[SOLVED] Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

[viktigasaker]

I know that the blacks are neutral and live but I don't know which of them two are neutral or live?

There's no marking on the holes or sockets whatever it's called:

The black wires have markings on them.. one of them has a "1" and the other a "2".

 

[rohitkhanna]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

Do you know which of the pins on your connector is 'live' and which is 'neutral' ?
If you do, then you can use a simple continuity meter to find out which pin connects to which wire, and maybe that will solve your problem ?

cheers!

 

[viktigasaker]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

Do you know which of the pins on your connector is 'live' and which is 'neutral' ?
If you do, then you can use a simple continuity meter to find out which pin connects to which wire, and maybe that will solve your problem ?

cheers!

Connector is that the second picture?
In that case I believe I do know.. The right side is is live.

I've never used a continuity meter and not sure what it's called in swedish.. I don't get any hits from making a direct word by word translation.

Would this be a continuity meter?

https://www.clasohlson.com/se/Multimeter-analog-Caltek-AG1100/Pr323179000

This meter can't do any damage if connected wrong right?
I'll go and buy one tomorrow if this is a continuity meter.. Don't think I have time today.

Oh and, Merry xmas!

 

[viktigasaker]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

Hey again

I realise it's probably not easy to tell me if that is a continuity meter since the page is in Swedish.

Can you tell me what I should ask for in the shop instead?
Since I don't know what a continuity meter is called in Swedish I need to explain what a continuity meter does for them to help me find a continuity meter.

 

[godfreyl]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

Would this be a continuity meter?

https://www.clasohlson.com/se/Multimeter-analog-Caltek-AG1100/Pr323179000

Yes, that is what you need - it is a multimeter. It can measure voltage, current and resistance. You can use it as a continuity tester.

 

[kabeer02]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

is your source supply ac or dc ?

 

[alexan_e]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

May I ask what are you going to connect to the cable and it is important to identify the live from the neutral wire?

 

[viktigasaker]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

I'm not sure about source supply being ac or dc.. Keep in mind I'm not electrician.
I'm not even sure what the source supply is? hehe

About it being important to identify the live from the neutral wire..
Like I said I'm not an electrician but I've been told that it is important to put the neutral wire into the neutral hole and the live in to the live hole.
I know what holes are neutral and live I just don't know which of the 2 black wires are which.
All I know is that one of them has a "1" mark on it and the other a "2".

The second picture is a socket where a lamp will be inserted and the other end of the cable will be connected to a ballast.

 

[kabeer02]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

With all indications i am looking at it as AC source but before i conclude what is the voltage of the lamp?

 

[viktigasaker]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

With all indications i am looking at it as AC source but before i conclude what is the voltage of the lamp?

It's a 400w :smile:

 

[kabeer02]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

400watts is just a power i am asking you the voltage

 

[keith1200rs]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

I have deleted some posts. Please keep the discussion civil and courteous.

Keith

 

[godfreyl]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

Since the OP's Swedish I presume it's 230V 50Hz. I don't see how that's important though - he just needs to know which wire is live and which is neutral.

He already knows which pin is which in the mains plug, so surely he just needs to use a multimeter to check which pin in the plug connects to which wire at the other end of the cable?

 

[viktigasaker]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

Hey, Just bought a multimeter.

Not sure how to do the continuity test.
In the manual it says "connect the test leads across the circuit to be tested. If the resistance is less than 30 the buzzer will sound."
So I'm a bit clueless

Also, I checked what the voltage is and godfreyl is correct.. 230v.

Thanks again all for helping me!

 

[FvM]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

As an additional remark, for the IEC cable plug shown in your photo, no phase/neutral assignment is defined at all (as for most single phase mains connectors). In so far any assignment of wire "1" and "2" is arbitrary respectively meaningless. It's expected to change if you connect the device to a different wall outlet.

As far the connector is used inside a machine with defined neutral, I won't still be sure about the assignment, It's also important to consider that neutral isn't safe to touch even it's potential is ususally near to protective ground.

 

[viktigasaker]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

As an additional remark, for the IEC cable plug shown in your photo, no phase/neutral assignment is defined at all (as for most single phase mains connectors). In so far any assignment of wire "1" and "2" is arbitrary respectively meaningless. It's expected to change if you connect the device to a different wall outlet.

Sorry but I have hard to understand since I'm not an electrician..
Are you saying that the marks "1" and "2" are meaningless and that it doesn't matter which of the neutral and live slots I connect them to?

As far the connector is used inside a machine with defined neutral, I won't still be sure about the assignment, It's also important to consider that neutral isn't safe to touch even it's potential is ususally near to protective ground.

This I couldn't really understand at all, Sorry!

 

[viktigasaker]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

Sorry but I have hard to understand since I'm not electrician.

As an additional remark, for the IEC cable plug shown in your photo, no phase/neutral assignment is defined at all (as for most single phase mains connectors). In so far any assignment of wire "1" and "2" is arbitrary respectively meaningless. It's expected to change if you connect the device to a different wall outlet.

Does this mean that the "1" and "2" are meaningless marks? That I don't need to know which is neutral or live?

As far the connector is used inside a machine with defined neutral, I won't still be sure about the assignment, It's also important to consider that neutral isn't safe to touch even it's potential is ususally near to protective ground.

Didn't really understand this at all, Really sorry!
What is the connector?
Is it the second picture?


edit:
Sorry for the double post!
Didn't understand why it didn't show my first post after I submitted but I saw after writing the second post that I need to wait for moderator approval.

 

[godfreyl]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

As an additional remark, for the IEC cable plug shown in your photo, no phase/neutral assignment is defined at all......

It looks like a C14 connector, which I always assumed was polarized (live/neutral), because of the asymmetry.

This Wikipedia article doesn't say, but according to this guide it is polarized.

What is the connector?

I'm referring to the black plastic plug with silver pins in the first picture.

 

[FvM]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

It looks like a C14 connector, which I always assumed was polarized (live/neutral), because of the asymmetry.

The connector as such is polarized, but it's used in many countries in combination with unpolarized mains connectors, e.g. Western Europe.

The connector has a N/L marking printed on it, so if you use it in combination with polarized connectors, you can refer to it.

 

[viktigasaker]

Re: Which from the "1" and "2" black wires are the neutral and live?

So what I need to check is if the mains connector (second picture?) is unpolarized?
If it is unpolarized I can connect the first picture to it without needing to know which of the "1" and "2" is N/L?
How do I find out if the mains connector is unpolarized?

And what about the original plan we had to find out which of the "1" and "2" is N/L?
How do I do the continuity test with the multimeter?