Turn Off The Power

Turn off power to the circuit feeding the old 2 prong outlet. You do this by going to your electrical service panel and either removing the fuse or turning off the circuit breaker feeding power to the outlet.

Go back to the outlet and with a neon circuit tester check to confirm that power has been turned off.

Remove Old 2 Prong Outlet

Remove the screw holding outlet cover plate.

Remove the two small screws holding the old receptacle to the electrical outlet box. A multi-head screwdriver works great for this.

Gently pull out the old 2 prong receptacle being careful not to crack the old wiring.

Extend the old receptacle from the box enough to access the black and white wires attached to the old receptacle.

Disconnect the old outlet.

Confirm Space Adequacy for GFI in Outlet Box

Confirm you have enough room in the box for the new GFI by gently pushing the wires back in the box and test fitting the new GFI.

If the GFI won’t fit because there are too many wires in the box, you would have to install a new, larger electrical box which is beyond this Step-By-Step. If it does not fit safely, replace the old 2 prong outlet.

If the GFI fits, then proceed to Step 5.

Connect Wires to GFI Receptacle

You’ll have to make a determination if the wires you’re working with are long enough to connect to the new GFI. If they are not long enough, proceed with this intermediate task:

Extension Wires
Make two extension wires each about 4″-6″ long, one white (neutral), one black (hot) and both need to be the same thickness of wire as the wires to which you are connecting. For a 15Amp circuit, you need 14G (14 gauge) and in the unlikely case you’re replacing a 20Amp outlet, you’ll need 12G (12 gauge) wire. If you don’t have any handy, you can usually buy this by the foot from your hardware store.

Connect each extension wire to its respective color (black / white) wire with a wire nut.

Proceed with the next task.

If the wires you’re working with are long enough or you have just completed the above intermediate task, proceed as follows:
On the back of the GFI receptacle, you’ll see four terminals. Two are for “Line” and two are for “Load”. In single GFCI installations like this one, we only use the “Line” terminals. The “Load” terminals are only used for multiple outlet installations, not for this repair.

Connect the black wire to the brass colored “Line” terminal screw.

Connect the white wire to the silver colored “Line” terminal screw.

Gently fold up the wires back in the box and press the GFI into the outlet box.

Screw the GFI receptacle to the electrical box to fasten.

Test GFI and Replace Cover Plate

Now we have to test the GFI before we are complete.

Turn power to the circuit back on at the service panel.

Make sure the RESET button found on the front of the GFI is pushed in and not the TEST button (the TEST button will shut the GFI off).

With a neon circuit tester test for power at the GFI.

Replace the cover plate. There should also be a little sticker with the GFI that says “No Ground” or something similar. Place that on the GFI to alert people that this outlet is not grounded.

You have now greatly improved the safety of this electrical outlet by installing the GFI. Even though it is not a grounded outlet, the GFI will protect against shocks.

This article provided by about.com

Many devices use slip-on electrical connectors, as shown below. These connectors eliminate the need to solder a connection each time a part is removed or replaced. However, these connectors sometimes break off or become corroded and require replacement.

There are two basic types of slip-on connectors, those that must be soldered to the wire and those which can be crimped onto the wire.

Step 1: Crimp-On Connectors

The crimp-on connectors are faster and easier to install. They are a perfectly good alternative to soldered connectors although they are slightly more likely to come loose or make poor contact with the wire.

Soldered connectors have the best contact and rarely come loose. Soldering contacts requires the use of a soldering iron and take more time to install.

Step 2: Crimp-On Connector Install

To install a crimp-on connector, strip the wire coating off of the wire to expose about 1/4 inch of wire (if you are using a large connector, more than a 1/4 inch may be needed). If the wire is stranded, twist it to ensure that no stray strands protrude. Unstranded wire (solid core wire) should be soldered because crimping usually cannot assure a tight enough grip on the wire.

If the connector has a plastic cover, slip it onto the wire first. Next, insert the wire into the opening on the connector. With a pair of needle-nose pliers crimp one side of the metal housing, then crimp down the other side. Crimping both sides at the same time will probably result in a poor grip and allow the wire to come loose.

Step 3: Soldering

To install a soldered connector start by plugging in and warming up your soldering iron.

Caution: Soldering irons are very hot and should never be left unattended. Never use a soldering iron near flammable materials. Follow all the manufacturers instructions.

Strip the wire coating off of the wire to expose about 1/4 inch of wire (if you are using a large connector, more than a 1/4 inch may be needed). If the wire is stranded, twist it to ensure that no stray strands are protruding.

Place the wire and connector on a heat resistant surface. If the connector has a cover, slip it onto the wire first. Next, insert the wire into the opening on the connector. Touch the tip of the soldering iron to the connector where it joins with the wire and hold it there while they heat up. The object is to heat up the connector and wire until they are hot enough to melt the solder. Do not melt the solder by touching it directly to the soldering iron.

Touch the solder to the connector to determine if it is hot enough to melt the solder. When it is hot enough, touch the solder to the opening where the wire enters the connector or to the solder hole on top. Allow the solder to flow into the connector. When no more solder will fill into the connector, remove the iron from the work.

When the connector cools, test the soldered joint by lightly tugging at the wire. It is now ready for use. Slide the plastic cover (if any) into place over the connector.

Caution: Wait until the soldering iron has completely cooled before putting it away.

This article provided by www.acmehowto.com

What’s All the Buzz About?

It’s a common, and understandable, misconception that dimmer switches simply reduce the voltage of the electricity that goes to a light fixture. In fact, the voltage doesn’t change. Instead, the dimmer cycles the electricity on and off very rapidly, far faster than the human eye can follow. So while what’s really happening is that the lights are turning on and off, your brain interprets it as the light being dimmer. This rapid cycling can cause the filaments of your light bulb to vibrate, and it’s this vibration that creates the buzzing sound.

Go Low

If your dimmer switch is operating near or even over its capacity, it won’t operate as smoothly and buzzing is more likely. You can reduce the load on the dimmer by reducing the wattage of the light bulbs it controls. Because this is the least expensive potential solution, it’s a good idea to try it first.

Go High

If lower wattage light bulbs don’t solve the problem, try higher voltage bulbs. Standard light bulbs are 120 volts. But 130-volt light bulbs are also available and could be the solution to your buzzing problem. These bulbs have thicker filaments and heavier housing, so they are less prone to vibration. If you’re having trouble finding them, look for light bulbs that are marketed as “long lasting,” “rough/heavy duty,” or “outdoor.” Specialty appliance and garage door opener bulbs are also typically 130 volts. And if the lower watt bulbs you installed solve the buzzing problem, but you find that they burn out frequently, replacing them with 130-volt bulbs solves that problem as well.

Last Resort: Upgrade

If changing your light bulbs (twice!) doesn’t solve the problem, then the culprit may be a cheap dimmer switch. Switching a light rapidly on and off is an inherently unsmooth way of powering it, but higher end dimmer switches generally accomplish the task more smoothly than less expensive dimmers. They also include components that minimize fluctuations of current that the on/off cycling can produce. These higher quality dimmers also generally offer a broader range of settings, which gives you greater control over how much or how little your lights are dimmed.

This article was provided by articlesnatch.com

The three way switch is always used in pairs and allows you to turn a light or receptacle on and off from two different locations. These switches have no “on” or “off” markings because the on and off positions will vary as the switches are used.

The three way switch has three terminal screws and here’s where it can start getting confusing for most people (but it won’t be for you, don’t worry). The black “hot” wire is attached to the darkest screw terminal marked “COM” for “common.” The other two terminals are used to wire up what are called “travelers” or leads for the switch. It makes no real difference which traveler wire goes to what traveler terminal on the switch. The switch will also come with a ground terminal (green screw).

The trick in replacing an old switch is to mark the COM or common wire off the old three way switch before you replace the old switch. Why? To make sure you properly connect the COM wire to the new 3-way switch’s dark or bronze screw terminal identified as COM. Again, COM is the wire you have to install to a specific switch terminal screw. With the other two traveler wires it makes no real difference to which terminals they get fastened.

Please note, you cannot use any other type of switch in a three way application, and again, these switches must be used in pairs.

Information provided by About.com