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If you mean "hot" as in "electrically live", this wall outlet is dangerous and should be investigated and repaired urgently by a licensed electrician. The reason is probably that the wire going into the grounding terminal on the wall outlet is not actually connected back to the grounding point on the main supply panel where the circuit breakers are mounted. This would happen if the person who installed that wall outlet did not check that all the connections were properly made.

If there is a separate ground wire it would come from the breaker panel in a cable along with the "hot" and "neutral" wires. If the ground wire was not actually "grounded" it would pick up the electric field surrounding the "hot" and would make the ground wire - or even the whole wall outlet if it was made from metal - seem to be "live" to the touch. In such a "fault" situation the ground wire and front panel (if metal) can make the neon lamp in a test screwdriver light up quite brightly when it is touched to the ground wire or the front panel. This situation must be fixed urgently because if the ground wire connected to the wall outlet is not connected to the actual grounding point in your house it will not be able to do its job! That is to protect users if any fault occurs in any appliance that is plugged into the socket outlet or any fault that may occur to the wiring to the outlet from the panel. The reason for having a ground wire is that, if it is properly connected, when an accident or some other damage occurs, that causes an abnormal high current to flow in the "hot" wire because the fault causes current to get into the ground wire, the circuit breaker or fuse on the main supply panel should break the circuit to protect users from getting an electric shock or from the wiring catching on fire due to current overload. Until ground wires were routinely installed under the latest wiring codes or regulations, that kind of fault condition used to be a common cause of house fires because, if there was no ground connection to a socket outlet and such a fault condition occured, the breaker or fuse was not made to trip to break the connection. So people were not being protected from electrocution and there was nothing to stop the wiring getting hot or catching on fire. To to help prevent such fault conditions being able to occur, Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs) and Residual Current Devices (RCDs) were invented. These are very effective and are now commonly installed to protect socket outlets placed in rooms or areas which can be subject to water spray or generally damp/humid condtions, such as kitchens, bathrooms, shower rooms, outdoors garden points, etc., where the risk of electric shock is greatest even from a 120 Volts supply. In Europe, where all power sockets and lighting circuits run on 230 Volts, the wiring regulations insist that such GFCI or RCD devices must be installed to protect the power socket outlets in all new installations of mains electrical wiring in houses and all kinds of buildings used for apartment homes, offices, shops, factories, workshops, etc. <><><>

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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Light switch has 4 wire colors red and white and green and black which is the hot wire?

You have a 3 way switch. Your black wire is the hot wire. Your green wire is the ground wire. Your red and white wires go to the light and other switch. You should have gotten a wiring diagram with your switch.


Which is the Hot wire and which is the Neutral wire if the wires you see are a Brown a Blue and a Yellow Green wire?

In electrical wiring, the live or &quot;hot&quot; wire is typically brown or red, the neutral wire is typically blue or black, and the ground wire is yellow or green. So, in this case, the brown wire is likely the hot wire, the blue wire is the neutral wire, and the yellow green wire is the ground wire.


How do you wire a 3 wire exhaust fan to a 4 wire outlet?

The fan is probably a 115 VAC single phase fan and the outlet is probably a 230 VAC "two phase" outlet. The fan would then have the following wires: hot (black), neutral (white), and ground (green). The outlet would then have the following wires: hot #1 (black), hot #2 (red), neutral (white), and ground (green). Pick either of the two hot wires on the outlet and connect the hot wire of the fan to that (ignore the other hot wire on the outlet) and connect the neutral to neutral and ground to ground. If the wire colors are not as I described above you may have something else (e.g. 3-phase) and that would be wired differently, but those systems are usually used only in industrial settings not the home.


Is the ground wire safe to be the hotwire?

No. A ground wire is a non-current carrying conductor and cannot be used for hot or neutral.


Have a black white and red wire for a dryer plug what ones the ground wire?

The green or bare wire is typically the ground wire for a dryer plug. If your wires are black, white, and red, the white wire is usually neutral, the black is hot, and the red is also hot. You should double check with a voltage tester to be certain.

Related Questions

What wire is the hot wire and ground wire in a 1990 cutlass supreme?

the hot wire goes to the starter and the ground wire bolts to the engine block.


Is the hot wire correctly connected to the ground wire in the electrical circuit?

No, the hot wire should not be connected to the ground wire in an electrical circuit.


Why Is the ground wire hot?

No it is not.


Light switch has 4 wire colors red and white and green and black which is the hot wire?

You have a 3 way switch. Your black wire is the hot wire. Your green wire is the ground wire. Your red and white wires go to the light and other switch. You should have gotten a wiring diagram with your switch.


Which is the Hot wire and which is the Neutral wire if the wires you see are a Brown a Blue and a Yellow Green wire?

In electrical wiring, the live or &quot;hot&quot; wire is typically brown or red, the neutral wire is typically blue or black, and the ground wire is yellow or green. So, in this case, the brown wire is likely the hot wire, the blue wire is the neutral wire, and the yellow green wire is the ground wire.


What happens if neutral and hot touch each other?

If a "hot" wire contacts the "neutral" or ground wire, electrical current flows to the ground.


What does the term "hot/ground reverse" refer to in electrical systems?

The term &quot;hot/ground reverse&quot; in electrical systems refers to a situation where the hot wire and the ground wire are connected incorrectly, potentially causing a safety hazard.


Is a copper wire a ground wire?

Yes, if it is not an insulated wire. If it is bare copper it is always ground. But the hot and neutral wire are also copper, they are just insulated.


How do you wire a 3 wire exhaust fan to a 4 wire outlet?

The fan is probably a 115 VAC single phase fan and the outlet is probably a 230 VAC "two phase" outlet. The fan would then have the following wires: hot (black), neutral (white), and ground (green). The outlet would then have the following wires: hot #1 (black), hot #2 (red), neutral (white), and ground (green). Pick either of the two hot wires on the outlet and connect the hot wire of the fan to that (ignore the other hot wire on the outlet) and connect the neutral to neutral and ground to ground. If the wire colors are not as I described above you may have something else (e.g. 3-phase) and that would be wired differently, but those systems are usually used only in industrial settings not the home.


Why is the ground wire hot at all outlet boxes on a particular circuit?

Most likely the ground (green) wire is mistakenly connected to hot instead of the hot wire (black) at the breaker panel! Possibly you meant the neutral wire not the ground wire, in that case most likely the neutral (white) wire is mistakenly connected to hot instead of the hot wire (black) at the breaker panel! In either case check all three wires in the breaker panel for that circuit to make sure they are all correctly connected! Black is hot, White is neutral, Green (or uninsulated in some cases) is ground.


Is the ground wire safe to be the hotwire?

No. A ground wire is a non-current carrying conductor and cannot be used for hot or neutral.


My Windshield wiper motor stop working for my 1995 cutlass supreme. Can you tell me which wire is the hot wire and the ground wire?

Red is hot, black is not.