How do you change a 4 prong 240V cord for a dryer to a 220V 3 prong cord?

Answer 1

Answer for USA, Canada and countries running a 60 Hz supply service.

You are approaching the problem the wrong way around. The cord to the dryer should stay a four wire as that is now the new electrical code. What should be done is changing the three wire wall receptacle to a four wire installation.

Turn the breaker off that controls the circuit for the dryer. Look in the back of the dryer receptacle box that is in the wall. The three wires coming in should have a bare ground wire in the cable set. It wasn't brought to the receptacle because there was no place for it on the old three wire receptacle. If you find the ground wire back there under a screw terminal, just add another short piece of wire under the screw and then connect the other end of the short wire to the new ground terminal on the new four position receptacle. The wire should be equal in size to the size of the wire that exists around the ground terminal now. If the house is so old that the range cable did not have a ground wire in it, the electrical code allows a separate green ground #10 wire to be taken from the breaker panel box to the existing range receptacle. This wire is to be bonded on each end. At the panel end to the ground buss and at the receptacle end around the ground screw at the back of the box unbroken and then to the new four position receptacle ground lug.

As always, if you are in doubt about what to do, the best advice anyone should give you is to call a licensed electrician to advise what work is needed.

Before you do any work yourself,

on electrical circuits, equipment or appliances

always use a test meter to ensure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized.

IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB

SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY

REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.

Answer 2

You must use to 30 amp fuse the red wire will go to one and the black wire will go to the other and your white and ground wires will go to the neutral bus bar.