I've got the 4 wire to make my 3 wire dryer plug into the 4 hole receptacle.  The guy at Lowes told me it's white to ground.  Red and green in the middle and somewhere else with the black.  That's all I can remember.  Is that close enough or am I going to die within 10 minutes?

Red and black are HOT wires.

 Green is ground and the white is a neutrel, or extra ground.

DONT DO IT

Black=load
red =load
Green=ground equipment
white= neutral

220v? No electrician but this is how I understand it...

You need 2 hot lines (black and red?)and up to two other lines: 1 ground (usually green) and 1 neutral (usually white). No green?, the white represents the ground. Buy a Fluke meter and identify your supply/ return wires.

On a dryer, the heating element runs on 220v (red to black), while the drum motor runs on 120v (black to white.)

You'll need the white as a "ground return side" of the 120v, and it should have its own path back to the electrical panel.  Green is protective ground and shouldn't carry current except in a fault condition.

If it were me I would call an electrician, and I am one.

It's not 240.  The guy said a two year old could do it.  I've got to try!

okay like was said black and red to the hots, ground ( bare or green ) to the green screw white to the the silver screw either on the top or bottom oppisite the ground. the hot screws will be on the side. this is assuming the house has a 4 wire ran to the plug. if it does not you need a three wire cord.

dryer end connections. remove the cover on the back of the dryer, the hots will be the the out side screws the nuetral will be the center screw. the ground will be another screw to the body of the dryer ( not all see bottom ) now to be 100 % proper the center screw should have a green wire that goes to the the body of the dryer, take that out and connect the ground to the body screw. now i would suggest you cut back the cord outer cover a little to make it a alot easier to connect ( give more slack )  but honestly if you leave the ground jumper in it is not a big deal ( some will say it is ).

now some older dryers will not have the extra ground jumper they will just have a metal tab that goes from the ground to the nuetral screw, if it is this way just bend the tab down and out of the way ( again like the jumper it is not a big deal to leave it ) the connect the ground to the body somewhere

if you need more help im me for a phone number

Quoted: If it were me I would call an electrician, and I am one.

Yeah, but in NJ you probably have to.  I heard yall can't even pump your own gas.

DONT DO IT Black=load red =load Green=ground equipment white= neutral

+1

Quoted: It's not 240.  The guy said a two year old could do it.  I've got to try!

is it a gas dryer, then you wont have a 4 prong cord, it will have a normal grounded 110 plug like your tv with a ground

Quoted: It's not 240.  The guy said a two year old could do it.  I've got to try!

Just call, seriously.

I have friends ask me similar questions all the time, I like them all too much to give them their answers.  One simple mistake could mean the loss of your home and loved ones, or just yourself with a simple flash.

BTW, if the guy at Lowes knew so much, why is he working at Lowes?  Don't let him intimidate you.

Quoted: Quoted: If it were me I would call an electrician, and I am one. Yeah, but in NJ you probably have to.  I heard yall can't even pump your own gas.

Nope, we can't pump our own gas, not like I would want to anyway.

I gotta give it a try. If my post count stops here and I don't reach that magic 2005 at the magic moment.....well, you'll know I went down fighting........ and screaming like a woman!!

Make sure you are not standing in water and have shut off the breaker.  

Quoted: I gotta give it a try. If my post count stops here and I don't reach that magic 2005 at the magic moment.....well, you'll know I went down fighting........ and screaming like a woman!!

Quoted: I gotta give it a try. If my post count stops here and I don't reach that magic 2005 at the magic moment.....well, you'll know I went down fighting........ and screaming like a woman!!

Better take another look around and see if Darwin is standing around there somewhere.

http://www.eagle-electric.com/catalog/PDF/CWD_TECHNICAL_REFERENCE.pdf

Look at what otar said, check out page 26 of the link, and you should be good to go.

Keith

or check your im for my phone number and call me

I'm in the process of moving so I'm in dial-up hell.  Page 26 wouldn't come up until Monday.  There are some guys down there putting together the pool table.  I'll get one of them to hold my beer and give it a shot.  

I like your spirit.

Quoted: I'm in the process of moving so I'm in dial-up hell.  Page 26 wouldn't come up until Monday.  There are some guys down there putting together the pool table.  I'll get one of them to hold my beer and give it a shot.

i spent 2 days researching wiring my air compressor 220 volt so i could use it plugged into my dryer socket.

BE VERY CAREFUL. IT IS CONFUSING.. SOME PEOPLE CONFUSE NEUTRAL WITH GROUND (or some such nonsense i cant remember exactly).

The instructions with the dryer may show how to connect it as either a three wire or four wire connection.

Quoted: Yeah, but in NJ you probably have to.  I heard yall can't even pump your own gas.

Yeah thats a real bitch when it's below zero out LOL

Quoted: i spent 2 days researching wiring my air compressor 220 volt so i could use it plugged into my dryer socket. BE VERY CAREFUL. IT IS CONFUSING.. SOME PEOPLE CONFUSE NEUTRAL WITH GROUND (or some such nonsense i cant remember exactly).

first he called me and i talked him thru it, hope fully the ADD allows him 2 mins of close attention

as for the ground and nuetral thing, the ground is called the groundING conductor and the nuetral is called the groundED conductor, they in the elctric panel go to the same place ( but not in trailers ) one is for safty the other is so a 110 volt circuit has a return leg to the panel

I swear this place could walk a simpleton through his first brain surgery.  Thanks Scotty.  Everything went great.....until......I dropped one of the little tiny nuts down the back of the dryer.  So me and half a million other idiots will be at Lowes tomorrow looking for that one tiny nut that nobody knows the size of.  

The hell with that, I'm gonna just JB Weld the sucker on and be done with it.

Quoted: I swear this place could walk a simpleton through his first brain surgery.  Thanks Scotty.  Everything went great.....until......I dropped one of the little tiny nuts down the back of the dryer.  So me and half a million other idiots will be at Lowes tomorrow looking for that one tiny nut that nobody knows the size of.   The hell with that, I'm gonna just JB Weld the sucker on and be done with it.

do not jb weld it in place, it is a 10 32 ( some have a 10 24 )nut. go back and look at the nuetral connection typically they have 2 nuts on them