If you need to ask this question DO NOT TOUCH ANY WIRESand CALL IN A LICENSED ELECTRICIAN TO REPLACE THE WIRING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! You would not be asking this question if: a) you knew how to use an appropriate instrument to measure the voltage of a wire; b) you were aware of the real dangers present in such old wiring if it is ever made live: fire risks and electrocution.
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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.
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Generally, for alternating current, the convention is that the black color coded conductor is hot, energized, or positive as you call it, the white color coded conductor is neutral, or ground, and the green coded conductor is earth, or a "grounding" conductor.j3h.
In the UK the old flexible cable used Red as Positive, Black as Neutral and Green as Earth
The old UK colouring (still found in old installations) was black = neutral, red = positive, green = earth. The new colouring is blue = neutral, brown = positive, yellow and green stripes = earth. With the new colours: on a UK 3 pin plug when facing the contact screws on the back with the cover removed: blue goes to the left contact as there is an 'L' in blue, and Brown is to the right contact as there is an 'R' in brown.
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Australia: ANZS3000 Active= Red or Brown Neutral = Black or Light Blue Earth = Green or Green and Yellow stripe
In the UK, the colours were once black = neutral, red = live, and green = earth. The modern standard colours are now blue = neutral (note the l in blue for left contact in the three pin plug used in the UK), brown = live (note the r in brown for right contact), and green and yellow stripes = earth In the US, black= hot wire, white= neutral, green or bare= ground (or earth) red= a second hot wire
An ordinary light switch does NOT have any neutral -- it only switches the live wire. Some installers use the white wire as a "switched" wire to the light fixture, where the power cable went to the light and a separate cable went to the switch. Technically, the white wire should have been marked with red or black tape at each end, to signify it is not neutral - it is either live or off. In that case, you would not be able to use a PIR switch because there is no neutral, which is necessary to provide power to the electronic circuit in the PIR. You would need to rewire the switch with a new power cable from the branch circuit. The you have the live and neutral wires in the outlet box, connect them to the PIR, and run the pigtailed neutral and the switched live (and pigtailed ground) to the light fixture (where you would disconnect the other power cable completely and cap the ends separately).
All depends on what country you are in, wiring standards and cable type. Industrial cable in the UK is. :- Red = Live Black = Neutral Copper wire = earth. (add Green/Yellow striped sleeve at junctions.) Domestic is:- Brown = Live Blue = neutral Green/yellow stripe = Earth Europe Black = Live Blue = Neutral Brown = Earth
In the UK, we use three pin plugs. Neutral (blue cable), Positive (brown cable), Earth (green and yellow striped cable). Positive is also known as the Live cable. The Earth cable is an important safety feature that directs electricity safely to earth should a short-circuit cause the device's metal body (a toaster, for instance) to become live and a dangerous shock is possible to any one touching the device's metal body. Before the modern standard colouring was introduced, black was the neutral, red the positive, and green the earth. This old colouring can still be found in buildings built before the change-over.
Red - active, (commonly known as your live cable) Black - Neutral Green - Earth
For 3 phase, L1 is red; L2 is yellow; L3 is green; Neutral is blue; Earth is yellow&green. For single phase, L is red or brown; Neutral is black or blue; Earth is yellow&green.
The old UK colouring (still found in old installations) was black = neutral, red = positive, green = earth. The new colouring is blue = neutral, brown = positive, yellow and green stripes = earth. With the new colours: on a UK 3 pin plug when facing the contact screws on the back with the cover removed: blue goes to the left contact as there is an 'L' in blue, and Brown is to the right contact as there is an 'R' in brown.
this website is useless !
By tradition, green is the color used for the ground cable (note: NOT the Earth return or "neutral"; that's traditionally the white).
In a typical residential situation there is 220 to 240 volts between the two hot wires that are typically red and black and 110 to 120 volts between neutral and either black or red. The voltage between neutral and earth should be zero.
This could be a USA-coded cable. If so then black is Live, white is Neutraland green is Earth.No, this cable cannot be used in the UK.In the UK:Protective earth (PE or E) - Green with Yellow stripes (in older wiring just Green) Neutral (N) - Blue [in pre-2004 fixed wiring Black]Live or Line (if single phase) L - Brown [in pre-2004 fixed wiring Red]Lives or Lines (if 3 phase)L1 - Brown, L2 - Black, L3 - Grey[in pre-2004 fixed wiring: L1 - Red, L2 - Yellow, L3 - Blue]Where the pre-2004 and post-2004 colours are both in use, take greatcare to ensure that all conductors are correctly identified.
red = phase, black = neutral, green = earth
Australia: ANZS3000 Active= Red or Brown Neutral = Black or Light Blue Earth = Green or Green and Yellow stripe
You can not have a "neutral earth" the "neutral" and the "earth" are separate wires/connections and should not be cross connected or muddled up.