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    Michaelmc747's Avatar
    Michaelmc747 Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Sep 10, 2005, 03:09 PM
    Hot and Ground Reversed
    I went into a house today and my little plug in said I had a Hot and Ground Reversed. I popped open the box and took a look. Black to copper and white to silver. Everything OK there. Ground was present,terminated correctly and not touching the hot.
    My question is what is hot and ground reversed?
    I would think if the hot and ground were reversed either the fuse would be popping or there would be some sparks flying?
    Below is what I found on another site lol.
    An installer would have to be drunk to do this. This could only happen on a circuit with just one receptacle; otherwise, the breaker would immediately trip. Assuming the one receptacle, it's a potentially lethal situation. If an appliance like a clothes washer or electric drill is plugged in, its frame will be hot and will shock anyone that touches it.

    Anybody ever see this? Suggestions?
    labman's Avatar
    labman Posts: 10,580, Reputation: 551
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    #2

    Sep 10, 2005, 09:41 PM
    Have you verified your tester is working right? One simple test is there will be full voltage between the ground wire and the real hot wire, and none between it and the neutral. If things didn't get wired up backwards, why would they make such a tester? The wires could be mixed up at another outlet, or even back at the fuse box. It is a bad situation, but perhaps not as bad the other site suggests. I think having the housing connected to one side of the electrical circuit is a bad idea no longer done like many other bad ideas. At one time, metal case TV's were killers. You do need to find the problem and fix it.
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