[Shell_Lee]

My husband and I are remodeling our condo. We would like to update all the outlets and light switches in our place. I ran into a problem with a few outlets and light switches though. I've never dealt with wiring like this.

#1 problem:
In our kitchen, we have one box that has an outlet (black, white, ground), a switch for the garbage disposal, and a switch for the ceiling light.

The garbage disposal switch only has two black wires to it


The switch for the light has three black wires to it


#2 problem:
The living room has two outlets that I would like to replace. This is what they look like

Outlet #1 (2 white, 2 black, 2 red, ground)


Outlet #2 (2white, 2 black, 1 red, ground)
Sorry - no picture


Can anyone help me on what new outlets and switches I should be replacing the old ones with? How do I wire them then?

Thanks

Shell

[hkstroud]

Switch #1
Standard on/off switch One of the wires is the power coming in, the other is the power going to the disposal when the switch is on. Just attach the wires to the new switch. It does not matter which wire goes to which screw. Recommend that you put wires under the screws. The back wiring (plugging wires into the little holes in the back) can develop bad connections after a period. Electricians like them because they are fast and easy to do but you can have problems later. Strip back about 3/4" of insulation and curl the wire and put under screw. The wire must go under the screw the same direction that the screws tighten. Otherwise tightening the screw will cause the wire to move out from under the screw.

Switch # 2
Standard switch, one of the wires, either the one under the screw or the one next to it, is the hot coming into the switch. The one next to it is a hot wire going on to some other fixture. The one by itself is the one going to the light. Suggest that you connect the two hot wires together and add a short length of wire called a pigtail. Twist together and add a wire nut. Then connect the pigtail and the other wire to the switch. It does not mater which wire goes under which screw.

It appears that your outlets are fed by two circuits sharing a common neutral. The black wire is one circuit going to the top half of the outlet and the red wire is another circuit going to the bottom half. These two circuits share the white neutral. You should have two circuits breakers controlling the outlets. I can't see the side of the outlet, so to verify that this correct, look at the neutral (white wire side). The two screws should have a metal tab that connects them. Look at the hot side (black/red wire side), the metal tab connecting the screws should have been removed.

To replace, connect the two black wires together and add a pigtail and a wire nut. Connect the two red wires together and add a pigtail and a wire nut. On the new outlet remove the tab on the hot side. The hot side has the darker colored screws, the neutral side has the light colored screws. Dark colored wire, dark screw; light colored wire light screw. Put the black pigtail under one screw on the hot side and the red pigtail under the other. Put the two white wires under the screws on the neutral side. It does not matter which one. Bare wire under the green screw. The red pigtail does not have to be red, can be black or any color other than white or green. Don't forget to remove tab on hot side.

The last outlet is the same except the red circuit ends there, the black circuit goes on to some other fixture, hence only one red wire.

Don't forget there should be two circuit breakers and don't forget to remove tabs on new outlets.

[stanfortyman]

Just a note.
It is more likely that these receptacles are "half switched", meaning one of the outlets is switched and the other is always on. The is especially likely since it is just two receptacles in the LR.
I would confirm this before looking for two breakers.

[donf]

An extra word of caution. Since you are living in a condo, you should be aware that only licensed electricians are allowed to work on the wiring.

This is required ny the NEC code.