electricalelectrical distribution
I have an air compressor that has a 110 plug with separate extra wires for optional 220 connection.
It has 5 wires showing for the 220 option:
black, white, brown, orange, and a purple wire.
-The purple wire is a larger gauge then the rest.-
-The brown and orange are capped together.-
I have a 3 pronged 220 plug w/ 10-3 wire. How do i connect the air compressor wiring(5 wires) to the 3 prong 220 dryer plug?
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)
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.
I looked up the Honda EU2000i Owner's manual, and it appears these generators are only rated for 120 volt output.
I couldn't find much detail on the transfer switch you mentioned, but from what I could find it appears to be a 120/240V transfer switch.
If you were to connect the generator to the transfer switch, only half of the circuits would work, and you'd not be able to power any 240V loads. This is because the generator is designed to only supply 120 volts, whereas your home (and the transfer switch) work with a 120/240V system.
If you really want to proceed, which I wouldn't recommend. The adapter cord would have a standard 20 ampere three prong plug ("hot", "neutral" ground) on one end, and a four prong ("hot", "hot", "neutral", ground) plug on the other. The wiring would be as follows:
With this setup, only the circuits labeled "A" on the transfer switch will work (or maybe only "B" will work, depending on the internal wiring).
My recommendation; based on the fact that you seem to indicate that the power in your area is somewhat unreliable, is to purchase a larger 120/240V generator. This should plug directly into the transfer switch, and will power both legs (A and B), as well as supply 240 volt loads.
Best Answer
You need to look at the motor plate to see what they want you to do.
Typically with a 120/240 switchable motor, you are jumpering two sections of the motor into series or parallel. So for 120V you might make connections hot1-A-C and B-D-neutral, and for 220V you wire hot1-A, B-C, and D-hot2. It may be more complicated than that if there's a start capacitor or start winding involved.
Point being you must make those connections as the factory instructs, and those instructions will be particular to the motor, and should be on the motor plate.