How to Wire a Home Electrical Plug
A household plug with three prongs is wired with the same configuration as an electrical receptacle, and both receptacles and plugs use the same color codes for terminal screws. It's necessary to replace a plug if the prongs get bent and straightened too many times and the metal prongs break. A replacement plug that is wired incorrectly will short out when it gets plugged into an outlet. Then it will have to be replaced by someone who knows how to wire a plug. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Remove the old plug by cutting through the cord just behind it with wire cutters. Cut one inch down the jacket lengthwise with the wire cutters to expose the three individual wires within. Cut off the one inch section of jacket.
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Strip 1/2 inch of the insulation off each of the three colored wires with wire cutters. Use gentle pressure on the small insulation coatings with the wire cutter blades to avoid cutting completely through the copper wires inside.
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Snap the cover off the replacement plug, and loosen the terminal screws inside. Replace a plug by matching the color-coded terminal screws to the proper wire colors. The brass colored terminal gets the black wire, the silver terminal takes the white wire and the green terminal secures the green wire.
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Wire a plug onto the bare copper wires from the old cord. Push the stripped wires up into the back end of the plug housing. Wrap the black wire clockwise around the brass colored terminal screw without crossing the copper wire over itself. Tighten the terminal screw with a slotted screwdriver. Wrap the white wire around the silver terminal screw and the green wire around the green terminal in the same way and tighten both terminal screws firmly.
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Tips & Warnings
Electrical wiring should only be performed by those with residential electric training and experience.
References
- Photo Credit electrical outlet image by Mat Hayward from Fotolia.com
