Sooner or later, we all have to face a situation when it is necessary to change the outlet. This is done either during the repair or when the outlet falls out of the fastening nest or melting the edges of the input holes. Someone immediately turns to electricians, and someone does everything himself. Below we will tell you how to change the outlet yourself, protecting yourself from the unpleasant consequences of improper operation of electrical appliances.
First, make sure there is no power at the outlet. Then arm yourself with wire cutters or pliers, screwdrivers and a knife and get to work.
Unscrew the two side or center screws on the front panel and carefully remove the top. Loosen the mounting bolts or spacer plate screws holding the socket, then remove the socket, unscrew the screws securing the current-carrying wires, and remove the faulty mechanism.
Next, you need to bring the ends of the wires into the terminals of the new outlet and secure them tightly with screws to prevent overheating and burning of the outlet and plug of the electrical appliance. Keep in mind that usually the phase wire has a black or brown insulating coating, the working one is blue, and the ground wire is yellow-green.
Lay the wires carefully, push the socket into the socket and start to alternately screw in the screws of the spacer plates – this allows the socket to sit firmly in the socket. Then tighten the fixing screws, install and secure the top cover of the socket. Finally, turn on the power and check the availability of current and the work of a new outlet.
If you need to replace a double outlet, then the replacement process differs only in that in this case, a parallel connection of nests is made in the box. If there is a need to connect the wires remaining from the old outlet, then phase and zero wires are connected in pairs.
And the last. When buying a socket, take into account the limits of voltage and current, which are usually marked on a case made of ceramics. In addition, pay attention to the inputs – they must comply with European standards so that there are no problems when connecting devices of foreign manufacturers.