Home electric outlet?

Ok, you take a "regular" 15 amp duplex wall outlet, and you look closely at its sides, where the terminal screws are, and you should see both an upper and a lower pair of screws.

In normal use, you'd have one wire pair coming in, and it doesn't matter whether you connect to the upper or lower screw pair, because you can see a copper plate beneath the screws on each side that connects upper to lower with a breakable tab.

For your situation, you'd start by assessing the wires coming into that box. Have you got two distinct pairs, one bringing always-on power and one bringing switched power? Or have you got a 3-conductor cable coming in, a single common white, then something like a black and a red, one being the always and one being the switched?

So you'll want to break off the tab on the hot (brass-colored screws, narrow slots) side of the outlet in any case, so you can connect the switched hot wire to the top screw and the always hot one to the bottom screw.

If you have just one shared neutral, you'll leave the tab unbroken on the outlet's neutral (silver-colored screws, wide slots) side, and connect that shared neutral to either the upper or lower screw. If you have one neutral for each hot, you can break that tab too and wire that side the same as the other.

 

^ That alone has worked for me so far. Look at what's going on with the existing one, take copious pictures and sketches, duplicate it.

If you don't want to be swearing, get a old-school outlet (if at all possible), NOT a tamper-resistant version:

Just need to vent... | PriusChat

 

Sounds as if there is a(t least one) very poor connection between the wiring and your new(ly installed) outlet.

Did you end up having a hot/neutral wire each for the always and switched halves, or just a hot for each and a shared neutral?

If just a shared neutral, I would look at that connection first, as it would explain the light being dim in both halves of the newly installed outlet.

Can you post photos of how you wired it?

Did you wrap around the screws, or push-wire it, or back-wire it? (Back-wire is only on some outlets; it's like push-wire in that you just insert the wire end straight, but beneath a plate that's tightened by the terminal screw, instead of just into a pokey thing. Non-back-wire outlets don't have those plates. Back-wire is my favorite when the outlet has it; the pokey things are my least favorite.)

For how long have those old outlets been living in the unmentionable drawer? Sometimes, with long storage, metal terminal surfaces can get very oxidized, without looking that way.

 

I might take it off again and shine up the ends of those wires (special attention to the white one) until they have a nice bright copper appearance. Ordinary steel wool will shine up copper wires a treat. (Just clean up well so there isn't any steel wool fuzz left around when you reconnect.) When you've tightened up those back-wire clamps a little but not fully, you can twist and push-pull the wires a little to maybe rub through any oxidation in the outlet's clamps. Then go ahead and torque the screws down fully. And see if the night-light test goes any better.

 

From your pictures it looks as if all your connections are in the correct place.

You seem pretty handy.
Do you have a volt/ohm meter?
It might be worth your time to check the actual voltage to the outlets.
The best way to do this is - disconnect the wiring to the outlet with power breakers turned off - then turn power on and carefully check for 120 volts between the black and white wire and then 120 volts between the red and white wire.

If no 120 volts or any odd voltages - you need to check the power breaker/switch or any connection in between the outlet and the power source to track back the problem.

If you have 120 volts at the wiring to the outlet, you have a bad connection on the outlet you are installing or potentially a faulty outlet.

Of course a person needs to be careful and confident observing safety procedures working around electricity!

You may find this video helpful, this is a no nonsense, low key, factual way to troubleshoot a circuit that is easily understandable made by an electrician

 

Yea, you need to find or buy a cheap outlet tester and voltage tester. Sounds like you've low voltage through a bad connection someplace. I wouldn't rule out the circuit breaker in your fuse box, due to the strawberry jam. Circuit breakers are designed to fail in the open position, for obvious reasons. Check the other outlets this circuit is connected to. If your getting 120 VAC at those other outlets, one of those relay wires may be loose. Very obvious, they usually fall off as soon as you pull the outlet out of the electrical box. Tighten the loose wire back into the appropriate spot and your done.

Good hunting.....