The answer is never.
Grounds and neutrals should only be connected at the last point of disconnect
. This would be at main panels only.
What happens if you connect live wire to neutral?
There would be a shock hazard, and some devices might not work correctly
. Depending on where exactly the wires are flipped, ground fault detecting circuit breakers may become ineffective. All around, this is a bad idea.
Can a neutral wire be a traveler?
3 Answers. Show activity on this post. The answer is
yes
in 1977 the white was regularly used as a switched leg. There are 2 travelers.
What happens if you connect neutral to ground?
Connecting the neutral to the ground
makes the ground a live wire
. The neutral carries the current back to the panel. But the ground doesn’t carry a charge, not unless something has gone wrong (such as a short circuit) and it has to direct wayward electricity away from the metal case of an appliance.
What happens if you cross hot and neutral wires?
One common issue with electrical outlets is reverse polarity, also known as “hot-neutral reversed.” In this condition,
the outlet has been wired incorrectly, altering the flow of electricity
. While the outlet will still be able to provide power to your electrical items, it is also present a greater shock hazard.
Do subpanels need to be bonded?
Rule #3: In a subpanel,
the terminal bar for the equipment ground (commonly known as a ground bus) should be bonded (electrically connected) to the enclosure
. The reason for this rule is to provide a path to the service panel and the transformer in case of a ground fault to the subpanel enclosure.
Should neutral and ground be bonded?
A high-resistance reading (typically greater than 200 ohms) indicates that there are no metallic paths between the panel and the transformer, and therefore
a neutral-to-ground bond in a grounded system is required
.
Why do you separate grounds and neutrals in a subpanel?
Grounds and neutrals were isolated
to provide separate paths back to the panel
. Another way to wire a subpanel was with a three-wire feed; two hots and a neutral, with grounds and neutrals connected together at the subpanel.
Does traveler wire carry voltage?
The issue I am experiencing now is that
the “dead” traveler wire has a small voltage present (9-20) volts
when I believe it should not have any. It seems to cause the light fixture with LED bulbs to flicker a bit upon shutdown. As I understand it, a 3-way switches voltage from one traveler to another.
Does the traveler wire have power?
The traveler wires run between the two 3-way switches, offering two potential pathways to complete the circuit and
send power onward to the light fixture
. It makes no difference which traveler wire goes to which traveler terminal on the switch; the traveler terminals are interchangeable.
Is the traveler wire white or black?
In a 3-way setup, the
black wire
(along with the red wire) is a traveler wire. This is because power travels from one switch box to the other through both wires, but only through one wire at a time and is determined by the configuration of the toggle switches.
What happens if you switch neutral and live?
As per the rules, if live and neutral are reversed,
Electricity board will not give power to your house
. This happens when the hot and neutral wires get flipped around at an outlet, or upstream from an outlet. Reversed polarity creates a potential shock hazard, but it’s usually an easy repair.
What happens if you mix up black and white wires?
What happens if black and white wires touch? First of all,
nothing will happen, if the two wires aren’t connected to any power source
. Therefore, you won’t have much to worry about. Even if you just let the bare wires touch each other, you’ll encounter a short circuit.
Can live and neutral be reversed?
If your outlet’s polarity is reversed, it means that the neutral wire is connected to where the hot wire is supposed to be
. This may not sound like a terrible thing, but it is. There is always electricity flowing out of an outlet with reversed polarity, even if an appliance is supposed to be off.
Does neutral wire have power?
Neutral wire carries the circuit back to the original power source
. More specifically, neutral wire brings the circuit to a ground or busbar usually connected at the electrical panel. This gives currents circulation through your electrical system, which allows electricity to be fully utilized.
Will neutral to ground trip a breaker?
Since the hot wire shorts to the metal case, but the neutral wire, which is supposed to be connected to the ground wire, does not overload from the ground wire’s low resistance,
the breaker will not trip
and the appliance receives the full 120 volts, becoming a shock hazard.
How can you tell if a hot and neutral is reversed?
Can Reverse polarity cause a fire?
Yes, if you accidentally reverse the polarity on an electrical outlet, the device you plug in to the receptacle isn’t safe and could cause a short circuit, shock, or fire.
Why would my neutral wire be hot?
Why Is A Neutral Wire Hot? A neutral wire is hot because of
a wrong wire, wrong readings, open neutral and low resistance
. A layperson does not have the expertise to diagnose a problem of this kind. You are better off hiring a professional.
Does a subpanel need its own ground rod?
Yes,
any sub panel outside of the main building requires it’s own ground rod
and a ground wire back to the main building. And yes, a sub panel in the same building as the main does not need a ground rod – only the ground wire.
Does a subpanel need a separate ground?
The biggest difference between a subpanel and a main panel is that
the ground and neutral buses on a subpanel have to be separated
. Most panels come with a bar joining the two, which is easily removed. Code requires subpanels to have a ground connection that’s independent of the main panel’s.
Can you run a subpanel from a subpanel?
You will need 4 wires
, as others have mentioned. Keep the ground and neutral separate in the subpanels. The only place they should be bonded is in the main panel. You will need ground rods at the new location.
