Re: electrical question

On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 11:55:28 -0700, N8N <njnagel@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Aug 21, 3:28 pm, Mikepier <mikep...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Aug 21, 3:19 pm, albee <a...@xxxxx> wrote:

In a receptacle/outlet in one of our bedrooms, you can wiggle the plug
and the connection will go on and off. We've all experienced that, but
what's unique (in my experience), is that when it goes off, the power
to the overhead light, operated by a switch at the door, goes off,
too.

What's the connection between these two, and what do I need to do to
fix it? I opened the receptacle, and don't see anything obviously
loose, though I'm inexperienced at electrical things. I did turn the
power off before taking the receptacle out, though (do know that
much!). Thanks.

That outlet feeds the light in you room. Usually the incoming feed and
the outgoing feed are at the sides terminals and are just screwed
tight. make sure the terminals are tight.

Or the wires could be "stab-locked" to the back of the outlet. This is
just basically a quick-connect spring loaded terminal which can come
loose over time. I personally don't like those type of connections, I
like the side terminals better.

I would bet money that the OP will find that the wiring is stab-lok'd
to the back of the receptacle and that that is why he's having a
problem. Something is broken/bent/loose inside the recep. assembly
and when the plug is wiggled it is making/breaking the connection to
the wire feeding the light switch. I suspect that a recep. in a
bathroom is used quite frequently - and by this I mean that plugs are
inserted and removed quite a bit. for that reason I would recommend a
"spec grade" receptacle, or if it is an older house without a GFCI
breaker for the bathroom, a GFCI receptacle (which usually appear
similar in construction to "spec grade" anyway.) And I would
definitely use the screw terminals and not the stab-loks.

nate
Yeah, they were backstabbed. I re-wired the same outlet in the
bedroom, and am now debating the replacement of all outlets. I could
see the bathroom ones, as they do get more active use. What are "spec
grade" ones? I don't have GFCI outlets, though my house was built in
'88, and I was told in another thread that it would have to be based
on that. So I guess it's on a GFCI upline somewhere? If so, then are
you saying to simply use a spec grade, since the GFCI is already
elsewhere on the circuit? Thanks.
.

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