wiring gfci outlet

7 years ago

Hi Everybody,

I am trying to replace two regular outlets with two GFCI outlets. The two outlets are on separate circuits. I disconnected the old outlets and tried to wire the GFCI outlets in way similar to the non-GFCI outlets were connected.

The GFCI outlet on the left is now wired and working. However I am having a difficult time figuring out how to wire the outlet on the right.

I connected the two black wires to the line and load connectors of the outlet on the right. The load wire can be seen on the below picture.

There seem to be two neutrals as seen on the below picture. One of the neutrals is shown connected to the load connector of the outlet on the below picture.

The other neutral is quite frayed and can be seen on the right hand side of the picture. This neutral is also connected to the load connector of the GFCI outlet on the left.

Is it possible to wire these two GFCI outlets? What are the next steps I should follow?

I did some research and found posts referring to shared neutrals. Are these relevant to this situation?

I greatly appreciate your help.

Featured Answer

DavidR

7 years ago

The silver colored wires are not aluminum, they're ancient tinned (solder-coated) copper, probably type R or RH. They don't look to be in the best condition, and it might be time to replace the entire works. The rubber insulation on this type of wire rots after this many years, especially in regions with polluted air.

Now, as for the wiring -- with all your photos, I still can't see what's actually going where, so I can't really help, sorry.

One thing that does look wrong to me (if I'm really seeing it) is that you may have a white (neutral) wire going to the ground terminal on the left GFI.

It also looks as if whoever wired the original part (the old BX) many years ago used the shield on the BX cable (entering the left box) for a ground. Unless the BX has a bonding wire, that's a hazard, though it was at one time compliant with code.

What you're missing here, I fear, is a fundamental understanding of how a basic electrical circuit works. When you know that, you can easily figure these things out for yourself.

Get thee to your local public library, and ask the librarian for a DIY home wiring book which has at least one chapter on how an electrical circuit works. And by "circuit," I don't mean the stuff fed by a breaker.

PS - you only need one GFI there. Feed the second receptacle from the load terminals of the GFI.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

Sammy
7 years ago
Is that aluminum wiring?
hello there
Original Author
7 years ago
the ground wire is silver. the other wires are not.
Related Professionals
Sanford General Contractors · Alexandria Home Remodeling · Saint George Home Remodeling · Yakima Home Remodeling · Bartlesville Bathroom Remodelers · Memphis Bathroom Remodelers · Albany Bathroom Remodelers · Kenosha Bathroom Remodelers · Sebring Furniture & Accessories · Galveston Furniture & Accessories · Des Moines Furniture & Accessories · Bartlesville Carpenters · Victorville Carpenters · Florence Custom Closet Designers · Longview Custom Closet Designers
hello there
Original Author
7 years ago
actually the "shared" (if that is correct terminology) neutral is silver also.
hello there
Original Author
7 years ago
correction: not copper wires.

Also, I got the right GFCI wired by following the advice at the following link:

https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/9293/how-do-i-install-a-gfci-receptacle-with-two-hot-wires-and-common-neutral
weedmeister
7 years ago
Are you sure these are two separate circuits? The box on the left is feeding the box on the right (or visa versa).

Let me say that you do not need to attach anything to the load side unless you want to protect circuits that are downstream. If not protecting, then you wire up a pigtail, or if the receptacle accepts back-stab as well as screw, use both the backstab and screw connections of the line side.

Looks like 3 wires are on the receptacle on the left? where is the 4th? where does it go?
elltwo
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I think that the box on the left is fed by three wires and the red passes through to the box on the right. The black and white on the right is a feedout, therefore a load, not line.

If that's the case then they should be landed at a two pole 20 amp breaker in the panel, not two separate single pole breakers.

I think problems occur when the neutral is shared in a GFCI setup. If the use is for convenience and not for a heavy or permanent load then the easiest and most economical solution may be to cap the red in the left box and pigtail the wires in the box on the right, using a non GFCI receptacle, using the load side of the GFCI on the left to feed it. (edited by adding the last phrase for clarity)
hello there thanked elltwo
Ron Natalie
7 years ago
Problems will definitely occur if you connect ANY of the load side wires to any other circuit on a GFCI. The GFCI will trip immediately (and rightfully so).
hello there thanked Ron Natalie
kudzu9
7 years ago
There's no way to be sure from those photos whether the wiring was even ok before you started the replacement. Not to be insulting, but, given the fact that you're inexperienced with wiring, your best bet -- and the safest one -- is to get an electrician involved to fix any pre-existing problems and then install the new devices properly.