How to wire an electrical receptacle with 14/3 wire?

Question

Am new to this wiring thing, have bought first house and do not know where to look for answers

Answer 1

You probably have 14/2 with ground (3 wires). 14/3 with ground (4 wires) is used for wiring switched, split receptacles and three way switches, among other things. 14 wire is used for general receptacle outlets and lighting in living rooms, bedrooms, hallways, and so on. 12 ga wire is used in kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and other larger load locations. Amateurs us 12 ga for everything, thinking bigger is better.

To do your own wiring (not recommended), you can buy a detailed wiring book that incorporates the latest electric code. The book will not include your state and local codes. Be aware that faulty wiring causes many home fires. Faulty wiring can also be a shock hazard to you and your family. It would not be good to burn down your first home. Ask your insurance company if they will cover your claim if you do your own wiring. Good luck. Comply with the codes and have your work inspected.

Be very care taking advise here. I have seen some very dangerous and just plain wrong answers concerning electricity.

Answer 2

Wiring a recepticle is usually done with 12/2 w/ grd. You have a black, white, and bare copper. The 12 is the gauge of the wire and determines how much current it can carry. For #12 wire, it will carry 20A. The 14/3 will have an extra red wire. Cut this off,and tape the ends closed, you do not need it, You would use it if you were wiring a 240V circuit.

I suggest that you get an electrician to do the work. You would hate to burn down the house when you just got it.

The black is the hot and goes to the copper color lug. This will be on the side with the shorter slot in the recepticle. The white goes to the other side, the one with the longer slot and the silver covered screws. The bare wire will go the green screw and is the ground.

If you do decide to do the work, please be sure to turn off the power before you go getting in to it.

good luck.

Answer 3

First, know this, household electrical kills more people than any other type of electrical. A very important thing to do is make sure it is off with an electrical tester(Inductive) and make sure someone isn't going to turn it back on when you are working on it. Get yourself a basic electrical book at a hardware store. On a 3 wire system in most houses, the black wire supplies the incoming power/voltage, the white wire/neutral is the return, the green wire is there for safety.
On outlets look at the color of the screws, the gold one is intended for the black wire, the silver one is for the white wire,
the green wire goes to the green screw. If you have a friend or co-worker that has experience with electrical, ask for help, most people will help out. That is how most of us got our start doing this. No one was born with the knowledge and experience, though some act like it!

Answer 4

If the electrician wired the house in 14/3 wire then seek a qualfied electrician do the wiring. 14/3 wire is not commomly used to wire recepts. It contains a black (hot), red (another hot), white (neutral), and a bare ground. What you want is 14/2. 1 black, white and ground. Black goes to the gold screws, white to the silver screws, and the bare ground to the green screw. Make sure you do not wrap the wire all the way around the screw to where it touches the wire. It must be perpindicular to the incoming wire. It can create a spark and fire hazard.
Do not use backwired (push the wire into a hole on the back of the recept.) receptacles. They tend to work loose and create a bad connection and possibly be hazardous.
Most important turn off the breaker to the circuit you are working on AND be sure to check for stray voltage on the line with a meter. Stray voltage is very dangerous.

Good luck and keep asking questions. There are many forums for home repair. Just search for them.

Answer 5

First you will need to determine why the 3 conductor cable was used. It could have been a split receptacle fed with two different circuits. A split receptacle with one half controlled by a switch or possibly someone just used the wire they had on hand.

Answer 6

Go to your local hard-ware store and buy the how-to=book on electrical wiring. These books run about $20.00 to $40'00 a book. or go to your local library and check the book.

Too answer your question....14/3 wire in an outlet? Three wires white, black and red. White is your neutral, black is your hot. on the outlet are four screws, two silver are for the white wire. Two brass are for the black. one green is For the ground. bare copper wire.

remember this all times, turn the power off before you do any work on electrical work.

On your red wire, it is a hot wire as well, ( do not put red and black together). you don't have enough information about
that on here.

Answer 7

I would suggest you use 12 gauge wire as it will carry 20 amps and 14 will only carry 15 amps. If you use 14 you can only install a 15 breaker.

Answer 8

Hi;14/3 means it,s the thikness required to put in your home.The thicker the wire the heaver current of electricity you can have it carry.14 is the gauge and 3 means White Black And ground wire.123.Thier is 12 gauge to.Check with an electrician berfore you start so yo do the right thing.BE CAREFULL.Allways shut the power off before you start any wiring.OK.......JW