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I've been trying to find a satisfactory answer to this through a casual search on the web and nothing jumps out at me immediately which amazes me!
What idiot sitting on some "standards committee" somewhere thought that brown would be a good colour for a live wire?
For starters brown is the colour of earth, so anyone knowing nothing about electricity would assume that brown is earth and that live must be that fancy coloured green and yellow wire with fatal consequences no doubt.
Nature gives us natural warning and danger colours and they are typically vivid colours or unnatural contrasts - such as green and yellow in snakes! Red is also a classic danger colour and means "stop" on traffic lights etc. So...why is the live wire not red ?
From my dim and distant past I can vaguely recall messing around with plugs and wires and in those days I remember the live wire in the UK as being red. So...what caused the change? I suspect some crazy dictate from faceless bureaucrats at the so called European Union lol.
The only reason I can think of for this madness is that major circuits which feed directly into the mains, tend to have live as red and neutral as black (earth is green or green and yellow I think). As a means of distinguishing between the two, brown was chosen as a "shade" of red to mean live - though why not choose vivid orange? Why do we need to distinguish between the two types of circuits anyway?
Unfortunately, I suspect that the real answer lies in some legal case where an idiot was working in building somewhere and mixed up the old style red live of a lighting circuit with a red live straight from the mains and frizzled themselves to death. The family sued because they were short of cash and the legal precendent was set that wiring should be re-labeled in colour (because - displaying warning signs near every electrical outlet was deemed unpractical...doh!)
CommentI think you're probably correct in assuming that it was dreamt up by some idiot in the European Union of Socialist Republics!
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∙ 11y ago
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How can I convert a cord to a plug?
You can't but you can install a plug on the end of a cord. Just go purchase one and install it. Very simple to do. Black wire goes to copper screw, white wire goes to silver screw, and ground or green wire goes to ground screw. It both wires are brown then connect the wire with the ridges on the outside of the wire to the silver screw as it is the neutral. The wire that is smooth is the black hot wire which connects to the copper screw.
What colour code for 3 pin plug in NZ?
The live wire is brown in coulor while the earth wireis green and yellow in color and neutral wire is blue in colour. Uses of these three wire: Live wire:It's connected with fuse.It carries a voltage which drives electric current through the electrical appliances. Earth wire:It is a safety device and protect us from electric shock. Neutral wire:It offers a return path by electric current.
How do I rewire an ungrounded plug?
If there is no ground wire connect the ground wire to the neutral wire.
What brown colour wire indicate in a electric iron?
Brown is the "hot" wire and blue is the neutral on a UK 220 volt power system.
In an IEC-320 plug which wire carries electrical voltage?
the hot wire carries the electrical voltage
What is the purpose of a live wire?
it gives you an electric shock
What is the brown wire in a plug?
This is not true in all plugs it all depends on the manufacturer and the product. Plug wires come in all different colors such as red, black, brown, yellow, blue, and so on. So as I said the wire being brown is indicative of a certain manufacturer or product.
What are the three wires in a plug called?
The green and yellow is the earth wire The brown is the live wire The blue is the neutral wire A poem to help is: The brown live cow drinks from the blue neutral water and eats the green grass from earth
What are the names of the three wires in a plug?
Live Wire = usually brown, if not then its grey or black. Neutral Wire = Blue Earth Wire = green and yellow striped
What is the purpose of a wire?
it is the brown wire in a three pin plug
What are the UK wiring colours?
The brown wire is live (Mr Brown is a live wire!)Blue is the neutral wire for the return current. Green/yellow is the earth wire.
Wiring diagram of plug wire and their order?
With the cover off the plug and looking from the back at the screws the "Live" wire [generally red or brown] goes to the Left - and the "Neutral" wire [generally green] gos to the Right.Another way of putting this would be to say that the red wire must be connected to the prong that goes into the Left hole in the plug outlet in the wall.It is good practice to coil the earth wire in the plug so that, should the lead by tugged hard, it will be the LAST wire to become disconnected from the screws in the plug.AnswerCorrection .... sorry!! With the cover off the plug and looking from the back at the screws the "Live" wire [generally red or brown] goes to the Left - and the "Neutral" wire [generally BLUE] goes to the Right. The Earth [genarally green] goes to the centre prong - assuming it is a 3-pin plug.
What is the blue wire for in a three pin plug?
In the UK Brown is the live, blue is the neutral and green/yellow is the earth. The live and neutral are the two wires that normally carry the current.
What colour code used for 3 pin electric plug?
The earth wire, striped green and yellow, is connected to the terminal marked E; this should be the longest of the three wires so that it is the last to become detached if the cable is strained.The live wire (brown) is connected to the terminal marked L.The neutral wire (blue) is connected to the terminal marked N.
Is a brown electrical wire live?
If you don't know different for sure, then you must treat ANY electrical wire as if it's live, regardless of what color it may be.
Color code in 3 pin electric plug in India?
Green with Yellow Stripe Wire - Earth Wire (E) Blue Wire - Neutral Wire (N) Brown Wire - Live Wire (L) When you look at the plug with the terminals facing towards you: /\ / \ / E \ / \ / \ / L N \ ------------------
What colour wire goes to earth in an Italian plug?
The same rules apply to the whole of Europe. "Brown is live" , "Blue is neutral" and "Green/Yellow is Earth".
