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The neutral is the ground

The neutral is NOT the ground. The ground is defined by a third bare or green wire in some cases. Look in the back of the receptacles junction box. See if the ground wire is bonded to the box but was not long enough to bring it out to the receptacle. With a tester you can check to see if the box is grounded. Place the testers red probe on to the black wire and the black probe on to the electrical box if it is a metallic box. If a voltage is noted, then the box is grounded. When the receptacle is reinstalled the ground will be picked up through the mounting screws. Or you can extend the ground wire at the back of the box and connect it to the green ground screw on the receptacle.

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All newer installations have a ground wire (bare) in with the other conductors. eg. 2c #14 with bare ground, 3c # 14 with bare ground. These bare wires are used to ground the boxes that they travel through. In a proper installation, one of the wires should be under the ground screw which is located on the flat bottom of the box. From under the ground screw this wire should be wire nutted together with all the other ground wires in the box. If the fixture is a fluorescent fixture, usually you have to provide a ground wire from the fixture to the group of ground wires in the box.

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Q: How do you ground a 120 volt outlet with only one white and one black wire?
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How do you wire multilple power outlets and light?

Power into the first outlet and out to all other outlets, black to gold and white to silver screw, ground wires to ground screw. From the outlet closest to the light switch run power from that outlet up to the switch box. Run another wire from the switch box up to the light. In the switch box tie all the whites together under a wire nut and push them back into the box. Tie all the ground wires together and connect that to the ground screw on the switch. Connect the 2 black wires you have left to the 2 screws on the switch. Does not matter which if you only have power in and power out to the light.


How do you wire a GFCI if there are 2 black wires?

You will have to run new electrical wire or a single ground wire back to the panel (though the former is highly recommended). A GFCI outlet will cut off the circuit if it senses voltage leaking to ground. If there is no ground wire, it will not function.


Why do outlets have two prongs?

Actually they have 3. A round ground, wide neutral, and narrow hot. If it only has 2 it is an old outlet with no ground wire. If that is the case in your home, I highly suggest you connect a jumper wire from the ground screw to the white neutral wire on the silver screw to provide some protection. Do this at every outlet in the home. Replace all the outlets in your home with new ones if they are so old they do not have a ground connection.


Which is the hot wire red or white?

In the US, if you only have a black wire (ungrounded or hot conductor) and a white wire (normally a grounded conductor or neutral) there is not a ground wire. Sometimes the white wire is used as a hot, so each wire would have to be identified. <<<< Electrical work should only be done by a qualified electrician.>>>>


How do you wire a 110 outlet from a 110 light switch?

I assume that both the light switch and the outlet are already installed. First, look at the visible portion of the switch carefully. Does it say "Off" and "On"? If not, you have a 3-way switch, and you should stop here because these instructions will not work for a 3-way switch. Now, identify all devices that are operated by this switch. Presumably, you at least have an overhead light on the circuit. Identify the breaker that controls this circuit and turn it OFF. Now you need to identify the LAST device on this circuit. To do so, one device at a time, remove each device from its box (but do not disconnect the wires). The last device will have only one cable (sheathed bundle of 3-4 wires) coming into the box (any devices between the switch and the last device will have two cables coming into the box). Now, purchase enough cable to stretch from the last device to the outlet you want connected to the switch. Remember that this cable will have to run across ceiling joists, wall studs, etc., rather than in a straight line. The new cable should be the same gauge and type as the existing wiring. Purchase 3-4 feet more than you need. You will also need wire nuts (the standard yellow nuts is the size you will most likely need, but it won't hurt to buy a variety pack), electrical tape, wire cutters, a utility knife, wire strippers, and cable staples (U-shaped nails) Go to a place where you can access the BACK side of the box that houses the last device on your circuit (if this is an overhead light, that will be in your attic; if it's a wall outlet, you're pretty much screwed.) Punch out an unused hole in the back of this box and feed at least six inches of cable through that hole. Staple the cable to a ceiling joist or other sturdy frame member as close as possible to the box. If you are lucky, there will already be a hole in the top plate, with a different cable running down to the outlet. If not, you're going to have to drill your own hole, and take a chance of electrocuting yourself and/or shorting out your whole house, if there is another cable running along the underside of this top plate. Once the hole is drilled, feed the cable down through that hole as far as you can. Now, identify the circuit that controls the outlet and turn the breaker off. Take the cover plate off of the outlet, then unscrew the outlet from the box and pull it out of the box. Again, you need to identify how many cables are coming into that box. If there is only one cable, disconnect all wires from the outlet and cap them with a small wire nut (grey will probably work best) and tape them up with electrical tape. If there are two cables, you will need to disconnect all wire and match them up - black to black, white to white, ground to ground - and connect each matched pair with yellow wire nuts and tape them up. This will remove the outlet from its previous circuit, and you can now turn that breaker back on. Now comes the hard part. You need to somehow take the cable end you fed down through the top plate and feed it into the back of the outlet box. If the box isn't nailed to a stud, you can just pull it out, and it will be much easier. Otherwise, this task will be be very near impossible. You might try bending a coat hanger straight, then bending the last inch back into a U shape, then trying to fish inside the wall for the cable end. But even if you can catch it, you have to pull it through a small hole in the back of your box, and that cable isn't very flexible. You may end up having to cut a section of your drywall out and replace it later. Once you get the new cable coming into your box, trim the end to 6 inches, then cut the sheathing off with a utility knife, being careful not to cut the insulation around the individual wires. Separate the black, white, and ground wires and strip the last inch or so of insulation from the black and white wires. Bend the last inch of all three wires into a U shape. Hook this U-bend around the connection screws as follows: Black wire to one of the two brass screws on the right side of the outlet, white wire to one of the two silver screws on the left side of the outlet, and ground wire to the green screw at the bottom of the outlet. (It doesn't matter which of the two brass screws or which of the two silver screws you use, as long as the black wire is connected to brass screw and the white wire to a silver screw.) Now go back to the front side (not in your attic) of the box for your overhead light (or whatever you determined to be the last device on your switched circuit. You will have the new cable sticking out of that box, as well as the existing connection from your circuit to the device. These connection will be as follows: one circuit black wire connected to one or more black wires going to the device (if the device is a ceiling fan, and it has a light kit attached, there may also be a blue wire attached to the black wires); one circuit white wire connected to one or more white wires going to the device; and one circuit ground wire connected to a bare or green wire, which in turn is connected to either a metal part of the device or a grounding screw inside the box. You will need to remove the tape and wire nuts from the black wire connection and the white wire connection. Then add the new black wire from your new cable to the existing black (and blue, if applicable) wires and connect them all together with a yellow wire nut. Then add the new white wire from your cable to the existing white wires and connect them all together using a yellow wire nut. Tape up both connections with electrical tape. Then twist the new ground wire around the existing bare ground wire to complete the ground connection. Replace your device, turn the breaker back on, and check everything.

Related questions

How do you wire multilple power outlets and light?

Power into the first outlet and out to all other outlets, black to gold and white to silver screw, ground wires to ground screw. From the outlet closest to the light switch run power from that outlet up to the switch box. Run another wire from the switch box up to the light. In the switch box tie all the whites together under a wire nut and push them back into the box. Tie all the ground wires together and connect that to the ground screw on the switch. Connect the 2 black wires you have left to the 2 screws on the switch. Does not matter which if you only have power in and power out to the light.


You want to install a new light fixture in your bathroom upon removing the old fixture down you discover there is no grounding wire only a black and white wire and GFCI outlet on the circuit?

Just install the new fixture with black to black, white to white, and cap off the ground wire on the new fixture. It'll be fine.


What is super effective on electric in Pokemon black and white?

Only ground


How do you wire a 3 wire exhaust fan to a 4 wire outlet?

The fan is probably a 115 VAC single phase fan and the outlet is probably a 230 VAC "two phase" outlet. The fan would then have the following wires: hot (black), neutral (white), and ground (green). The outlet would then have the following wires: hot #1 (black), hot #2 (red), neutral (white), and ground (green). Pick either of the two hot wires on the outlet and connect the hot wire of the fan to that (ignore the other hot wire on the outlet) and connect the neutral to neutral and ground to ground. If the wire colors are not as I described above you may have something else (e.g. 3-phase) and that would be wired differently, but those systems are usually used only in industrial settings not the home.


What color of wires are found on a 120 volt duplex poutlet?

A 120 volt duplex outlet is the main type of outlet for residential outlet system. The wires are typically white and black, and there should only be two of them.


How do you wire duplex receptacle using14-3 wire Also with 14-2 wire The wires are already ran to 15 amp breakers and capped off. i would like to hook them up. Thank You?

Sort of confusing are you using 14-3 just for the receptacle with 14-2 to the breaker or the other way around. Either way doesn't matter since you only need 2 wires and a ground for the outlets. The 14-3 should have Red, Black, White and bare wires. 14-2 should have Black, White and bare. All you need are Black, White and Bare. Forget about the red one. Hook the two outlets together with short jumper wires about 6 inches long. Looking at the outlet with the ground facing down, the bare wire goes on the bottom green terminal. The white wire goes on the left side of the outlet. The black goes on the right side of the outlet. Take the 6 inch jumper wire and go from the left side of one outlet to the left side of the second outlet. White to white, black to black, bare to bare. Connect the wires coming from the breaker to the other terminals on one of the outlets. Power comes in to one outlet and then to the second. If the wires are capped in the breaker box, you only need to connect the Black White and bare ones. Do this with the power off.


Wiring single toggle switch and outlet with two wire system?

Guessing you are replaceing an outlet? Black goes on the copper colored terminal and white on the same side that has the ground terminal. If you have checked and made sure that white is in fact the neutral you can run a jump wire from the side terminal to the ground. This will ground whatever you plug into the outlet as long as it has a 3 prong plug.


How do you wire a GFCI if there are 2 black wires?

You will have to run new electrical wire or a single ground wire back to the panel (though the former is highly recommended). A GFCI outlet will cut off the circuit if it senses voltage leaking to ground. If there is no ground wire, it will not function.


In hooking up a 240V Air Conditioner you have four wires but only three on outlet What three go on receptacle Red Black White Copper?

For a 240V with ground outlet you will connect black (hot) to one brass screw, red (hot) to the other brass screw, and bare (ground) to the green screw. Cap white (neutral) with a wire nut. It is for 240/120V appliances. If you don't fully understand this buy a book. This is a very basic question. If you don't understand which wire is which you could make a serious mistake causing fire or death.


How do you wire a two wire fixture to a three wire outlet?

The National Electrical Code allows this change only if you upgrade the whole circuit. BUT ..If you are using this outlet only when the light is on, connect the black wires together and the white wires together. Ground wires together to the box also. IF THIS IS WITHIN 6 FEET OF A WATER SOURCE, IN A BASEMENT, GARAGE, OR OUTSIDE IT HAS TO BE GFI PROTECTED!!!!


How do you test for groung on a two prong outlet?

Buy a tester. They are very cheap and will tell you at a glance if the outlets are wired correctly. The only other way is to remove the outlet and look see. But if it is a 2 prong outlet with no ground hole then it does not have a ground.


The 10-30 receptacle for the dryer has 3 wires white black and bare The volage across bare-white bare-black is 120v Is there any way the bare is neutral or is it ground?

In a typical electrical outlet, the bare wire is the ground wire while the white wire is the neutral wire. The ground wire is responsible for providing a safe path for electrical currents in the event of a fault or short circuit. In your specific case, it is possible that the bare wire is acting as a neutral wire, but it is crucial to consult a certified electrician for an accurate assessment and to ensure proper wiring connections.