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A polarized plug can only fit together in one direction. This is to prevent reverse polarity in the device you are plugging in.
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∙ 15y ago
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoThe narrower prong is the hot wire!
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If you wire a plug in reverse by mistke with the hot lead on the thick side of the polarized plug will it cause a problem?
Yes it can. The plug and socket are polarized to be sure that the hot and neutral are not reversed.
What is the wide spade on a polarized plug called?
The wide blade is the neutral and the narrow one is the hot.
What wire on lighter adapter is hot when both wires are black?
Assuming you are talking about lamp cord wire. The ribbed conductor or the one with the writing on it will be the hot, the other will be the neutral. You can verify this with an electrical meter that can measure ohms. the center of you light socket should be the hot and the shell should be the neutral. Also if your plug is polarized (one wide and one narrow blade) the wide blade is the neutral and the narrow is the hot.
Is the wide prong on an electrical plug connected to the black wire?
No, the wide prong is neutral it is the white wire. The narrow prong is hot it is the black wire. The round prong (in a 3 wire plug) is safety ground it is the green wire.
What is the risk with reversing the wiring on a two wire lamp?
None. Regular 110 volt Ac power changes polarity sixty times a second. Hooking the two wires differently won't change a thing. Some electronic equipment needs to know which side is neutral and power and will not work with the polarity reversed. These are pretty rare, though. Actually, there IS a risk with that. While A/C power does change polarity, and the lamp will work either way, reversing the lamp's wiring WOULD DEFEAT THE SAFETY PURPOSE of the lamp's polarized plug. I'm assuming you have a fairly modern lamp that came with a polarized plug on the cord, with one blade wider than the other. If you reverse the wiring, the wires in the lamp would be connected to the wrong slots in the wall socket - and there would be a higher risk of electric shock for anyone turning on the lamp, changing its bulb, touching the frame of the lampshade etc. Most modern homes have polarized outlets, where one slot (the white-wire "neutral" connection) is larger than the other. The reason for this is so a lamp or appliance manufacturer can be sure which wire in their device gets connected to which wire in your house. Inside your lamp's socket, the two separate wires in the cord are attached to two different screws. One is at the center connection on the socket, which connects to the bottom of the bulb. The other wire is attached to the outer shell of the socket, where the bulb screws in... this wire should be connected to the white ("grounded") wire in your home. To ensure this, polarization is used. This is a safety feature because sometimes a lamp wire becomes loose or the socket gets old and worn. If the wire somehow touches the exposed socket metal, you want it to be correctly plugged into the white "neutral" wire in your home, since the white wire is grounded at the fuse box. This could save you from a nasty shock. If the wires are reversed, then the "hot" wire in a lamp might be the one that would touch exposed metal and you could become the path to ground while turning on the lamp, resulting in a serious shock. A polarized plug makes sure you plug the lamp in the right way, assuming someone has wired your home correctly (with the white wire going to the silver screw on the outlets). If your lamp has an older non-polarized plug (where both blades are the same width), then the safety feature doesn't apply because you could plug it in either way. You can fix this by purchasing a polarized replacement plug for $2. at a hardware store. On a polarized plug, the larger blade is connected to the wire that has the "ribbed" insulation.
If you wire a plug in reverse by mistke with the hot lead on the thick side of the polarized plug will it cause a problem?
Yes it can. The plug and socket are polarized to be sure that the hot and neutral are not reversed.
You want to wire a switch to a 120V 1440W Popcorn Popper Plug is not polarized plus - which lead do you wire switch to?
Wire the switch to the hot/black lead.
Is the wide part on a plug positive?
What you are refering to is a polarized plug. The wide connector forces the proper orientation in the outlet. This is so that the hot and neutral connectors in the plug, match the hot and neutral (cold) prongs on the plug. This forces a switch to operate on the "live" or hot wire. If a switch interrupted the flow of electricity in the neutral wire, the appliance would still shut off but the plug itself will remain "hot" whcih is a shock hazard. No, the wide blade on a plug is the neutral connection.
What is the wide spade on a polarized plug called?
The wide blade is the neutral and the narrow one is the hot.
What wire on lighter adapter is hot when both wires are black?
Assuming you are talking about lamp cord wire. The ribbed conductor or the one with the writing on it will be the hot, the other will be the neutral. You can verify this with an electrical meter that can measure ohms. the center of you light socket should be the hot and the shell should be the neutral. Also if your plug is polarized (one wide and one narrow blade) the wide blade is the neutral and the narrow is the hot.
What is a polarized electrial outlet?
In the US the larger prong is Nuetral and the smaller is Live or Positive.
In an IEC-320 plug which wire carries electrical voltage?
the hot wire carries the electrical voltage
Is the wide prong on an electrical plug connected to the black wire?
No, the wide prong is neutral it is the white wire. The narrow prong is hot it is the black wire. The round prong (in a 3 wire plug) is safety ground it is the green wire.
Can you put a polarized plug on an S38E Hallicrafters and minimize the shock hazard?
Original Answer: Yes, the wide blade of the polarized plug would connect to the chassis of the radio. Another solution to the potential shock hazard would be to use an isolation transformer between the radio power plug and the power outlet. Correct Answer - NOT YET! Depending on which wire you choose to be the 'wide', or 'Neutral' blade, the chassis will either be 1) hot all the time, until switched on, or: 2) hot when switched on. Hallicrafters put the switch near the chassis ground because they felt this would remove 'hum' from the audio. Unfortunately it creates a hazardous situation that is only mitigated by having the chassis electrically separated from the cabinet by plastic spacers. If these plastic spacers fail, the cabinet could become hot. To correct this, one needs to go inside the radio and SWAP where the 'on' switch: moving the 'newly polarized Neutral to the spot where the switch currently goes; then take the switch and move it between the newly polarized HOT line and where the old wire went. All that is needed is a soldering iron and possibly an additional few inches of 18-ga wire. For a pictorial view of what takes place, see: http://mikeyancey.com/S-38B_refurb.php
How do you hard wire chandelier with a plug?
Look at plug, wider blade is the Neutral (MARK IT) the more narrow blade is Hot (MARK IT) Cut end off wire.. Inside a wire splice box wire nut black to hot, white to neutral. This is a very basic task however if you have no experience maybe contact an electrician.
How do you identify the NEUTRAL wire on a 2 wire very old electrical cord of a goose neck lamp?
The best way to find the neutral wire on any lamp is to ring the wire out. Before there were polarized plugs and receptacles a lamp could be plugged in either way. All new lamps have polarized plugs where the neutral is connected to the shell of the lamp holder and the "hot" wire is connected to the center pin deep in the lamp socket. Back to your goose neck lamp, you will need a meter that reads resistance and use it as a continuity meter. With the lamp unplugged and the lamp's switch in the off position connect one lead of the meter to the shell of the lamp holder. Take the other lead and touch it to one of the plug cap blades. If the meter gives a reading it is that blade that is the neutral wire. If there is no reading then that blade is considered the "hot" wire. If you are changing the plug (cap) out for a new one connect the newly established neutral wire to the silver coloured screw and the newly established "hot" wire to the gold coloured screw. Now when ever and where ever the lamp is plugged into a voltage source the polarity will be correct and the lamp will be much safer to use.
What is the risk with reversing the wiring on a two wire lamp?
None. Regular 110 volt Ac power changes polarity sixty times a second. Hooking the two wires differently won't change a thing. Some electronic equipment needs to know which side is neutral and power and will not work with the polarity reversed. These are pretty rare, though. Actually, there IS a risk with that. While A/C power does change polarity, and the lamp will work either way, reversing the lamp's wiring WOULD DEFEAT THE SAFETY PURPOSE of the lamp's polarized plug. I'm assuming you have a fairly modern lamp that came with a polarized plug on the cord, with one blade wider than the other. If you reverse the wiring, the wires in the lamp would be connected to the wrong slots in the wall socket - and there would be a higher risk of electric shock for anyone turning on the lamp, changing its bulb, touching the frame of the lampshade etc. Most modern homes have polarized outlets, where one slot (the white-wire "neutral" connection) is larger than the other. The reason for this is so a lamp or appliance manufacturer can be sure which wire in their device gets connected to which wire in your house. Inside your lamp's socket, the two separate wires in the cord are attached to two different screws. One is at the center connection on the socket, which connects to the bottom of the bulb. The other wire is attached to the outer shell of the socket, where the bulb screws in... this wire should be connected to the white ("grounded") wire in your home. To ensure this, polarization is used. This is a safety feature because sometimes a lamp wire becomes loose or the socket gets old and worn. If the wire somehow touches the exposed socket metal, you want it to be correctly plugged into the white "neutral" wire in your home, since the white wire is grounded at the fuse box. This could save you from a nasty shock. If the wires are reversed, then the "hot" wire in a lamp might be the one that would touch exposed metal and you could become the path to ground while turning on the lamp, resulting in a serious shock. A polarized plug makes sure you plug the lamp in the right way, assuming someone has wired your home correctly (with the white wire going to the silver screw on the outlets). If your lamp has an older non-polarized plug (where both blades are the same width), then the safety feature doesn't apply because you could plug it in either way. You can fix this by purchasing a polarized replacement plug for $2. at a hardware store. On a polarized plug, the larger blade is connected to the wire that has the "ribbed" insulation.
