Which is the ground wire?

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eschatz

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I'm doing Lopez's Easy Stir Plate right now.

My cell charger has two wires comming out of it. Both are black. One has dashes down it. Which is the ground? This is not one wire with another wire braided outside of it. It's two different wires.

Gracias.

:mug:
 
I would have to see it to be 100% certain. But typically when you have two wires that are in seperate insulation but "married" together to make one cable, then only one will be marked. In your case, the one with dashes is most likely the ground...if it were a solid line, I would guess it to be the "hot" side.

When in doubt, use a Multi-Meter.

Hope that helps!

-Tripod
 
If your using a computer fan that may not be true. I made that assumption and burned out a fan because of it. One way it spins, the other it will burn up after about 10 seconds.

Just tap the wires onto the fan and if you see movement go with that direction.
 
when i first read the title, i thought there's the potential for a darwin award here. glad it's just a few volts you are asking about... ;)
 
I stayed away from this thread because I thought it was about a bomb tech needing help. I wouldn't want to have him cut the wrong wire and have the bomb go off.

Unintentionally, that is.
 
If your using a computer fan that may not be true. I made that assumption and burned out a fan because of it. One way it spins, the other it will burn up after about 10 seconds.

Just tap the wires onto the fan and if you see movement go with that direction.

Yunis, you are correct. This is the best advice. I don't recommend taking the "it doesn't matter" approach for two reasons:

[1] You may be ok with just a reversible fan but if you get in that habit, you may one day say "it doesn't matter" and screw up something bigger and more expensive or worse, cause a grounding issue which could potentially zap someone. I highly recommend education and safety vs. "It doesn't matter"...even if it doesn't matter in this single case.

[2] It does matter which side you put the switch on. If you put the switch on the ground side, then you will always have energy going to the device that has no ground...this is what happens if you don't properly ground an appliance like a washer/dryer and then lean against it. You end up with someone doing a funny dance because they provided the ground that you switched off. I highly, highly recommend that you ALWAYS leave the ground fully connected to the ground that you're plugging into and put your switch on the "hot" side so that it does in fact switch off the power (and thus the potential danger).

Again, I realize that in this one single case we are only talking about a couple of volts going into a low-voltage fan. I realize that in this one case it truly won't be that big of a deal. I am just saying that it makes good sense to practice good habits whether or not it matters in a single case.

Don't we preach education and good habits when it comes to sanitation? Why should electricity be any different?

Happy (and hopefully SAFE) wiring! :mug:

-Tripod
 
Thanks guys.

I'll take all of that into consideration. I've never been slick on electricity so this is a new thing to me.

Thanks again.
:mug:
 
I'm doing Lopez's Easy Stir Plate right now.

My cell charger has two wires comming out of it. Both are black. One has dashes down it. Which is the ground? This is not one wire with another wire braided outside of it. It's two different wires.

Gracias.

:mug:

Usually when there are only 2 wires to pass current, 1 is positive & the other negative; Grounding usually requires a 3rd wire, there are ways around it, but I won't go into that now. I'd say the wire with the broken line is negative. The broken line representing a series of negative (-) symbols along it's length. If all else fails, read the schematic; if you don't have one you might find it online. Regards, GF.
 
Usually, the connector will say which lead is the "Pin", or center, and which is the outer. This might help. Otherwise, pick up a $7 tester at Radioshack or any major home improvement center and know for sure. If you are doing DIY stuff, then this is a very nice thing to have anyway.

Also, +1 on Gratus. There is no ground on this device. If you hook it up backwards it might kill the fan, but you wont' need to worry about the ground issue. I think I hooked a computer fan backwards once and it just didn't do anything.
 
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