![]() It’s easy enough to see on the inside that the green wire from inside the appliance and the green wire from the four wire cord are both secured at the common point on the chassis or case of the appliance connecting everything to the earth ground. Looking at the four wire cable going in, there are a black, a red, a white, and a green wire hooked up inside as in Figure 5. As shown in Figure 4, there are more than just one type of three-prong cords for ranges and dryers, so care must be taken to get the right one.Īfter confirming the right cord was picked, the dryer’s electrical access panel is removed to expose the terminal block and connections of its wires. Since the three prong outlet is still compliant with the code, all you need is a new three prong cord that matches the pattern of the outlet. All the modifications are to be done at the dryer level, by first getting a three prong cord from the hardware store, and rewiring it in place in a specific way as described below. With the three prong 240V outlets still within the code, there is nothing to modify at the outlet. A newer dryer run on a 3-prong system is an electrical hazard at best, even if nothing goes wrong, and a disaster if there is a short or loose wire.With the four wire outlet mandated in 1996 ( Figure 2 ), however, the NEC realized that replacing old existing outlets and their wiring could prove to be much too invasive and costly in older homes that would have to be upgraded to the new 4-wire system, and it was decided that the three prong outlets would remain code-compliant.īut when faced with the dilemma of installing a newer dryer and realizing that the plug at the end of the cord and the outlet in the wall don’t actually look alike and seeing there is no way that they’ll fit together (Figure 3 ), the first thought is replacing the outlet, of course, but since this would include replacing the whole cable, it surely sounds expensive and maybe even impossible if, since the initial install, the basement and other rooms got finished or remodeled, hiding all the electrical behind drywall and ceiling tiles.īut thankfully, the problem is much easier to resolve than it looks. Never fall for the big box store “handyman fix” and simply replace the plug attached to your dryer! This is against National Electrical Code standards and while it may be a quick and easy fix, its a risky move. The solution is to hire a local licensed electrician to install a new dedicated circuit and 4-prong outlet for your dryer so you can safely plug it in. Unfortunately, many homes still have obsolete (and dangerous) 3-prong dryer outlets. So, if there is ever a problem inside the dryer, the electricity gets diverted away from the dryer frame into the ground, which generally causes the breaker to trip in the meantime and prevents any additional electricity from flowing into the dryer. This wire provides a solid path from the metal frame of the dryer back to the panel and then outside to disperse safely into the earth. This problem was solved with the addition of the fourth wire (a ground). Potential current could not flow back to the panel through the bare wire and instead would flow through unsuspecting home owners. This created problems because when the bare wire became loose or there was damage to the neutral line coming into the home, the dryer could become one large metal electrocuting device. The bare wire was used as a ground and a neutral conductor. You went to plug in your new dryer and, oddly, the plug did not fit! Your brand new appliance was suddenly nothing more than a useless (although fancy) ornament and you were looking at spending even more money to make it work.īefore 1996 dryers were wired with three conductors (two “hot” wires and one bare wire). Your savings account was a bit lighter, but your laundry room had gotten an instant face lift and you would soon have dry clothes again. Soon you had a shiny new dryer in your home, ready to go. Did it happen to you? Your old dryer died and you decided it was time to upgrade.
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