On An Extension Cord Which Wire Is Hot

Electrical convention and the national electric code prescribe these colors as described on the international municipal signal association website.

On an extension cord which wire is hot. The neutral wire forms a part of the live circuit along with the hot wire. If it s one of the flat extension cords you ll notice that one side of the plastic insulation cord will have a rib or two running the entire length of the extension cord the other side should be smooth. Extension cords may accidentally be cut with power tools loose their protective coating or have breaks internally. The half round prong is ground the larger of the two slotted prongs is neutral the small one is hot.

If there is a male plug on the end the green wire will connect to the round pin the smooth to the smaller prong and the ribbed to the polarized larger prong. Extension cords can be damaged in many different ways from dragging then along the ground to running over them with vehicles or closing them in a door. The black wire is the hot wire the white wire is theneutralwire and the green wire is the ground wire on any extension cord large or small. In contrast the ground wire is connected to any metal parts in an appliance such as a microwave oven or coffee pot.

Purpose of question i am interested in why you want to know th. If this is incorrect please advise what country you are in as the answer depends on the country. Assumptions looking at the quora photo you posted i assume you are located in the us. However the neutral and ground wires serve two distinct purposes.

Like the neutral wire the ground wire is also connected to an earth ground. Perhaps the most common damage comes from pulling out the cord by the cord not the plug. The white wire is the neutral or return leg of the circuit the green is the ground wire making the black or red wire the hot one. It s rare to find non polarized cords on appliances manufactured in north america but you may see one on an appliance manufactured elsewhere such as japan.

Unplug the cord before you work on it. The side with the rib the big prong is the neutral side and the smaller unribbed side is the hot side. Three wire flat cords contain a smooth hot wire a ribbed neutral wire and a green ground wire. Eventually this stretches out the cord wires and separates the sheathing or outer jacket from the plug exposing the cord wires.

Each internal wire has paper insulation around it and an additional protective coating. Three wire extension cords have a heavy outer protective coating with three wires inside for positive negative and grounding. The ground pin ensures that the cord is plugged in correctly. Black is hot white is neutral green is ground.