I need to wire a light switch in line. The power is coming from the right into the switch box and thren leaving to the left. A wire exits from the top and goes to the fixture.

Turn off the power to the receptacle that will be replaced by switching off the circuit breaker in the fuse box. Check that the battery is good in a circuit tester. If not, replace the battery. Place the tester's two ends in one set of the receptacle's slots, then the other set. The light on the tester should not come on. If it does, the correct circuit breaker has not been switched off.

Take off the receptacle's face plate by first removing its screw. Detach the two screw securing the receptacle to the box and pull out the receptacle. Loosen the receptacle's terminal screws and pull away all wires from the back of the receptacle. Take out the receptacle (if working properly, it can be reused). If the ends of the wires are chewed up after removing them from the existing receptacle, cut them off with wire cutters. Strip off 1/2 an inch of insulation from the ends, using wire strippers. Bend them into loops with the pliers.

Bend the copper ends of all wires into a loop, using a pliers. Connect the white wires to the silver terminal and tighten the screw to the wires. Connect the black wires to the gold terminal and tighten the screw to the wires. Connect the bare ground wires to the ground terminal and tighten the screw to the wires.

Push all cables into the back of the box, followed by the receptacle. Attach the receptacle to the box with the two screws. Hold the new faceplate in position and install the screw. Turn on the power at the circuit breaker.