a wire nut on these and connect the loose end of the 6" piece of black wire to one of the brass colored terminals on the receptacle. The red wire gets connected to the other brass colored terminal on the receptacle.

In this scenario, the red is your switched wire and you connect this to which ever half of the receptacle that you want switched.

If you need further assistance, please visit -
http://electricalblog.gilchrist-electric.com


Edit: Sorry auhunter04, the broken tab is on the receptacle and not the switch. This is correct and this is required for a half switched receptacle.

Answer 2

1- find The power to that switch and turn it off
2 -take out switch draw a diagram of wires. remove switch, go to local hardware store and get an exact duplicate (with unbroken tab :>))
and reinstall according to your diagram.
NOTE you may need both a standard and Phillips screwdrivers.
Note # 2 if unsure, call someone who is knowledgeable, this can cause fires if done wrong. Do not mean to scare you but an ample dose of caution is advisable.

Answer 3

check the next one in line a wire might have come loose ,if not you need to install a new outlet

Answer 4

you mandatory to interrupt the tabs off of each outlet that grow to be controlled via that change, in case you do no longer do it they might have capability continuously from the unswitched part of the opening...