Reed44 Posted June 12, 2011 Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 A friend of mine put in 9 outlets in my basement and wired it to a 20amp double pull breaker and we put it on the left side of the box. everything works but when i plugged in my lamp to try it out, it made that bulb look like a ufo or something. There seems to be 3 times as much power coming out the outlets. i dont have a voltmeter here to test it and they are normal 110 outlets with 12 gauge wire, any ideas whats going on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc1647545523 Posted June 12, 2011 Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 Cordell is a certified electrician. If no one posts here with the answer, PM him ...... I'm sure he'll help you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowflake Posted June 12, 2011 Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 Sounds like you have 220 going to that light. If a 2-pole was used whoever did it probably put the neutral and the hot wire under the breaker. If this is the case the neutral needs to be taken off that breaker and landed on the neutral bar. You only need a single pole breaker. 1-hot(black), 1-neutral(white), 1-ground(green or bare copper) = 110v This is the reason why you dont let someone wire anything in your house unless you are certain they know what they are doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evan9381 Posted June 12, 2011 Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 This is the reason why you dont let someone wire anything in your house unless you are certain they know what they are doing. IE, call chad, give him cash, know its done right. he wired up all the can lights/fan/new outlets/smoke detectors when i turned 2 bedrooms into 1, and did all the electrical in my kitchen after i gutted it, including extending 220 to the other side of the room for the oven the man knows his shit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowflake Posted June 12, 2011 Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 IE, call chad, give him cash, know its done right. he wired up all the can lights/fan/new outlets/smoke detectors when i turned 2 bedrooms into 1, and did all the electrical in my kitchen after i gutted it, including extending 220 to the other side of the room for the oven the man knows his shit Thanks man! You're always looking out and I appreciate it. OP Im fairly certain the problem is an easy fix. As long as all of the receptacles that you wired are wired correctly all that is needed is taking that white off the breaker and landing it where the others whites are at. Simple do it yourself type stuff at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xyster101 Posted June 12, 2011 Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 Wow, sounds like a simple mistake, but seriously, electric is EASY to wire. Black (hot) "Black on brass will save your ass" White (neutral) Goes on silver screws Copper (ground) Green screws Black only goes on brass colored screws. Black is the only wire that goes to a circuit breaker and light switch. White goes on the bus bar in the breaker box and white NEVER goes to a switch NEVER connect wires together with wire nuts that are not in a handy box. All handy boxes in a basement (or anywhere) must be accessible. NEVER hide a connection or handy box behind drywall. Use drop ceilings or access panels to hide them. EDIT: There are some exceptions such as using red wires for a 3-way switch. You can also use a white neutral wire as a hot black, BUT the person should make the white wire black with electrical tape or a sharpie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed44 Posted June 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 Sounds like you have 220 going to that light. If a 2-pole was used whoever did it probably put the neutral and the hot wire under the breaker. If this is the case the neutral needs to be taken off that breaker and landed on the neutral bar. You only need a single pole breaker. 1-hot(black), 1-neutral(white), 1-ground(green or bare copper) = 110v This is the reason why you dont let someone wire anything in your house unless you are certain they know what they are doing. Thats what was wrong. Im glad it was an easy fix. Thanks for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowflake Posted June 12, 2011 Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 Thats what was wrong. Im glad it was an easy fix. Thanks for your help. No problem. If you ever need to know anything electrical just ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed44 Posted June 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 Will do, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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