From: Andrew Rossmann 
Newsgroups: sci.electronics.repair misc.consumers.house sci.electronics.misc alt.home.repair
Subject: Re: Plug Wiring Reversed?
Date: Mon, 6 Sep 2004 10:41:44 -0500

[This followup was posted to sci.electronics.repair and a copy was sent to 
the cited author.]

In article <8577d4d9.0409060645.29cb25ba@posting.google.com>, 
nielloeb@hotmail.com says...
> I just bought a house and the inspector tagged four of six basement
> outlets as hot/neutral reversed.
> I open the first two, see the problem, and fix it (one of two blacks
> was going to silver and one of two whites was going to brass).
> However, the other two "bad" outlets are already wired correctly
> (white to silver/black to brass).
> Plus, these two outlets have one set of wires (white/black/ground)
> instead of two sets, which may not be a problem, but could be a clue.
> Supposedly, if I switch the wires, the plugs won't be reversed
> anymore.  But that would put white on brass and black on silver.
> Maybe the electrician got the white and black wrong at the head end,
> wherever that is.  So switching the two at the plugs will be the right
> thing to do.
> If the inspector was right, what is wrong with the wiring and how do I
> fix it?
> If the inspector was wrong, how could that be, as he was right about
> two other plugs in the same room?
> Or do I need to spend a couple of bucks on a sensor to check for
> myself whether the inspector was right?

  Just buy one of those cheap things you plug into an outlet. It has 3 
neons in it that can quickly find common wiring errors. Some versions also 
have a button to create a leakage that should trigger a GFI outlet or 
circuit breaker to trip. They are only a few bucks and well worth it. I've 
found reverse wired outlets in apartments I've lived in.

  Reverse wiring will not affect many basic items with non-polarized 
plugs, but could create a hazard for items with polarized plugs or 
grounded plugs that assume hot is on the narrow blade. Lamps are now wired 
with polarized plugs so that the neutral is wired to the shell of the bulb 
socket, and the hot to the center.

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