dishwasher installation

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bobby ball

Joined Sep 7, 2011
6
i was told that code in ma. is to have a shutoff switch on d.w. . i think that a regular light switch [on/off] is allright to use?

well the switch was in off position and had power[?] no leaks ran rinse cycle fine.

BUT when i put the switch on the on position the breaker tripped ?

i put the black to black and white to white ,on the new wire i put in .

can you guys answer this ?

part two with a meter how do i check which wire is the power wire?

i would like to thank you guys in advance you never fail ,unlike:confused: me?
 

JohnInTX

Joined Jun 26, 2012
4,787
From your description (black to black, white to white) and the result, it sounds like you have the switch wired across the power instead of breaking the black (hot) wire.

Assuming you have black and white running to the DW, the black (hot) wire should be cut and each of the cut ends is wired to a switch terminal so that the switch breaks the hot line. The white wire continues uncut on to the DW.

Use a good quality switch (commercial grade) with enough current rating to handle the electric heater in the DW. I would make the connections to the side screws rather than backwire holes for better contact. I don't know the MA codes but you might consider an outlet and plug in the DW. That's how mine is.

The 'hot' wire should be the black one but you can verify that by setting the meter to AC volts and measuring between the wire(s) and a cold water pipe (ground). The white wire should be the neutral and have very close to zero volts to ground on it.

Of course, make all connections with the breaker OFF and verify no voltage even after turning it off before handling the wires. If you have cut the white wire, use a quality wire nut of the correct size to re-splice it.

Good luck.
 

DMahalko

Joined Oct 5, 2008
189
The wire colors are just a general guideline to avoid mistakes. But you should not rely on color as the sole guide to figure out how to do something. There are times when you need to do what seem like weird decisions, like connecting white and black together for a particular task.

You need to have some basic knowledge of how power flows through house wiring works. I would suggest you need to pick up some general books on house wiring to learn about these things, so that you don't accidentally burn your house down or electrocute someone, trying to wire appliances without understanding what you're doing.

(If MA actually allows homeowners to wire their homes themselves at all without a licensed electrician doing it.)
 
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