You could have a short or it could just be that you are reading through a load. Take a lamp and check for continuity at the plug, with a bulb in the lamp you will get continuity, take the bulb out if you still have continuity then you have a short in the wire or the lamp. Same thing happens in the wiring of your house on a larger scale.
A neutral wire and a hot wire would have continuity because they are part of the same circuit. Continuity means there is a complete path for the flow of electricity between the two wires, allowing current to travel from the hot wire through the device and back through the neutral wire. This indicates that the circuit is intact and functioning properly.
The best way to differentiate between neutral and hot wires when they are the same color is to use a multimeter to test which wire is carrying voltage. The hot wire will have voltage, while the neutral wire should not. Exercise caution and ensure proper safety measures are followed when working with electrical wires.
The neutral wire should be connected to maintain continuity. This is because the neutral wire completes the circuit and allows electricity to flow back to the power source. Disconnecting the neutral wire would break the circuit and interrupt the flow of electricity.
In electrical wiring, the live or "hot" wire is typically brown or red, the neutral wire is typically blue or black, and the ground wire is yellow or green. So, in this case, the brown wire is likely the hot wire, the blue wire is the neutral wire, and the yellow green wire is the ground wire.
You can determine the hot and neutral wires by using a voltage tester. The hot wire will have voltage present when measured against the ground or neutral wire, while the neutral wire should not have voltage when measured against the ground wire. It is also recommended to consult a licensed electrician if you are unsure.
The live wire carries current from the electrical source to the device, while the neutral wire completes the circuit by returning the current back to the source. If the live and neutral wires were joined together, it would create a short circuit, potentially leading to overheating, electrical fires, or damage to the electrical system.
The best way to differentiate between neutral and hot wires when they are the same color is to use a multimeter to test which wire is carrying voltage. The hot wire will have voltage, while the neutral wire should not. Exercise caution and ensure proper safety measures are followed when working with electrical wires.
The neutral wire should be connected to maintain continuity. This is because the neutral wire completes the circuit and allows electricity to flow back to the power source. Disconnecting the neutral wire would break the circuit and interrupt the flow of electricity.
Typical home wiring will have one hot wire, one neutral wire, and one ground wire per circuit. An open neutral would indicate that the neutral wire, usually white wire, is broken.
If wired properly the ridged wire is the neutral.
In electrical wiring, the live or "hot" wire is typically brown or red, the neutral wire is typically blue or black, and the ground wire is yellow or green. So, in this case, the brown wire is likely the hot wire, the blue wire is the neutral wire, and the yellow green wire is the ground wire.
If this is a home wiring question and the wires are black and white then black is Hot and white is Neutral. If you also have a red wire, it is the other hot wire, and either the black or the red wire to the white one would be 120 volts, and red to black would be 240 volts.
You can determine the hot and neutral wires by using a voltage tester. The hot wire will have voltage present when measured against the ground or neutral wire, while the neutral wire should not have voltage when measured against the ground wire. It is also recommended to consult a licensed electrician if you are unsure.
If a "hot" wire contacts the "neutral" or ground wire, electrical current flows to the ground.
Red is hot Green is ground White is neutral
The live wire carries current from the electrical source to the device, while the neutral wire completes the circuit by returning the current back to the source. If the live and neutral wires were joined together, it would create a short circuit, potentially leading to overheating, electrical fires, or damage to the electrical system.
In ordinary circumstances, a red wire is a secondary hot wire in an AC circuit, or the positive power leg in a DC circuit. Red should not be used as a neutral. If it is used for something other than a hot wire it must be labeled on the wire at all connection points- and would STILL be a bad idea.
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.