Over the winter, my dog chewed through the power cord on an a/c window unit. I was going to just add a new plug as the cord is still long enough. I sliced into the wire and found 3 wires (ground, neutral, and hot) and wire braided throughout the cord. I assume this is part of the ground-fault protection, but I don't know how it affects rewiring it. I attempted to open the existing plug to investigate, but it's molded plastic and I haven't been able to get into it. Do I have to use a ground-fault plug or can I just use the 3 wires and wire in a new 3 prong plug? Thanks in advance.
Electrical – Chewed-through ground-fault cord
applianceselectricalwiring
Related Solutions
DO NOT connect the ground wire to the grounded (neutral) conductor, as this could lead to current flowing through the body of the dryer (and potentially through you).
The installation guide for the dryer will have wiring instructions for both 3, and 4 wire configurations. Check the manufacturers documentation for proper wiring, but I would say the first image is likely correct.
Instructions from random Maytag Installation Instructions (PDF)
3 Wire Cord
4 Wire Cord
Update:
After doing some research, and looking at dryer wiring diagrams. It turns out that the green/yellow wire is not a ground wire, it is a neutral to case bonding wire. When this wire is not in use (in a 4-wire installation for example), it is simply connected to the neutral terminal and is unused.
The best thing to do is replace the defective wiring. Disconnect the load side of the GFCI and at all downstream junctions. Then check for neutral/ground continuity on each segment of the wiring. Once you locate the segment that shows continuity, search for a short location inside the junction box, and failing that, replace that part of the circuit.
Short of that, depending on your situation, you may not need to wire the following outlets to the GFCI load (e.g. if they are not in the bathroom). You could pigtail the load connection to the line side of the GFCI so that the downstream devices are not protected. If they need protection, they can each have their own GFCI installed, again, only wiring to the line side of the GFCI.
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Best Answer
I would assume the braid is just for strength. Ground fault relies on detecting current leaks between hot and neutral.
However, if the existing plug is a GFCI plug, then it is advisable to replace it with a comparable part. Alternatively, you could replace the outlet with a GFCI outlet, or even a GFCI breaker. This would provide the same level of protection with a standard plug.