3 prong power cable pinout

woox · Post by **woox** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:49 pm

hey guys realll simple question can anyone tell me the pinout for a 3 prong power cable? like what is + and -, I know the bottom one is ground

mothatrucka · Post by **mothatrucka** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:53 pm

Grab your multimeter and check for continuity. Typically though, the wider one is on the left, for neutral, the narrow one right, for hot.

EDIT: Corrected because I got it bass-ackwards.

woox · Post by **woox** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:57 pm

Thanks, also I am taking apart a PC speaker for repair as its power prong was cut off and lost a while ago so I am trying to figure out what is "hot" and "neutral" I checked to see where it soldered into and one went into AC1 and other to AC2, I cant use a multimeter to actually see which one is hot/neutral, any idea?

Post by **bicostp** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:03 pm

First of all, what are you doing? In all honesty if you had to ask this, you shouldn't be messing with it. Wall power runs between 110 and 120 volts (at several amps), enough to give you a pretty bad shock at the very least. (Just from the potential amperage, a good enough shock could be lethal.)

Remember, there's no fixed positive and negative in AC current, since it's always oscillating. (And wire doesn't care what way electricity is flowing through it.)

Black wire: Hot
White wire: Neutral
Bare wire: Ground

Hot should be the narrow slot on the left, looking at the outlet. (Right looking at the plug.) You DON'T want power to go to ground, you want it to go to Neutral. (Ground is a safety measure in household wiring.)

EDIT

woox wrote:Thanks, also I am taking apart a PC speaker for repair as its power prong was cut off and lost a while ago so I am trying to figure out what is "hot" and "neutral" I checked to see where it soldered into and one went into AC1 and other to AC2, I cant use a multimeter to actually see which one is hot/neutral, any idea?

Oh, that's pretty simple. Just get a replacement lamp plug at the hardware store. If it doesn't come with directions, the narrow prong is Hot.

It's a simple enough procedure, just be careful.

woox · Post by **woox** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:16 pm

Well I am actualy working my my playstation laptop so I am using the outlet to take in the voltage from the electrical outlet and disperse it to the LCD screen, PS3, and speakers, ofcource the voltage is converted by each device.

So you can say I am using the pc power type extension where there is no large strip or narrow strip

This is how it looks like:

The great part is when you take the ps3 apart the back has a long enough area where I can solder in the other 2 components.

So you can say I am sharing 1 power outlet with 3 devices.

So something like this:

Now each PSU for LCD, PS3 and speakers converts the 110 voltage to proper voltage obviously. in theory it should work becuase its simply just a power splitter.

So I am trying to figure out the Black/White wire so i know where I am supposed to solder onto on back of power outlet. Any help?

woox · Post by **woox** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:16 pm

Anyone?

Rekarp · Post by **Rekarp** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:53 am

It actually doesn't matter.

mothatrucka · Post by **mothatrucka** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 6:38 am

Rekarp wrote:It actually doesn't matter.

True. That is more or less the whole point of alternating current, isn't it?

Rekarp · Post by **Rekarp** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 7:32 am

mothatrucka wrote:
Rekarp wrote:It actually doesn't matter.
True. That is more or less the whole point of alternating current, isn't it?

Kind of. The reason we use AC is because it is easier and more efficient to transmit over long distances. Since P=I x V (power equals amps times voltage) and Power Loss = I^2 x R. So its obvious that to reduce loss you want a high voltage. DC voltage is a lot harder then AC current to bump the voltage as a simple transformer is needed.

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:53 am

I does matter in certain applications where a product manufacturer has decided to tie the metal shielding to neutral or some stupid thing like that.

If you switch them then you might be in for a bit of a shock.

ALSO

It has always confused the living crap out of me why the black wire is hot and the white one is neutral. I ask people wherever I go, and most tell me that black is neutral, cause black = ground. So are we sure of this fact? I guess Ill go google it.

mothatrucka · Post by **mothatrucka** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:00 am

I remember from my time working at the hardware store that black was hot. I remember that because someone said "Black is "burned" because it's hot." Also, when installing switches, Michigan state code requires that they be installed with black wire in residential/commercial/industrial applications.

I never did understand why electrical and electronic standards were so different, though.

Rekarp · Post by **Rekarp** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:15 am

AC and DC have different standards cause there two different kinds of circuits.

Oh and Hot = black, Neutral = white, Ground = bare or green for AC

woox · Post by **woox** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 3:25 pm

So this is safe to do right

?

Also do PC cables have the same hot neutral wires?