Posted: 7/18/2013 9:51:24 AM EDT
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I'm splicing a power cord from a fluorescent ballast into a run of romex. But there is no visual indicator of which wire is hot and which is neutral on the cord end.
Does it really matter? Or am I going to damage the ballast if I wire it backwards? |
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Wiring it backwards could become a safety issue.
Often, the ballast is internally constructed so that the Line ("Hot") wire is less likely to come in contact with the metal case than the Neutral ("Cold") wire, if the insulation ever fails. Quoted:
there is no visual indicator of which wire is hot and which is neutral on the cord end. On a 2-wire AC plug , the Neutral pin on the plug is a tad wider than the Line one. Often, the insulation on the outside of the Line wire is ribbed (like a car tire), or has a white stripe on it. |
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Quoted:
Wiring it backwards could become a safety issue. Often, the ballast is internally constructed so that the Line ("Hot") wire is less likely to come in contact with the metal case than the Neutral ("Cold") wire, if the insulation ever fails. On a 2-wire AC plug , the Neutral pin on the plug is a tad wider than the Line one. Often, the insulation on the outside of the Line wire is ribbed (like a car tire), or has a white stripe on it. Quoted:
Wiring it backwards could become a safety issue. Often, the ballast is internally constructed so that the Line ("Hot") wire is less likely to come in contact with the metal case than the Neutral ("Cold") wire, if the insulation ever fails. Quoted:
there is no visual indicator of which wire is hot and which is neutral on the cord end. On a 2-wire AC plug , the Neutral pin on the plug is a tad wider than the Line one. Often, the insulation on the outside of the Line wire is ribbed (like a car tire), or has a white stripe on it. Got it, thanks. I didn't think far enough ahead when I chopped the plug off. But now that you mention the rib on the line wire, I can tell which is which. |
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You probably wouldn't measure much voltage from the ballast case to ground either way.
Even if it was wired backwards, the case shouldn't be "hot" unless something inside it has failed spectacularly. A lot of florescent fixtures are designed to be grounded. You could do that with a 3-wire (grounded) plug. |
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