outlet snag

i had to replace two old outlets. new next to old.


the kitchen outlet was wired in a way i've never experienced before. and because of the extra deep backsplash, they wrapped it in electrical tape to prevent it from shorting out on the outlet box that it couldnt sit at proper depth in.


the wires werent cut, but rather stripped in line and wrapped around


on both sides


one of the uncut/wrapped around wires


i wired it up exactly the way i found it, and wrapped it in electrical tape just in case.


with all those wires, and THICK wires, it was difficult to squash back into the outlet box.


looks good. unfortunately it kept tripping TWO separate circuits. which confused me. i'd never heard of that.


so i emailed my dad and undid the wiring. covered the exposed wires so i could turn the power to the kitchen back on in the meantime.


turns out the problem was this tiny little piece on the side of the new outlet. dad explained to me how that outlet was set up for heavy power drainage the way it was wired, and it was indeed connected to two separate circuits. but this new outlet, it had this tiny little piece bridging/connecting the two screws together. my dad told me to take a screwdriver and break this piece out and i'd be fine. its designed to break away if its not wanted, like in situations like this. wired it back up, and everything worked great. i'm so glad to have my dad to help when things like this come up.