Frigidaire dryer wiring

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Alchemy One

Joined Oct 5, 2019
217
Hello to all you good people.
To my understanding it is not a good idea, nor should one ground a neutral wire to the body of any device in the U.S. household power supply system.
I have noticed that Frigidaire dryer, the white neutral wire is grounded to the body of the dryer.
I can't wrap my head around this how this is even possible without serious hazard. It is the wire the runs everything except the heating element as
dryers need both 120VAC and 220VAC.
Thank you.
 

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,619
That appears incorrectly wired? Which is a surprise for Frigidaire!
At one time apparently, in the U.S. where a earth wire was not present for a dryer circuit, it was permissible to use the N.
But this sounds like a Manuf. error?
Or is it with the supply wiring? i.e. done external?
Now a definite NO-NO !
Max.
 
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MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,619
In the present sense, I don't see any inspector passing the scenario outlined by the OP in respect of a domestic dryer installation.
This could have been done under the grandfathered clause?
If I were the OP, I would bring it up to present code.
Max.
 

Thread Starter

Alchemy One

Joined Oct 5, 2019
217
In the present sense, I don't see any inspector passing the scenario outlined by the OP in respect of a domestic dryer installation.
This could have been done under the grandfathered clause?
If I were the OP, I would bring it up to present code.
Max.
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Across the board at the present time, not the father or grandfather clause situation. You can google it, " Frigidaire Electrolux dryer wiring diagram" and see for yourself.
When I brought it up in Quora, the experts were letting me know that somebody must have played around and messed up the wiring. When I said that there were no splicing or a sign of it whatsoever, including wiring diagrams one can find it online in case I had doctored up mine, so they can see it themselves, I was left without an answer.
In fact no only this is how they are wired but something else which I find quite wrong. These people have that connection bracket that you attach the cord to with little room around it and close to all the body metal shell of the dryer from all sides. It was too obvious only because I was struggling to install the cord and wondering why I was struggling. It is because I realized I didn't have enough room there. I guess these experts somehow run out of real estate when it came to that wiring junction as everything else was taking up the rest of the real estate like empty space.
In fact, the only reason I brought this up is that I run into the second dryer (as it was giving me error code E61, I guess the module couldn't handle the wiring that the experts designed and got itself toast). That is when it hit me that the one I had seen the previous time was indeed Frigidaire too. The first one had caught fire right there where the cord junction. I simply installed new. The second dryer was tripping the circuit breaker. As obsessive as I am I noticed an interesting thing, the leg that was tripped was the same hot wire that had made the round trip with that white neutral wire ( see below L1). One leg on the hot goes to the heating element when needed and is not connected to anything else. It is fed by the centrifugal switch. When the motor turns the arms of the centrifugal switch go out and that causes the L2 to connect to the other end of the heating element. The other that is tripped feeds the 120V to the module and everything else. So I don't think it is a balanced load between the white and both of the hot wires. But I haven't examined it to that extend.
Take a look it is the L1 that trips. In case you wonder if this diagram was hand-picked by me. .. you have access to the internet as that is where I got it. I did not have the luxury to have found the wiring diagram for either one of the two I worked on.

((((By the way, the first dryer was Electrolux and the second was Affinity come to think of it.)_))))
 

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sghioto

Joined Dec 31, 2017
5,380
To my understanding it is not a good idea, nor should one ground a neutral wire to the body of any device in the U.S. household power supply system.
If you have a 3 wire dryer outlet the neutral and chassis are connected together. In older homes using a 3 wire code the neutral and ground are connected together at the breaker panel.
A 4 wire dryer outlet has separate connections for neutral and chassis. Newer homes like mine using a 4 wire code the neutral and ground are only physically connected at the meter, which in my case is 100' from the house on the pole.

This statement sums it up form Mike Holts forum:
Most dryers are sold without cords and are internally set up to permit the use of either 3 wire or 4 wire codes. There is no requirement that a new dryer have a 4 wire cord. There is a requirement that if you install a new circuit for the dryer that you must install a 4 wire circuit.
Question is, do you have a 3 or 4 wire dryer outlet?
 

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,619
I see that is a appliance with multi language instruction notations, and it looks like they refer to grounding the cabinet locally under some jurisdictions.
Max.
 

Thread Starter

Alchemy One

Joined Oct 5, 2019
217
I see that is a appliance with multi language instruction notations, and it looks like they refer to grounding the cabinet locally under some jurisdictions.
Max.
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Are your replies in regard to why a neutral wire is grounded to the body of the dryer ( the main subject here of this thread) no matter what cosmos it was designed at. Science is science, photons operate the same way here or in the backwoods of Afghanistan. And why it is wrong, dangerous, unacceptable, impossible and why millions are not dead, and why on earth it would be allowed into this country or worse yet if it was made here in downtown Chicago. At least the Quora appliance expert and the electrical engineer said that someone has messed with it. And that after my pointing and sending them evidence, they had nothing to do with me.
Or are you all over the map, making other remarks?
Are you going to resort to coping with an attitude again?

If you don't know why no one has yet filed a lawsuit and I didn't die and those before me and all those millions of people that are using it... everything you have learned is also void.
So far not one thing you said that why this can be. I showed you what I claimed. I didn't leave it up to you to google it as that would have simply given you more reason to say things unrelated.
Tell me why you (like all other appliance companies) wouldn't ground the neutral wire to the body of a dryer? And if you did ground it what would guaranteed result to you?
Furthermore how such device is allowed everywhere without consequence, lawsuits, deaths with headline news everywhere long ago.
 

jpanhalt

Joined Jan 18, 2008
11,087
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Are your replies in regard to why a neutral wire is grounded to the body of the dryer ( the main subject here of this thread) no matter what cosmos it was designed at. Science is science, photons operate the same way here or in the backwoods of Afghanistan. And why it is wrong, dangerous, unacceptable, impossible and why millions are not dead, and why on earth it would be allowed into this country or worse yet if it was made here in downtown Chicago. At least the Quora appliance expert and the electrical engineer said that someone has messed with it. And that after my pointing and sending them evidence, they had nothing to do with me.
Or are you all over the map, making other remarks?
Are you going to resort to coping with an attitude again?
A bit over the top.
1) Apparently it complies with code.
2) No reported deaths so far, not one. America's tort system will get it fixed if there is one.
3) If you don't like it, trash it and buy or make one that you feel is safe. Why should your opinion dictate what others do or buy?
 

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,619
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Are you going to resort to coping with an attitude again?
???????????
Re question: " should one ground a neutral wire to the body of any device in the U.S. household power supply system."

Apparently you came here for help or advice, my answers were an attempt to make a situation safe and conform to current safety practices.
It is unfortunate that you decided to take it another way.
It is entirely your perogative to carry on with the present condition, should you so wish.
 

sghioto

Joined Dec 31, 2017
5,380
So far not one thing you said that why this can be
Not speaking for Max but it can be that way because it depends on your house wiring. You didn't answer the question is your dryer outlet 3 wire or 4 wire.
Regardless if 3 or 4 wire the ground and neutral from the pole or transformer are tied together somewhere in the system.
 

Thread Starter

Alchemy One

Joined Oct 5, 2019
217
Have you confirmed actual continuity between neutral and chassis ground? Just because the wire is white doesn't mean it's "neutral".
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This is funny thing to ask. There is a cord that is on the dryer. This cord has three wires. It is thick gauge well-insulated beast of a cord. IT plugs in to a 240 VAC on one end and on the other end it is installed on the dryer with three bolts securing the three wires on that junction. The middle wire is grounded right there where it is bolted to the junction. How? by means of another wire, one end of that wire is bolted on the junction and the other end of it on the body of the dryer. It is the wire that splits the 240VAC in half, split-phase wire. This wire is also called the neutral, the return wire... You follow?
Let me see what I can do here. Let me see if I can go online and find the wiring diagram for these frigidaire systems. And then you ask them if they are sure they know what they are doing... I am asking the question. I may be uneducated but I don't think I am dumb.
My eyes are getting weak and I may not know how to read the wiring diagram. I hope you do.
Tell me if I am seeing things in this wiring diagram and the Neutral wire is not grounded on the cabinet. What does cabinet mean? What does N mean and then L1 and L2?
I assumed you could have found this out on your own by just few clicks on the google search instead of everybody giving me a hard time......
What kind of society, what kind of world do I live in? A dumb world with the sharp ones the run it kept away from the masses anonymous. They rule the world.
Just don't tell me somebody doctored up the diagram. If you have that come up I will send you the link for google search.
 

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Thread Starter

Alchemy One

Joined Oct 5, 2019
217
If you have a 3 wire dryer outlet the neutral and chassis are connected together. In older homes using a 3 wire code the neutral and ground are connected together at the breaker panel.
A 4 wire dryer outlet has separate connections for neutral and chassis. Newer homes like mine using a 4 wire code the neutral and ground are only physically connected at the meter, which in my case is 100' from the house on the pole.

This statement sums it up form Mike Holts forum:
Most dryers are sold without cords and are internally set up to permit the use of either 3 wire or 4 wire codes. There is no requirement that a new dryer have a 4 wire cord. There is a requirement that if you install a new circuit for the dryer that you must install a 4 wire circuit.
Question is, do you have a 3 or 4 wire dryer outlet?
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Take it up with Frigidaire. Cheers
 

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Thread Starter

Alchemy One

Joined Oct 5, 2019
217
If you have a 3 wire dryer outlet the neutral and chassis are connected together. In older homes using a 3 wire code the neutral and ground are connected together at the breaker panel.
A 4 wire dryer outlet has separate connections for neutral and chassis. Newer homes like mine using a 4 wire code the neutral and ground are only physically connected at the meter, which in my case is 100' from the house on the pole.

This statement sums it up form Mike Holts forum:
Most dryers are sold without cords and are internally set up to permit the use of either 3 wire or 4 wire codes. There is no requirement that a new dryer have a 4 wire cord. There is a requirement that if you install a new circuit for the dryer that you must install a 4 wire circuit.
Question is, do you have a 3 or 4 wire dryer outlet?
 

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sghioto

Joined Dec 31, 2017
5,380
Tell me if I am seeing things in this wiring diagram and the Neutral wire is not grounded on the cabinet. What does cabinet mean? What does N mean and then L1 and L2?
The neutral wire is shown connected to the cabinet which is the metal chassis of the dryer in that wiring diagram.
N means neutral. L1 and L2 are the hot sides of the 240Vac line.
Take it up with Frigidaire. Cheers
What ever that means. Thanks for finally answering my question. You have a 3 wire dryer outlet. The correct wiring is as shown on the wiring diagram, neutral connected to chassis, so why is there a problem?
 
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Thread Starter

Alchemy One

Joined Oct 5, 2019
217
The neutral wire is shown connected to the cabinet which is the metal chassis of the dryer in that wiring diagram.
N means neutral. L1 and L2 are the hot sides of the 240Vac line.

What ever that means. Thanks for finally answering my question. You have a 3 wire dryer outlet. The correct wiring is as shown on the wiring diagram, neutral connected to the chassis, so why is there a problem?
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If you touch a netural wire and a hot wire in your outlet on the wall of your house what would you feel?

If you don't touch it and get a piece of wire stripped on both end and push one end in one hole and the other end in the other hole in that outlet, what will happen?

When you connect one the neutral wire to the body of the dryer and another hot leg to whatever unit of the dryer, be it the motor, the control board, the timer or ... and the return wire on that device is also grounded to the body of the dryer and the body of the dryer becomes a what........? a what? a conductor, a wire. Maybe not. Maybe the return wire is a signal propagating through space... who knows..

Just realized this, my previous response was intended to Wayneh statement which was: " Have you confirmed actual continuity between neutral and chassis ground? Just because the wire is white doesn't mean it's "neutral".
As you can see it suits that question.

After I posted my inquiry back when in the first place. I checked a few responses and then I never really checked again.. I moved on to other stuff. Hence my response now and goofed up sending it to someone other than the intended person.

I never got a true answer as to why one is not getting electrocuted. Folks should answer the diagram and not answer me that I have goofed up and I wired the dryer wrong. According to the wiring, the body of the dryer is the return wire and Mr. Wayneh questioned if I had my facts straight. He can argue his point with frigidaire. But he won't. Why? because frigidaire are professionals, they can not be questioned. If I said this is my diagram.... you get the idea. :)
 

jpanhalt

Joined Jan 18, 2008
11,087
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If you touch a netural wire and a hot wire in your outlet on the wall of your house what would you feel?
I stopped reading at that point. No one knows what you would feel, unless you have some way to report form the afterlife. Clearly, you are talking about intentionally touching an lethal potential.

Thread reported.
 

sghioto

Joined Dec 31, 2017
5,380
I never got a true answer as to why one is not getting electrocuted.
Because there is no voltage potential on the chassis of the dryer. In a 3 wire outlet if the Neutral is not connected to the chassis and for some reason L1 or L2 should short to the chassis then you would have a problem. Since you have a 3 wire outlet the Neutral is connected to the chassis. If L1 should short to the chassis the breaker will open.
A 4 wire outlet has a separate Ground wire that connects to the chassis and returns to the panel with the Neutral, L1 and L2.
Somewhere in the system (meaning the panel or the pole) the Neutral and Ground are connected together. So in effect the chassis of the dryer is still connected to the Neutral.
 
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