Removing outlet from switch


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Old 02-12-17, 07:24 PM
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Removing outlet from switch

Hello,
I have 2 outlets that are controlled by one switch. I need to have 1 plug in to be always hot. I have attached pictures of the wiring to the switch and one of an outlet.

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Old 02-12-17, 07:42 PM
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Welcome to the forums.

It looks like you have aluminum wiring..... can you confirm that ?

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Old 02-12-17, 08:01 PM
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I do, that is why the purple boxes are there.
 
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Old 02-12-17, 08:07 PM
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Ok..... I guess those are AlumiConns.
Interesting is I still see what looks like copper and aluminum in wirenuts.

I can't really see the connections in the receptacle box.
Those are what is important to this project.
 
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Old 02-12-17, 08:17 PM
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All the wire nuts are connecting all aluminum wiring. At the switch there is ground tied together, two white wires with a pigtail that is connected to the alumiconn and the same with the black wires, Two and a pig tail in the nut and the pig tail connected to the alumiconn.
 
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Old 02-12-17, 08:39 PM
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Hard to tell based on your pictures. But, one possibility is that the receptacle box you have shown is "fed hot", meaning it gets both an always hot (black) and neutral (white wire) on its supply cable and that the black wire is connected to the white wire of the cable that goes to the switch box. This white wire is marked black to show that it is hot, not neutral. This wire could go to the switch which (itself being fed hot on the white wire) would depending on switch position turn the returning hot wire on or off. This black wire would then go to the receptacle.

If the situation is as I've described above, you could pigtail an additional black wire off the always hot cables' black wire and connect it to the other black post on the receptacle. But, first you would remove the tab on the receptacle that connects the upper and lower halfs.

However, this would only work for the one receptacle that is fed with an always hot cable. They both would not be, and, absent a third (red) wire between the two receptacle boxes you would not be able to set it up to have both a switched and unswitched half. You could probably set it up to be either always switched, as it is now, or always hot, by feeding it from the always hot wire in the pictured receptacle box.

As always, use caution, and test the situation before proceeding.
 
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Old 02-12-17, 08:45 PM
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Seems like the first step would be to prove your theory correct.

What exactly do I need to test?
 
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Old 02-13-17, 01:51 PM
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Testing steps

1) Mark all the wires in the receptacle box and record how they are currently connected.
2) Disconnect the wires you suspect are the always hot wires from the others.
3) Test if those wires are always hot, regardless of switch position.
4) Make sure none of the other wires in the box are hot -- in case someone has mistakenly made a parallel connection.
5) Make the new connections described, following appropriate CU/AL connection practice when appropriate.

This leaves out the steps of turning the breaker on and off, and confirming that you have the right supplies and tools to make or remake the connections.
 
 

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