I have a receptacle that has 3 white wires and 1 black. The black wire is hot and 2 of the white wires are hot but on a separate circuit than the black one (2 bedroom's outlets on separate circuits but tied to this one receptacle). This doesn't seem right to me. All 3 white wires are hooked up to the white side of the receptacle while the black is on the hot side. It takes 2 breakers to turn off the entire outlet (I was shocked when I found out). Really, I was shocked, that's how I found out. I thought I had shutoff the breaker but didn't know the white wires were hot and part of another circuit. It appears I should bracket the two breakers for safety. My real question is "Is it o.k. for the two white wires to be hot and hooked to the white side of the receptacle?". Additionally, when this outlet is apart the second circuit does not work. The whole setup just seems odd. As a side note, the house was built in '63. Maybe different regulations then.
Electrical – How to do about a receptacle with 2 circuits going through it where white wires are hot
electricalreceptaclewiring
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Best Answer
Is it OK? No. Aside from the dangerous confusion you experienced there is an ongoing safety problem here. You have hots from two circuits going into one receptacle, but you only have one neutral. By placing load from two circuits onto one neutral wire, you have the risk of overloading that wire without tripping the circuit breakers for either circuit.
It's possible to safely have two circuits feeding one receptacle, if you have a hot/neutral pair for each segment. Additionally, current code requires dipole breakers in this case, so overload on either circuit shuts off both.
To fix this, you need to determine which hot is associated with the same cable back to your circuit breaker as your effective neutral, and disconnect the other hot. (One of the black wires may be feeding another receptacle; make sure that receptacle has a correct neutral.) You should also trace the cables to adjacent receptacles/junctions and check those -- this isn't a good sign about the quality of electrical work in your home. If you're lucky, the fix is just a matter of a few changes in receptacle boxes. If you're unlucky... well, it's better to find out through inspection than through a fire.
You'll want to get a non-contact voltage tester. Be safe!