Did I connect this 3-wire electric dryer plug correctly?

Switched my dryer's 4-wire plug to a 3-wire plug to fit the old outlet. My dryer's owners manual is in storage tho, so I cannot verify the proper connections? Videos I've seen online are somewhat conflicting, but the general consensus is the white wire, that is connected to the dryer, goes to the ground on the dryer chassis - correct? So, leave the white wire where it was? Some videos say to connect the white wire to the center/common post - so there would be 2 wires connected to that post?

Before and after pic:

Do not under any circumstances connect the chassis to neutral. That is what the safety ground is for.

While the neutral and safety ground connect to the same bus bar back at the circuit breaker panel, they are not the same thing. There is normally no current in the safety ground connection but there could be current in the neutral. Current means voltage drop which means that the neutral will be at a different voltage than safety ground. Which means (even if you really did connect to neutral) that the chassis is effectively hot and could kill anyone that touches it and a real ground.

While the heavy loads are 240V and are between the two hots with none of that current passing to the neutral, there are some 120V loads inside the dryer. Or at least you have to assume that there are.

Best to consult the dryer manual to see if it requires a safety ground. That white wire suggests it does. See if Google can turn up a copy.

(This reminds me of the trouble I have had with my electric range cord. A long story.)

Hire an electrician.

Searching for dryer make and model online should result in a manual.

The white wire is neutral, not ground. It is not to be connected the the chassis, as UhClem stated.

Green is ground. It is to be connected to the chassis.

The other two, black and something else (probably red) are the two hot phases.

Read the manual or hire an electrician. The fact that you had to ask this stuff means... Oh, gee, I'm in real danger of sounding condescending, and I really don't to. It shows that you don't have the experience at this to do it without help. And you came here asking for help, which is good. Just be super careful and super sure, since getting it wrong can be deadly.

Huxter said:

Switched my dryer's 4-wire plug to a 3-wire plug to fit the old outlet. My dryer's owners manual is in storage tho, so I cannot verify the proper connections? Videos I've seen online are somewhat conflicting, but the general consensus is the white wire, that is connected to the dryer, goes to the ground on the dryer chassis - correct? So, leave the white wire where it was? Some videos say to connect the white wire to the center/common post - so there would be 2 wires connected to that post?

Before and after pic:

View attachment 400787

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Don't trip the breaker!!! Wrong hookup. You need a 4 wire cord. Hot 1, Hot 2, Neutral, & ground. What does the socket look like?

I looked at my manual, have a 3 wire plug, the way you have wired the 3 wire plug looks correct. White wire/ neutral ground connects to chassis when using 3 wire plug. The original four wire hook up you had is wrong. The white neutral ground should have been connected to the neutral wire and the green/bare ground only to the chassis. Look at any 3 wire hookup in any dryer manual, should all be the same, power standard is the same in all of U.S. Codes are different though.

More info:

Dryer is a whirlpool duet ht. I just downloaded the manual. I look it up tonight.

The electric plug on the house (built in 2000) has 3 plugs/slots which I'm switching the dryer cord to use:



I think rcktnut is exactly right. The white wire attached to the dryer should have been on center post w the neutral for a 4-wire setup. For a 3-wire setup, the white wire attaches to the chassis. Will confirm before plugging it in!

Thank you all. I promise to be safer than sorry!

Manual shows the 4-wire setup Was Indeed hooked up wrong (the white attached wire should have gone on the center post). It shows the 3-wire setup is correct the way I did it:



Right side is for the 3-wire setup. (Left side is for 4-wire direct-wire - looks same as 4-wire plug?)

Can I go around the room and get a GO / NO GO for dryer initiation!?

FIDO:


GUIDANCE:


CAPCOM:

So, does that mean that your old four wire hookup was wired wrong for.....years?
I'd say you are go for the three wire setup.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert.
Cheers.

Yes it was wired wrong (and worked fine) from the appliance store that way since spring of 2014. I'm thankful no one got hurt.

kuririn said:

Hire an electrician.

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During the house inspection for our last home the inspector used and IR camera and saw the kitchen stove breaker was hot. They hired an electrician, he re-wired the stove.... and they nearly burned the house down.

Many electricians aren't what they used to be.

Huxter said:

Yes it was wired wrong (and worked fine) from the appliance store that way since spring of 2014. I'm thankful no one got hurt.

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I guess a ground is a ground is a ground, and the only time you need one is if there is a problem, insulation rubbed off a wire etc. I think the only reason to connect the white wire to the neutral in a four wire hook up is so that if there is a problem the circuit breakers will trip faster.

About a week ago I took our old dryer, 3-prong plug, up to my daughter's place for her to use, as we'd bought a new dryer. A brass(?) strap that was in place when the dryer was purchased connected the neutral to the chassis. I know it was on there when we bought it, because I installed the old dryer's 3-prong cord myself, and I didn't add the strap. However...the old dryer was around 10 years old, so perhaps things have changed since then.

I removed the brass strap because her outlet was 4-prong.

I'd suggest converting the socket to the new 4-wire standard, and using a cord with color coded wires. The old 3-wire 240 system relied on no one getting the neutral swapped with one of the hots. It was safe if wired correctly, but a wiring error would result in the chassis/case of the appliance being hot. I cover the socket upgrade over in my CNC mill build thread. There is a lot of confusion around because dryer instructions still have to cover hooking up a new 4-wire dryer to an old socket that hasn't been updated. I think I read that codes changed ca. 1995-2000.

When I put in my wood shop I did all my own wiring.
I'm no electrician, I was a Flat Roof Roofer.
I bought a code book for about $10, told me everything.
That was in 2002. I was looking at the new revised edition the other day at the store.
Nothing was different that I could tell.
110 Black should always be hot, cut into the black for light switch, etc.
For two location switch you need 4 wires, extra one is Red.
220 is basically 2-110 lines, Black & Red with white as Common.
Green or Bare wire is chassis ground.
Never, Not EVER put the white where the green should go, or vise versa.
Following these few simple rules will keep you alive much longer.

You did it correctly.

I checked and the NEC was updated to require 4-wire dryer sockets in new construction starting in 1996. House built in 2000 should have had a 4-wire originally. Puzzling but maybe it was "unofficially" reverted to a 3-wire socket.

This should work right. But the white wire that is attached to the chassis in your dryer should be green.

So I'm wondering about the outlet. Have you looked under the cover to see how many wires are there? Also, many circuits use metal conduit as a ground.

Don't they sell an adapter that goes from 3 to 4 or 4 to 3?

It looks like you did it per the manual. So it's correct, but it ain't right! All the statements that it should work are true, but where shock hazards are concerned, should work is not good enough. It's substantially more vulnerable this way to something going wrong down the road, and to being dangerous if something does.

Add my voice to those saying that getting the four wire outlet installed (by yourself or by a pro) would be the far, far better way to go.

Incidentally, wiring that does not use metal conduit to conduct the ground has a bare wire that is strung from box to box to box for the same purpose. That's why when you buy "two conductor" or "three conductor" plastic sheathed cable (known as "romex", even though Romex is a brand name) it has three or four wires; the bare ground wire doesn't count because it's the replacement for the metal conduit or cable casing that used to be universal. All else being equal, I'd still prefer the metal cased BX, but it does cost a whole bunch more. It resists nails as well as conducting the ground.

jqavins said:

the bare ground wire doesn't count because it's the replacement for the metal conduit or cable casing that used to be universal. All else being equal, I'd still prefer the metal cased BX, but it does cost a whole bunch more. It resists nails as well as conducting the ground.

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Just a follow up on this- installing a ground wire or BX doesn't matter if they're not fully connected to the ground. I've seen outlets that had a 3 prong plug, but internally the ground inside the electrical outlet/box wasn't connected to anything! This is more common in older houses, but sometimes pops up in newer construction as well.

There is nothing wrong with making something that is considered safe safer, but I trust in the 3 wire system. Electric ranges are wired the same way. 3 wire has been the standard since the invention of electric dryers/ranges. As far as 120 volts now days don't even find many small appliances anymore with a ground plug on them, they are double insulated now. Hair dryers have the plug with built in GFI's now. I've been in my home 32 years, both dryer and range have the 3 wire installations, never had a problem. Both methods are simple enough for the average "Joe" to wire.

It should be 4 wire, someone's life could depend upon it.
ie; In my house that was built in 1954 used the copper plumbing as a ground. Worked, but not well.
You couldn't bathe or shower during an electrical storm (Case Iron tub as well). A strike to tree in the yard could follow the plumbing Inside the home.
In the panel box, Plumbing ground and circuit ground went to the grounding bar. One Hot to the breakers.
Standing on the concrete floor in the basement in socks and touching the metal CPU box you could feel a tingle, enough to make untouch real fast. There were NO 3 prong outlets in the house. No chassis grounding what so ever.
That was 110v. Your dryer is 220v. That's enough to stop the heart instantly, cause severe burns, and many other harmful things to the human body.
If it sits on concrete, or ANY chance of water on the floor, make it 4 wire.
Also, check your grounding. Make sure you have double grounding rods in the ground with one continuous copper wire rated for at least 600v.
Not just one rod, and NOT to your plumbing.
Electricity is literately a simple thing once you grab the concept. Deadly if you don't understand it fully.
When I wired my shop it had a wood floor, ran conduit and didn't need to ground the metal boxes, but did. When I extended electricity to the garage with concrete floor it was code to ground the metal boxes. They didn't have code written in 2002 for bare dirt floors, but I grounded the boxes in the storage garage as well. Code has been written since to include grounding of conduit boxes on dirt floors. As you are directly grounded standing on dirt.
The lesson here is if can be grounded in any way, unless you have the proper 4th wire grounding system, lives are at risk.
ie; Dryer is running, kid runs by with a glass of liquid, trips, falls, spills liquid. Goes to stand up and puts hand on metal dryer body while standing in liquid.

Ground rods also corrode and need to be replaced sometimes, which was probably part of the problem in your 1954 house. Part of it. At the summer house my family used to own, I was once looking in the direction of a ground rod when lightning struck across the lake, and I saw an arc jump from the attached wire, around the clamp, and into the rod. When the storm was over I took that apart, cleaned all the surfaces, sanded them lightly to nice bright copper, and put it back together.

Also, a dryer can be assumed to be next to the washer; the laundry room is by definition wet without a spilled glass of water, the same as a kitchen, bathroom, or outbuilding.

jqavins said:

Also, a dryer can be assumed to be next to the washer; the laundry room is by definition wet without a spilled glass of water, the same as a kitchen, bathroom, or outbuilding.

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If that is the case in ones home I would say you either need a plumber or roofer rather than an electrician.

jqavins said:

Ground rods also corrode and need to be replaced sometimes, which was probably part of the problem in your 1954 house.

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Problem was there was NO ground rods. And nothing was chassis grounded. Only the old 2 slot receptacles.
Code back then was to use the copper plumbing which went to the tank, then the well, and down 100+ feet.
I put in a 2nd 200 amp supply line to feed the shop and plan was to temp wire a few things in the house until I could install a new panel box.
Run all new wiring and bring it all up to code. But got laid off and lost the house.
I bet the electrician had a hard time figuring what was what in that place, who ever the new owners hired.
I still get a chuckle out of it when I think about it.

Woody's Workshop said:

When I put in my wood shop I did all my own wiring.
I'm no electrician, I was a Flat Roof Roofer.
I bought a code book for about $10, told me everything.
That was in 2002. I was looking at the new revised edition the other day at the store.
Nothing was different that I could tell.
110 Black should always be hot, cut into the black for light switch, etc.
For two location switch you need 4 wires, extra one is Red.
220 is basically 2-110 lines, Black & Red with white as Common.
Green or Bare wire is chassis ground.
Never, Not EVER put the white where the green should go, or vise versa.
Following these few simple rules will keep you alive much longer.

Click to expand...

Many many years ago I was the manager for the hardware, electrical, and paint departments at a Montgomery Ward (remember them?). We used to have a canopy with quick release mounts for the chandeliers, one day I went to take one down for a customer and got a nice 110v zap from it. After I killed the power and took it down I found that that green and white wires had been reversed. Turns out that one of my employees was color blind... he couldn't tell the difference. I didn't let him do any wiring after that...

lakeroadster said:

During the house inspection for our last home the inspector used and IR camera and saw the kitchen stove breaker was hot. They hired an electrician, he re-wired the stove.... and they nearly burned the house down.

Many electricians aren't what they used to be.

Click to expand...

I'm a master electrician and I'm not what I used to be. [emoji41]