Reverse Polarity

cmansmith

Let me start by saying I am a framer and have never dealt with any type of electrical issues beyond putting new cords on saws after cutting them in half. My girlfriend just bought a house and in the inspection they came to find Reverse polarity in many of the outlets through out the house. After a little research I have found this is most likely caused by the white and black wires being reversed. Which I feel confident I can fix. Anything beyond that I would not be willing to try. My question is how dangerous is this. She lives a couple hours away so can it wait a couple weeks till I can make it down to fix it? Is there any thing in particular that should be avoided? Any info on this would be greatly appreciated. I know this is probably a stupid question but I wont see a electrician on my job for a couple months and I don't want to worry about it if its not a big deal.

Magnettica

The first thing I would suggest you do is buy one of those little plug-in testers. This tester will tell you which receptacles are screwed up and need to be fixed. Then if it's not a big deal or inconvenience, turn off each individual circuit breaker and rewire the receptacles. The silver terminal is for the neutral, the gold terminal is for the hot, and the green obviously for the ground wire. Good luck.

__________________
Electrician service in Rahway, Cranford, Clark, Westfield, Mountainside, Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Roselle, Roselle Park, and New Jersey | Same day electrical service and repairs | Licensed and Insured Electrician in Rahway

mickeyco

Worst shock I ever got was from a reverse polarity pulled off a range with the neutral and ground connected, for a dishwasher, the metal frame was hot and I was wet, it hurt like hell, I'd say lucky to be alive. Chances are it was probably some bozo changing the outlets out for new ones but whenever I see this type of crap everything is then suspect. Personally, unless you know electric, I'd have an electrician look over the entire system, chances are you can bill it back to the prior homeowners or insurance.


.

__________________
Some people climb mountains. I take out the trash. But we both do it for the same reason.

cmansmith

Thanks for the input guys. I think I will just tell her she is better off calling a electrician.