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

[FvM]

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

How do I find out if the mains connector is unpolarized?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mains_power_around_the_world
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_power_plugs_and_sockets

 

[viktigasaker]

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

Does anyone know how to do the continuity test?
I really have not even the slightest clue.

 

[kabeer02]

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

continuity test it a test carried out to check a continuity of a circuit , so what Do you want to test?

 

[viktigasaker]

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

continuity test it a test carried out to check a continuity of a circuit , so what Do you want to test?

Which of the black wires in picture 1 is neutral and live

 

[kabeer02]

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

I think the easiest way to fixed it out is to use your multimeter to test the PD across the terminals sellect AC range then DC at your multimeter that will get you know if its AC or DC .from their you can use your tester screw driver to check for live wire.

 

[viktigasaker]

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

I think the easiest way to fixed it out is to use your multimeter to test the PD across the terminals sellect AC range then DC at your multimeter that will get you know if its AC or DC .from their you can use your tester screw driver to check for live wire.

Sorry but I have hard to understand electrician lingo..
What is PD?
I know AC is kindoff.. and I'm guessing DC is opposite thing of what AC is.
I think mine is AC.

Can you explain more about how to chuck for the live wire with a tester screw driver?
What is a tester screw driver anyway?
I didn't get any screwdriver with the multimeter kit.
But I have a screwdriver at home.

Big time thanks for taking your time to help me!
And have a happy new year!! :-D

 

[godfreyl]

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

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

It looks like the grey cable with the two black wires (and the green and yellow earth wire) comes from a C14 connector similar to the one on the right in the picture below. The picture shows which pin in the connector is live and which is neutral.



Now you need to find out which black wire is connected to which pin.

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."

That's a handy feature! Let's see if it works....

First test:
Just touch the two probes from the multimeter to each other. That should cause a buzz. You'll have to set the dial on the meter to the right setting first though. Hopefully the meter already has batteries in it.

2'nd test:
Touch the two probes to a piece of metal. The buzzer should sound again because the probes are now connected by the piece of metal. Any piece of plain unpainted metal should work e.g. a fork or knife.

Now to check the lead........
Touch one probe to the center (earth) pin of the C14 connector, and touch the other probe to the green/yellow wire at the other end of the cable. That should cause a buzz because the green/yellow wire is connected to the center (earth) pin.

If all of that works then there should be no problem sorting out the black wires. Touch one probe to the "live" pin in the connector and touch the other probe to first one black wire then the other. Whichever wire causes a buzz is the live wire, and the other wire is neutral.

To double check: The meter should also buzz if you touch one probe to the "neutral" pin and the other probe to the "neutral" wire.

 

[Syncopator]

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

In the U.K. we have a three wire mains system. On the wall socket, the top-most receptacle is the Earth, the one beneath and to the right is the Line, and the third, on the left is the Neutral.

Based upon that, I would think that the diagram in post #27 is correct.

 

[godfreyl]

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

In the U.K. we have a three wire mains system. On the wall socket, the top-most receptacle is the Earth, the one beneath and to the right is the Line, and the third, on the left is the Neutral.

Based upon that, I would think that the diagram in post #27 is correct.

There were "L" and "N" markings (now covered by the red arrows) to confirm the polarity. The markings can be seen on this photo and others on the web. Finding the polarity info wasn't as easy as I expected. Any thoughts of simply downloading the relevant IEC standard evaporated when I found they charge a few hundred dollars for the privilege. :-(

 

[kabeer02]

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

I dont know why searching for live and nuetral. from the first place since you are just powering a lamp and its AC i dont think you need to consider any pölarity in this case..

 

[godfreyl]

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

Maybe it's not important which wire is which. But maybe it is. There's certainly no harm in connecting it correctly and he has a multimeter now so it's easy enough.

Things like light sockets and fuseholders are often wired so that the terminal that's easiest to touch with a finger is connected to neutral, not live. That makes it a little safer - less likely for careless fingers to be electrocuted. If live and neutral are swapped, the lamp (or whatever) will still work fine, but will be less safe.

Also - on/off switches normally switch the live, not the neutral - again for safety.

Don't assume that it's always safe to touch "neutral" and "ground" though. Some wall sockets have the live and neutral swapped. The wiring in some homes is so bad there is high voltage on both live and neutral. Other homes don't have proper earthing. etc. Sad but true.

 

[viktigasaker]

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

It looks like the grey cable with the two black wires (and the green and yellow earth wire) comes from a C14 connector similar to the one on the right in the picture below. The picture shows which pin in the connector is live and which is neutral.



Now you need to find out which black wire is connected to which pin.



That's a handy feature! Let's see if it works....

First test:
Just touch the two probes from the multimeter to each other. That should cause a buzz. You'll have to set the dial on the meter to the right setting first though. Hopefully the meter already has batteries in it.

2'nd test:
Touch the two probes to a piece of metal. The buzzer should sound again because the probes are now connected by the piece of metal. Any piece of plain unpainted metal should work e.g. a fork or knife.

Now to check the lead........
Touch one probe to the center (earth) pin of the C14 connector, and touch the other probe to the green/yellow wire at the other end of the cable. That should cause a buzz because the green/yellow wire is connected to the center (earth) pin.

If all of that works then there should be no problem sorting out the black wires. Touch one probe to the "live" pin in the connector and touch the other probe to first one black wire then the other. Whichever wire causes a buzz is the live wire, and the other wire is neutral.

To double check: The meter should also buzz if you touch one probe to the "neutral" pin and the other probe to the "neutral" wire.

Thanks a lot.
I did what you said and now I know that the cable marked as #1 is live and #2 is neutral

I think I have connected everything correct now.
Can you just take a look at this picture and tell me if I put the ground wire correct?

I have no idea what the blue and red things are for.
I couldn't put the ground wire into them tightly at least.
But it doesn't look completely right like this either it feels like it could easily slip out.. I just don't know.

Soo yeah, Just a confirmation if I connected the ground wire correctly would be make me feel a lot more confident.
Thanks again and have a happy new year!

 

[godfreyl]

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

I did what you said and now I know that the cable marked as #1 is live and #2 is neutral

Excellent! :smile:

Can you just take a look at this picture and tell me if I put the ground wire correct?

It looks OK, so long as it's secure and can't slip out.

But it doesn't look completely right like this either it feels like it could easily slip out.. I just don't know.

That's not so good.

I have no idea what the blue and red things are for.
I couldn't put the ground wire into them tightly at least.

If they're what I think they are, you need a special crimping tool, which is something like a fancy pliers, to use them properly. The idea is to push the wire into the back of the blue (or red) thing, then squeeze the back of the blue thing with the crimping tool so that it holds the wire tight.

I have tried using them a couple of times without the proper tool - just squeezing it flat with a normal pliers or something, but found it was difficult to get it tight enough without breaking it.

Maybe you can try that. If you're lucky it will work well. If you break the blue (or red) thing, so what - just throw it away, you don't need it for anything else anyway.

Another way is to cut off the metal pin at the end of the green/yellow wire and strip off enough insulation to expose a couple of cm of the copper wire. Then you can twist the wire around the bolt before screwing it down. That should hold it tightly.

p.s. The blue and red things are called "spade connectors" in English.

 

[viktigasaker]

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

Okey, thanks again.
Feels great finally be done with this..
Weird that they sell lighting kits like this expecting normal customers to be electricians hehe.

Will try leaving the ground wire as it is now.. I tried pulling lightly on it but it didn't slip out so it should be fine like this.
I'm going to mark this thread as solved now and again big time thanks to everyone!