Quote:
Originally Posted by psyang
Most receptacles have a tab that you have to remove, that connects the top and bottom outlets together.
Sorry, I'm not an electrician, but I remember having to do this when I switched out an outlet a few months ago.
Compare the new with the old outlet, look for an extra piece of metal along the side or back that looks like you can break off.
See this link: Remove Hot Tab on the Outlet |
You only do this if you want to have separate hot wires to the upper and lower plugs. This is usually only the case with kitchen plugs or bedroom plugs where half the outlet is controlled by a switch.
As mentioned above you should have the black connected to the gold post on one side, the white to the silver post on the other and the green connected to the small screw on the bottom. What you have now is a dead short.