MH wiring

[slandis3]

I am not following you Wes, if Line and load are reversed a GFCI outlet wont work.

This is very true. It is important that a gfci is wired correctly. If its not most of the time it will just trip and not work.

[HUNGER]

or it wont trip at all

[cyberwollf]

I am not following you Wes, if Line and load are reversed a GFCI outlet wont work.

Man, why do you guys have to hate lol. Let me lookup how gfci work. I always thought it was just a current comparator

[TechGuy]

Man, why do you guys have to hate lol. Let me lookup how gfci work. I always thought it was just a current comparator

While he is doing that, will someone please lick their neutral/white wire?

[slandis3]

While he is doing that, will someone please lick their neutral/white wire?

Unless you have a short or the white wire is hooked to a hot lead somewhere it is nothing more than a ground wire. When you install them in the box the ground and white wire go to the same ground bar.

[cyberwollf]

OK... I did lick the "neutral wire" and does nothing and heres why the 2 wires are are identical from the transformer (one for outside and one from center tap, or both for outside taps if 240) only that one is CONNECTED to earth ground... Thus making it a VIRTUAL ground. So.. its still doesnt matter polarity, current flows in both directions. From my googleing i found that the ONLY reason there is polarity in American plugs (one tip larger than the other so it only fits one way) is because of incandescent lightblulbs.  blub threaded outlets are the most dangerous outlet in homes and they wanted to put the dangerous part (connection to tip of the bulb) as the harder to touch if you put your finger in a light socket.

Since the neutral is a virtual ground, i suspect Brian is correct about GFCIs.  As I thought, GFCI is only a current comparator, compares the current leaving the outlet and how much if returning through the neutral line.  if there is less returning (some going through your body to ground) it trips. But, since neutral is connected to ground at the box, it would be a reference voltage and thus GFCI would care which wire is which... interesting

This is why I hate when i jump in these home wiring arguments..... There are always things like this that "code" has done to protect people, that i know nothing about....    WHy cant us dumb engineers stay to what we know 

I do still maintain that I am correct for the vast majority of appliances it doesn't matter which wire is which.  Yes one wire is "hot" and one is "virtually ground" and for "saftey's" sake there is a convention, but it truley doesnt matter Brian, did you hook up a GFCI incorrectly and have it not work?

That being said, like Mike said you should probably do it to code so the insurance companies dont screw you.

[TechGuy]

So somewhere in my house something is wired backwards. Hrmmm.

[HUNGER]

nicely said wes 

[lazylivin]

I do still maintain that I am correct for the vast majority of appliances it doesn't matter which wire is which.  Yes one wire is "hot" and one is "virtually ground" and for "saftey's" sake there is a convention, but it truley doesnt matter Brian, did you hook up a GFCI incorrectly and have it not work?

Yes you are correct but you already know that, it only seems to effect (effects/affects IDK) GFCI plugs post 2003. Yes I hooked up one backwards when I was adding it to the basement a few weeks back   so   to see why.

[HUNGER]

this is the right way just to let u know