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No, not in the North American electrical system. Opening up a neutral on a three wire circuit could create a series circuit if two devices are plugged into the same receptacle. This is how kitchen counter receptacles are wired in all new homes.

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When is white wire hot?

In residential wiring, if it is used as a switch leg or in 3 wire 240 volt circuits.


Why don't you need a white wire when wiring a 240v a c unit?

White wire is usually used as a neutral conductor and a 240v ac unit has no neutral. Each leg of the 240 volts is a "hot" leg However, very often a 12/2 or 14/2 NM cable is used to power small window ac units using 240v. In this case one of the conductors is white, but is not a neutral. It is good practice to mark the white wire with black tape so it is readily identified as a hot wire.


What is common wire?

The term common is applied to the conductor that is used in any configuration of the circuit. It is easy to confuse common with the neutral wire, and in many cases this is true. A ceiling fan often has separate black and blue wires for the fan and light with the white wire, or neutral, being common to both. But common can also apply to the hot wire, as in the hot feed TO a 3 way switch or the switch leg FROM a 3 way switch to a fixture. In this situation the term common refers to the hot wire that is used any time the fixtures are lit as opposed to the "travelers" of the 3 way switches where only one or the other is powered at any one time. Any time a single hot wire powers a multi-position switch it can be referred to as the common conductor.


Where should red colour wire be attached in a plug pin?

There is insufficient information to answer your question. A red wire can be used as a switch leg, it could also be the other half of a 240 V circuit or even the feed for a fan circuit, just to name a few possibilities.


Is it safe to go from 12-3 wire to a 14-2 wire in the middle of a switch leg?

No. The wire size is dependent on the circuit protection. If the circuit uses a 20 amp breaker you need to run 12 AWG wire on all devices connected to that circuit.

Related Questions

When is white wire hot?

In residential wiring, if it is used as a switch leg or in 3 wire 240 volt circuits.


How to wire a switch leg correctly?

To wire a switch leg correctly, connect the hot wire to the common terminal of the switch, the switched hot wire to the other terminal, and the neutral wire to the neutral terminal. Make sure to turn off the power before starting and follow the wiring diagram for your specific switch.


What is the red wire in a 4 wire electric cord?

there is 1 black, 1 red, 1 white and 1 green in a 4 wire cord. the black and red are "hot wires"they carry power to the appliance. white wire returns unused electricity to the source. the green wire is the ground, most important wire in the cable. make very sure it's properly connected. if your cord has other colors than the above, THROW IT AWAY


Why don't you need a white wire when wiring a 240v a c unit?

White wire is usually used as a neutral conductor and a 240v ac unit has no neutral. Each leg of the 240 volts is a "hot" leg However, very often a 12/2 or 14/2 NM cable is used to power small window ac units using 240v. In this case one of the conductors is white, but is not a neutral. It is good practice to mark the white wire with black tape so it is readily identified as a hot wire.


What does the NEC section state regarding the white wire in romex if it is to be used as a hot leg to a switch?

The code stated that if the white wire in a two wire cable is used for a current carrying conductor that it be identified as a current carrying conductor by identifying it with a marker. Usually this marker is three wraps of black electrical tape. This way anyone working on the circuit knows that the wire could be "hot" and it is not a circuits neutral wire.


What does switch leg mean?

The term switch leg really means switched leg. It is the wire that comes off of the bottom terminal of a switch and when the switch is turned on becomes hot. This is the leg that turns the load off and on.


Can you wire a light switch with only one 14-2 wire?

If the power feed goes directly to a fixture, or if you are wishing to switch a receptacle that is not now switched, you can us a 14-2 NM cable to install a "switch loop", provided the circuit is no larger than 15 amps. To do this, after running the 14-2 NM cable, connect the WHITE conductor of the 14-2 to the hot wire. At the switch, connect the black and white conductors to the switch terminals. At the fixture or receptacle, the black wire of the 14-2 NM cable now becomes your switch leg and is connected to the black conductor of the fixture or brass terminal of the receptacle. The NEC (for the United States) requires that the switch be fed with the white wire and the black wire be used as your switch leg.


Is the white wire in the thermotat a neutral?

the thermostat has a black(line) wire to it, and a red wire going to it. the red wire then connects to the neutral wire. the black and red are like a leg switch.


Does it matter what leg or phase of 110 connects to white wire in 220 circuit?

The white (or neutral) wire is not involved in a 220 circuit. Using US NEC conventions, red and black in a 120/240 split phase service form the 240 (220) circuit. The neutral (white) wire is only used when you want 120 (110) volts.


Can you extend power through a 3 wire switch leg for a half switched outlet to a new switch for a new light?

Yes, you can extend power through the 3-wire switch leg to a new switch for a new light. You would need to connect the hot wire to the common terminal on the existing switch, then extend the hot wire to the new switch, along with the traveler wire. At the new switch, connect the hot wire to the common terminal and the traveler wire to one of the traveler terminals.


Why is a red colored wire in a 120 volt circuit and what does it do?

It is used as a hot wire. <<>> In a three conductor cable set the third wire colour is red. In home wiring a three wire cable is used in a couple of locations. If the circuit involves a three way switching circuit, the cable between the two light junction boxes is fed with a three wire cable. Check the Internet for three way lighting connections. The other location a three wire cable is used is in split circuitry. Your kitchen counter receptacles use this method of wiring. The tie bar in the receptacle is removed on the hot (brass colour) side of the receptacle and the red wire is connected to the top brass screw and the black wire is then connected to the bottom brass screw of the receptacle. The white wire, as always, is connected to the silver coloured screw of the receptacle. Another example of using a three wire cable is to take two circuits from the distribution panel to two separate circuits on the other side of the house instead of running two, two wire circuits. The three wire cable is terminated in a junction box and two two wire circuits are feed from this junction box to the circuits that require power. The two two wire circuits will use the white wire of the three wire cable as a common neutral.


What is the meaning of 'leg wire' in Portuguese?

The equivalent term in Portuguese, also used as an expression, is "fio condutor".