The 4th wire in that cord and plug configuration is an equipment grounding conductor. Ground neutral white and two hot black and red.
How Do I Replace A 2 Wire Sensor With A 3 Or 4 Wire Sensor
4 wires to 3 wires. In this example i have one 16awg wire feeding five 16awg outputs for power distribution. Connecting a 4 wire and a 3 wire circuit at a junction box is used to connect two 120 volt circuits to one 240 volt line. In these older appliance installations where 3 wire cords were legally installed the wiring consisted of two hot wires and a neutral wire. If the range requires only a 4 wire cord then a new 4 wire circuit will need to be installed if the existing circuit is a type nm cable because a separate white neutral wire is not allowed by itself. Bundle the output wires together with whatever temporary method works tape zip ties clamps all of the above. Its much easier and much less expensive to replace the 4 wire whip with a 3 wire whip.
Using one 240 volt line to power multiple 120 volt circuits reduces the amount of wire needed and the number of circuit breakers needed in the main power panel. Jesse grandbois submitted this tech tip to help make it simple. How to wire a condensing fan motor for 3 vs. Some new rages will allow rewiring to a 3 wire cord which will be explained in the installation manual of your specific electric range. When the fan was removed i had four wires. One for the light one for the motor.
Three prong cordsand 3 slot outletswere once the norm but since 2008 article 55016a2 of the national electrical code nec has stipulated that connections for electric clothes dryers must be made with a 4 conductor cord and 3 pole 4 wiregrounding type plugs or by type ac cable. This is a quick one on the difference between wiring universal condenser fan motors and why brownwhite is the same wire as white. Wiring connections for a 3 wire or 4 wire oven how to make the electrical wiring connections for a 3 wire or 4 wire 240 volt electric oven many ovens are now wired with a separate white neutral wire however when installing a new oven in an older home it is found that the original oven circuit did not have a separate white neutral wire. Try to insert the end of the input wire into the center of the bundle. This equipment grounding conductor is the missing wire in the older 3 wire configurations. Well i removed a ceiling fan.
The older 3p 3 wire dryer circuits are still legal and safe to use so theres no need to rewire your dryer branch circuit to install a new dryer that came equipped with a 4 wire appliance whip wire. It had two switches. 4 wires is a common question by new techs. This configuration is used most often for large lighting arrays.