Determing Hot/Neutral from swag cord


  #1  
Old 09-01-14, 07:05 PM
S
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 44
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Determing Hot/Neutral from swag cord

Hello all;

I am replacing old ceilings fan in my spare rooms. They were just screwed into a beam, with the wiring done with a swag cord. The swag cord is white with only 2 wires, so no ground. Anyway, in order to wire my new ceiling fan I need to know which wire is hot (black) and neutral (white). Both wires are white and I can find nothing to indicate which one is hot.

Ive tried using a voltage tester but it appeared to show each wire as hot. So does it matter which swag cord wire i connect to my fans black wire, and the other to white? How would I tell which one is black?

Yes i know i should have taken a pic before disconnecting the old fan, but it was not resting on a bracket when i removed the 3 screws it literally fell off the ceiling.

Thanks
 
  #2  
Old 09-01-14, 07:17 PM
PJmax's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Jersey
Posts: 64,939
Received 3,951 Upvotes on 3,544 Posts
Technically that is not a code compliant method of wiring for a fan.

How do you get power to the white zip cord ?
 
  #3  
Old 09-01-14, 09:06 PM
S
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 44
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
I'm not an electrician so i dont care if its not fully code compliant. I just want to know which wire goes to which. My swag cord is a typical white cord with a chain with a 2 prong plug on the end, such as this one on amazon:

Robot Check
 
  #4  
Old 09-01-14, 09:18 PM
ray2047's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 29,711
Upvotes: 0
Received 15 Upvotes on 13 Posts
Ribed conductor is usually neutral. Verify with a multimeter set to ohms Wide blade is neutral. If plug isn't at least polarized it shouldn't be used.
I'm not an electrician so i dont care if its not fully code compliant
But the other people it may hurt do. Code isn't about being an electrician. It is about safety.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: