Electric Wiring

I have a question about wiring. I have a lighted mirror but it is from UK and so is wired for 220 v. I decided to cut off the plug in and attach a 120 plug-in attachment. But the wire coloring is different. My mirror is wired with the following colors: Green, Brown, Blue while my plug in information sheet asks for me to wire the green wire to the green screw of the plug, the white wire to the silver screw and black wire to the brass screw. Tell me which colors of the lighted-mirror cord corrosponds to the 120 volt plug in. Thanks and I hope I am not all screwed up. Liam

 

Hi Liam,

I moved this to the electrical forum, from the appliance forum

jeff.

 

First of all, I am opposed to the use of European fixtures in the U.S. If you insist, I recommend that you simply use the mechanical aspects of the fixture, and replace all electrial wires and sockets. Even then, the fixture will not be U.L. listed or tested for safety.

Having given that warning, here are the most common color codes for wires:

Hot: US=black or red wire or brass screw; UK=brown or red
Neutral: US=white or gray wire or silver screw; UK=blue or black
Ground: US=green or bare wire or green screw; UK=green/yellow

Note that if you just change the plug, you will not get good and safe results. If you use European bulbs, the bulbs will only be one-fourth as bright as they would have been in Europe. But if you switch to U.S. bulbs, the internal wires will get four times as hot as they would have in Europe. All in all, this is a bad idea.

 

jeff1-can you help bigjim re-place the defective heating element is his electric hot-water heater ????? Glad to have you "aboard"

 

Thanks John for your words of en-lightnment, with the appropriate caviet, and to jeff1 for redirecting my message. Yes, I will keep you in touch. Glad to read that Jeff1 is a proud supporter of MADD. While my electrical knowledge is weak my forte is family therapy, and I assess impaired drivers regarding the reinstatement of their drivers licence. Liam