- 1). Open the home's breaker box. Find the existing circuit breaker that powers the receptacle being replaced, and flip its switch to off. Push the prongs of a circuit tester into both sets of slots on the front of the receptacle being replaced. If the tester's light goes on, the receptacle is still receiving power. Turn off the correct breaker and retest the receptacle. Do not proceed until the receptacle received no power.
- 2). Loosen the single screw on the front of the existing receptacle, using a screwdriver. Take out the screw, and remove the receptacle's faceplate. Remove the two screws holding the receptacle to its wall box, also with the screwdriver. Pull out the receptacle from the box.
- 3). Loosen all terminal screws on the back of the receptacle with wires attached, with the screwdriver. Pull the wires from the terminal screws. If there are two sets of black, white and ground wires, separate the two sets from each other. Turn on the breaker. Touch the prongs of the circuit tester to each set of black and white wires: The set that makes the tester's light go on are called the "line" wires, and the set that do not make the tester's light go on are called the "load" wires.
- 4). Turn off the circuit breaker. If there is only one set of wires, attach the black wire to the GFCI's brass terminal screw marked "LINE," and the white wire to the silver terminal screw marked "LINE." Attach the ground terminal to the green ground screw. Tighten all screw heads to the wires with a screwdriver. If there are two sets of wires, attach the black line wire from the wall box to the GFCI's brass terminal screw marked "LINE," and the white line wire from the wall box to the terminal screw marked "LINE." Attach the black load wire from the wall box to the brass terminal screw marked "LOAD", and the white load wire from the wall box to the terminal screw marked "LOAD."
- 5). Cut a 6-inch length of ground wire, using wire cutters. Hold one end to the two other ground wire ends coming from the box. Screw on a wire nut. Bend the other end of the 6-inch wire into a hook shape with long-nosed pliers. Attach this end of the 6-inch wire to the GFCI's ground terminal screw. Tighten all screw heads to the wires, using the screwdriver.
- 6). Push the GFCI and wires carefully into the box, and tighten the two screws to hold the GFCI to the wall box. Position the faceplate against the front of the GFCI, and install its two screws using the screwdriver. Turn on the power at the corresponding circuit breaker.
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