GFCI Common Fail - Connect to Line or Load?

Most GFCI (GFI) receptacles have 8 holes, or locations, to install wires to on a device.
Confusing to an amateur installing or changing one out.
A common mistake is wiring the power line to the ‘load’ side of the device.

First locate ‘Line’ and ‘Load’ on the back of the device.
Line is for power line that is feeding 120 volts to operate the receptacle.
The ‘Load’ half is there to feed plugs downstream that you want controlled (protected) by this device. A very handy feature when wiring say a garage wall. If the first device is a GFCI you can feed the rest of the downstream plugs from the ‘Load’ output and one GFCI will protect them all.

There are brass colored screws on one side of the device and silver colored screws on the other.
The brass screw is for the ‘black’ (or hot wire) and the silver screw is for the white (or neutral wire). Hot wires can be different colors, but never white and neutral wires are always white. This last statement is for 90% of the household wiring and any unsure homeowners are encouraged to check with a licensed contractor if there is any doubt.

I’m Blair Gilbert, aka MR. HARDWARE. As a third-generation hardware store owner, licensed builder, and finish carpenter, my mission is to help you “do it right the first time!” On this site, I share expert home and yard DIY advice in over 200 videos. I can fix and repair your problems.

[Patrick-Villa]

Very quick to the point accurate explanation thank you

[stefanmueller-reinisch]

That was the perfect explanation and 100% on point! Saved me $300 on a electrician. Thank you

[gareginasatryan]

why does each terminal have two holes? so that there are eight holes in total. is that so you can connect two wires into each screw? thanks

[mhile]

If I’m changing out a standard recept to a GFCI recept in an existing house, how do I determine which set of wires is the load and which is the line from the wires in that recept box?