Hot and ground reversed. If you have some knowledge about electrical systems in a home or building, then you know that there are three types of wires found in an electrical circuit.
Hotwire, neutral wire, and ground wire are three types of wires; each wire has its purpose in the electric system.
When you install the wiring in a wall outlet, ensure to install each wire in its place because if you install the ground wire at the hot wire place and the hot wire at the ground wire place, your lights and fans will not turn on.
If you are facing the hot and ground reversal issue in the socket, its reason may be a missing neutral wire. Missing neutral wire in the socket is the reason for this wire reversal problem.
There can be many reasons for when your hot ground reversed like missing neutral wire, damaged electric wires, dust gathered in the socket, worsened insulation, etc.
Read this troubleshooting guide to fix the issue but carefully read all the points because a slight mistake can increase further damage.
Hot and ground reversed
Electrical wiring in a home is the most sensitive and important step because if you purchase low-quality wires, these wires are worn out quickly due to any power surge.
The Reverse means of Hot grounds is that the hot and ground wires have not been properly installed. At the place of the hot wire, the ground wire was installed, and the hot wire was installed in the place of the ground wire. The hot ground reverse issue is generated when you hire an inexperienced electrician for wiring in the home.
Use the three light testers to find the hot ground reverse. Read the following to learn what to do if there is a hot and grounded reversed in your room wall socket.
Missing neutral wire
It happens due to the missing neutral wire, so if your neutral wire is missing, you can not use the wall socket until you repair or add the neutral wire to the socket.
If you are a professional electrician, switch off the power supply before unscrewing the socket nuts. Now check the neutral wire inside the socket and add the neutral wire to use the socket.
Worn out wires
When you build a new home, the electricity system is essential, so always buy high-quality wires, wall sockets, and appliances to lighten your home.
Dont compromise on the quality of the wire because if you purchase low-quality wires to save a few dollars, you may face various issues like a short circuit, tripping breakers frequently and ground reversed due to damaging wires.
High-quality wires work efficiently for a long time, approximately 25 years, so if your house is too old, replace the worn-out and burnt wires to avoid the hot and ground wires being reversed.
Worn-out wires do not bear the high voltage appliances like refrigerators, iron and hair dryers, etc.
Dust accumulation
Suppose your home is too old and you have recently purchased the home. In that case, it’s essential to deeply check all the wire connections and sockets to inspect the various electricity issues like short circuits, damaged wires, hot and ground wire reversed, etc.
Sometimes, the ground and hot wire reversed and changed their place due to dust gathered in the wall socket. This problem mostly occurs in the sockets that are installed outside the home in the garage. So clean all the dust gathered on the wires, but don’t forget to turn off the power supply from the main breaker to save yourself from electric shock.
So if your socket has a hot wire and ground reversed issue, follow the below-mentioned points to avoid this trouble.
Check the circuit breaker
If it is a hot and ground reversed problem in the socket, it sometimes happens due to the tripped circuit breaker. If the circuit breaker of any outlet trips, then no electric current flows to the socket due to no power.
So, open the main circuit box or fuse box and check the circuit breaker and blow a fuse, and replace of any of these are burnt, replace them with new ones.
Replace the receptacle
If there is not an issue with the circuit breaker and there is a problem with the socket, then test the outlet. Plug in some other electrical appliance cable in the acceptable to check it has power, or there is no electric current in the outlet.
Check any loose wire connection or damaged wires in the socket, then replace the frayed wires or acceptable to fix the hot reversed issue.
Contact an electrician
Suppose you have followed all the steps described above in the article and still your problem is not resolved. In that case, it’s time to contact a highly skillful and experienced electrician to locate the main culprit behind this problem.
If you can not touch the socket because it is too hot to touch, don’t use this power source to charge your mobile or any device. Switch off its breaker and call the electrician to fix it because dealing with electrical things may be dangerous for you without safety measures.
The bottom line
The final thoughts on this article are if you are having trouble with your hot ground reverse receptacle, then missing neutral wire, frayed wiring, tripped circuit breaker or fuse box, and dust accumulation are some common causes of this issue.
In this guide, I explained all the possible solutions to help you fix the reversed issue. If you are not skillful and don’t have information about ground, hot and neutral wear, then don’t fix the hot ground reverse receptacle because it is hazardous.
If you connect the wrong wire in the wrong place, you may face further damage so always contact a professional electrician to resolve the problem.
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