We know, it’s one of those things that some of us have done several times (and others never), but even those who have never been over this more than once often forget the basics. To avoid tripping the power of everyone on your block, take our refresher course.
What Do the Coloured Plug Wires Indicate?The different wires are not decorated for aesthetic purposes. They are, in fact, colour-coded to make changing your plugs easy and safe:
- The green/yellow is for the earth wire.
- The brown is for the live wire.
- The blue is for the neutral wire.
If Your Plug Colours Are Different...You might have equipment or appliances that still have the old wiring system. Their colours mean the following:
- Green is the earth wire.
- Red is the live wire.
- Black is the neutral wire.
How To Wire a Three-Pinned Plug:- With a three-pinned plug, remove the cover.
- With the earth pin facing away from you (the earth pin is the largest of the three pins), the live pin will be on the right-hand side of the plug and the neutral pin on the left-hand side.
- Use a wire stripper to remove just enough insulation to secure the exposed wire in the pin (2-3mm should be enough).
- Secure the ends to the pin with the screws that are in the plug – remember to secure the correct wires to the correct pin.
- Then secure the wire with the plastic wedge or clamp and screws that are provided as part of the plug.
