# Dryer Grounding???



## Stubbie (Jan 7, 2007)

Hello Traci

If you have a 30 amp dryer cord (14-30P) it will have four wires. A black, red, white and green. This sounds like what you have. If you have a dryer cord that is 3 wires please tell us. 
If your dryer receptacle on the wall is one that needs a 4 pin plug then you only need to get the dryer converted to a 4 wire connection so the power cord will be installed correctly. It is always a good idea to verify that the receptacle in the wall is connected to a 4 wire supply from the breaker panel, especially if your home is older.

You say your dryer has a green wire already connected to the metal frame. What you need to do is determine if that green wire terminates to the center terminal of the dryer wiring block. This is the neutral terminal. If it does disconnect that green wire from the metal frame of the dryer and remove it completely if possible. Otherwise bend it over on itself and connect it to the neutral terminal (center one) where the other end of it is connected. So it just forms a loop so to speak with both ends connected to the neutral terminal. I will attach a few drawings showing you this. 

What you want to watch out for is when the green wire does not connect to the neutral terminal but goes up into the dryer somewhere. If it does it is grounding the metal control panel housing to the dryer grounding screw and you will leave it and connect the green wire from the dryer cord to the green screw on the back of the dryer along with that green wire. The reason for this is some of the manufacturers mount the metal housings for the dryer controls using plastic bushings that snap into the metal of the lower cabinet of the dryer. This insulates the metal control housing from the metal of the lower cabinet and a ground wire is needed to bond the metal of the control housing to the metal of the lower cabinet. The metal of the lower cabinet is then bonded to the branch circuit equipment ground via the green wire in the 4 wire cord. 

You will connect your dryer cord the terminal block on the back of the dryer. There will be 3 terminals shown in the attached drawings. the neutral will be where you attach the white wire of the dryer cord. This will be the center terminal. You will connect the red and black wires of the dryer cord to the screws on each side of the center terminal. It doesn't matter which screw you use as to the wire color. Just be sure the white one is on the center terminal.

Then take the green and attach it to the metal frame under the green ground screw. It should be marked ground. If the green wire you spoke of is going up into the dryer somewhere then connect it along with the green of the dryer cord together under that screw. Click the second drawing to enlarge it.

Do not remove those smaller wires you see on those terminals. The only small wire you will remove is a green one *if* it is connected to the center terminal. That metal strap you see is bent back on itself and was used for a 3 wire cord. It is bent back on itself because it was connected to the metal frame and the neutral terminal and would be used for the grounding means to the metal frame for a *3* wire dryer cord. Yours is a *4* wire cord so the green wire or metal strap is not needed from the neutral terminal to the metal frame. The green wire in the 4 wire cord takes its place..

Please note that I have intentionally reversed the black and red wires connecting to L1 and L2 in the bottom thumbnail drawing to show that it doesn't matter which one (black or red) that you connect to those two terminals. Just don't connect the white wire or green wire to those terminals.


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## jrclen (Feb 20, 2008)

You're awesome with all these great pictures and diagrams Stubbie. I should start collecting them. :thumbsup:


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## Stubbie (Jan 7, 2007)

Feel free they are not trademarked.... I draw them in my spare time to help the DIY people see what might be obvious to us.


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## Traci_howdyadothat (Apr 3, 2008)

Thanks Stubbie that helped alot!!! My husband thought it was supposed to be like that , and thanks for telling us to see where that wire on the dryer came from so we would know what to do with it, that was very important , we wanted to make sure it was done right, and thanks to your help it now is! You can't be too careful I dn't think when it comes to electricity , we have small children and my biggest fear is a fire, thanks again!


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## Stubbie (Jan 7, 2007)

Your welcome Traci

For your information the green wire in the cord grounds the metal frame of the dryer. The cord plugs into the wall and another wire (the equipment ground) goes on to the circuit breaker panel. This is the effective fault current path that will facilitate the circuit breaker to trip if a fault to the metal of the dryer should ever occur. Keeps you from getting zapped....

Have a nice day


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## mj82 (Apr 20, 2008)

Do you have to disconnect the entire green wire that you took off from the green screw? I see that it connects to another part of the dryer as well.


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## kustomkb (May 27, 2008)

I have a three wire outlet, my dryer does not have a terminal block, should the neutral and ground wire be connected at the frame ground screw? 
thank you


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