How To Replace a Plug

How to Fix a Broken 3-Prong Plug

I’ve been out in my shed a bit recently and my miter saw is getting a workout. I got ours on Craigslist a few years ago and it’s in great shape except for… the other day I went to unplug it and I saw this:

The oh-so-important 3rd prong had broken off. Although technically not necessary to *run* the device, the point of the 3rd prong is to protect the appliance from any electrical surge that might otherwise fry the insides (not a technical term). So basically, without this working, my miter saw was useless. Turns out… it’s SUPER easy to replace this plug and it will set you back about $3. Here’s the one I used (affiliate). (Do I need to even mention that the plug should be UNplugged at this point?)

(At this point I should mention… I’m a lot of things, but electrician I am not. Take these instructions as my personal opinion. In no way am I responsible or liable or asserting to be a licensed professional.)

Step 1.

Cut the wire just beneath the broken plug.

Step 2. Strip the last 2 inches.

I used a utility knife to carefully cut through the outer wire to expose the three inner-wires.

Step 3. Strip the ends of the three inner wires.

You should have 1 green, 1 black, and 1 white. I use this tool to strip the ends (affiliate).

Step 4. Wrap wire around screws in new plug

Use a screw driver to loosen the screws in the new plug. Twist the ends of the wires, and curl them left to right (clockwise). Matching the green wire to the green screw, the black wire to the gold screw, and the white wire to the silver screw, wrap the wires around the screws and gently tighten. Tip: If the wires wrap around the screw clockwise, they won’t come undone when you tighten the screw in place.

Step 5. Put the plug back together

My hinged version folded back into place and a central screw keeps it tight together.

Yep. It’s totally that simple. 10 minutes and I was back to work!