Light Switch kicks receptacles...

SUfan7581

I recently installed five new receptacles and a new single pole light switch in my spare bed-room. However, everytime I attempt to turn on the light switch, the breaker kicks. The switch is wired to one receptacle in which the feed is coming from the 12/2 black wire. I tested to see if the old electrician used the neutral as the feed (he did not). Any help would be great. I am lost at this point. I have tried everything including a new switch.

jbfan

You are shorting the hot and neutral when you turn the switch on.
We need to know what wires are connected to the switch and the receptacle that you are trying to controll with the switch to be able to better advise you.

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220/221

The issue is certainly in that switched recep.

It's likely a miswired 1/2 switched recep. When you turn on the switch it dead shorts hot to neutral.

You need to describe the wires in the switch and in the switched recep.

joed

You also need to inspect the old receptacles to see if the tab on the gold side has been cut.

SUfan7581

The wires in the switch box are 12/2. The receptacle boxes all have two 12/2 wires running to them. The switch controls one of the receptacles. I can not figure out where it is grounding out. I suspected it is grounding on something, but all the receptacles are brand new. I do not have the old receptacles as I threw them all out.

HouseHelper

You need to describe exactly how you wired the switch and the receptacle. Just saying 12/2 doesn't help. What color wire is connected where on each device?

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220/221

You tested before or after??? I think he did use the white (not neutral) as the "feed" because that's how it is done.

I think:

One of the receps was 1/2 switched.

In this box you need to hook the black hot to the white going to the switch and pry off the tab between the brass screws on the recep.

If you don't know which one was switched, you mare going to have to find out. Turn power off, disconnect wiring, put a continuity tester on the switch wires and go around touching the blacks to whites.

If you do know which recep was switched, disconnect the wiring, make sure the ends are safe, turn on the power and test for voltage between the whites and blacks. One pair is power, the other is going to the switch.

When replacing the receps, you did them all the same with whites on the silver screws and blacks on the brass screws. This sends power to the switch on the black and dead shots to the white when turned on.

Pay attention people.

Edit. I probably didn't explain this very good.

In the 1/2 switched recep box you have 2 12/2's.

One is power in (black/white..hot neutral). The other is a switch loop going to the switch.

On a switch loop, you use the white as power to the switch and the black as the switch leg back to whatever is being switched (half of the recep in this case)

At the recep box, tie the hot power to the white switch loop and leave a short pigtail for the hot half of the recep. The black from the switch loop goes to the switched half of the recep. The single white/neutral goes to the silver/neutral side of the recep.

Break the tab on the hot side of the recep.

If you for some reason want the entire recep switched, don't use a pigtail and don't break the tab.

This stuff is easier to do than to explain.