[gofixer]

Hello,

We recently painted a room and decided to change out all the switches and outlets to white ones. After switching everything out we checked all outlets and the worked. We forgot however, to clip the tabs on some of them so that they were controlled by the three way switch.

Here's what we then did:

We clipped the right tab in what we think is the first outlet of the series. After we did this, the outlet was separated to one controlled by the switch and one always hot. However, the other 6 outlets in the room were all also completely controlled by the switch. We proceeded to clip the tab on what we thought was the second and third outlets in the series. The clipping of these tabs did not change anything. When we clipped the fourth tab in the series, the remaining three outlets no longer work and only the bottom outlet works (still controlled by the switch).

Previously the first 4 outlets in the series were controlled by the switch and the last 3 operated independently.

We were pretty methodical about making sure the wires were in the right positions. It does seem however, that the bottom outlet, from the first outlet set in the series is powering the rest of the room, and that the power is cut now after the fourth outlet set. What can we do to get these outlets working correctly again?

If it helps, the right side wiring is as follows on each of the outlets (there are two whites on the left side of each one)
1st: two blacks (two reds are tied together, but not connected to the outlet)
2nd: two reds (2 black and 1 red tied together inside)
3rd: two reds
4th: red on top, black on bottom (three black tied together)
5th: two black
6th: two black
7th- end of series, one white on left, one black on right.

Is it possible the person who wired the room paid no attention to red and black?

[donf]

Anything is possible.

Where is the supply coming from and how is it routed to the switch?

Please check your panel box. I'd like to know if the circuit is wired as a multi-wired circuit (Both Black and Red connected to individual breakers with a shared Neutral <White>) or is the circuit being fed by a single breaker?

Any information or pictures you can provide may help us unsnarl your problem.