How do you wire a GFCI with 3 black and 3 white wires?

If you want all wires to go through the GFCI

  1. Connect the hot black and white to the LINE terminals.
  2. Cut a short piece of white and a short piece of black and connect to the LOAD terminals.
  3. Connect the other end of the short black and all the other blacks together with a wire nut. Do the same with the whites.





Why would an outlet have 3 hot wires?

The reason for multiple hot/neutral wires for one outlet is that the outlets are daisy-chained together. This means hot/neutral is only coming from one of the wires and it is being sent to the other wire.

How do I wire a GFCI outlet with multiple wires?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: By line here within the gfci. You can see that. So the power coming in or the line would go within this side of the receptacle. And then you take off the sticker. And here is your load.

Does a GFCI need 4 wires?

GFCI outlet with four wires comes with two black and two white wires in addition to the main ground wire. Before making the connections of the GFCI outlet with 4 wires, we need to determine first which pair of black and white wires among the two will be used for line and load.

How do you connect 3 wires to GFCI?





Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: That's going to be connected to the screw terminal for the neutral side so the neutral side is going to go to the silver screw. And I created a hook.

How many wires can you run into an outlet?

More Than Two Cables in the Box



Never connect more than one wire under a single screw terminal. It’s also not a good idea to direct-wire all three cables to the receptacle by utilizing both the screw terminals and the push-in terminals on the back of the device.

Can two hot wires share a neutral?

(Basically, two hot wires are sharing a neutral wire.) This circuit has also been referred to as: The Edison Circuit. Common Neutral Circuit.

Can you connect 2 hot wires together?

Nothing. Two hots of same circuit – nothing should happen.

What happens if you connect 2 hot wires?



A short circuit happens when a “hot” wire (black) touches another hot wire or touches a “neutral” wire (white) in one of your outlets. When these two wires touch, a large amount of current flows, creating more heat than the circuit can handle, so it shuts off.

Does power go to line or load on GFCI?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: But when it comes to actually hooking up the wire. Line means on the gfci. Receptacles that this is the power coming from the panel the electrical panel that's in your house.

Does the hot wire go to line or load?

Line Connection



The circuit’s hot wire (typically colored black or red) connects to the black or brass-colored screw terminal marked LINE. The white neutral wire connects to the silver-colored screw terminal marked LINE.

Is the black wire line or load?



The color for the Line wire is usually black and the Load wire is usually red, black, or blue (less common).

What happens if you switch line and load on GFCI?

If you miswired the GFCI it may not prevent personal injury or death due to a ground fault (electrical shock). If you mistakenly connect the LINE wires to the LOAD terminals, the GFCI will not reset and will not provide power to either the GFCI receptacle face or any receptacles fed from the GFCI.

What color is neutral wire?

Plug wiring colours

Wire Colour
Live Brown
Neutral Blue
Earth Yellow and Green


Are load and neutral wires the same?



Line wires comprise three wires that stand for hot, neutral both are insulated and ground bare wire. While load wires are wires that transmit electricity from the electrical device to other devices within the building, load wires are also known as outgoing or downstream wires.

Which wire is hot when both are same color?

In most modern fixtures the neutral wire will be white and the hot wire is red or black. In some types of fixtures, both wires will be the same color. In this case, the neutral wire is always identified by some means. In some cases, there will be small writing on the wiring case.

Why does my neutral wire have voltage?

The voltage you are seeing on the neutral wire is conducting through that other load from the hot. Your voltage tester is detecting voltage without drawing current so the resistance of the other load is not seen. Try disconnecting/turning off all other loads on that circuit.

Which plug is hot neutral?

Here’s a rundown of electrical wires: The black wire is the “hot” wire, it carries the electricity from the breaker panel into the switch or light source. The white wire is the “neutral” wire, it takes any unused electricity and current and sends it back to the breaker panel.

What happens if you reverse hot and neutral?



One common issue with electrical outlets is reverse polarity, also known as “hot-neutral reversed.” In this condition, the outlet has been wired incorrectly, altering the flow of electricity. While the outlet will still be able to provide power to your electrical items, it is also present a greater shock hazard.

Which wire is neutral on a 3 prong plug?

White Wire

White Wire: This is the NEUTRAL wire.