Wire Color Importance

JamesNLA

Today I wired up a sub panel. 100A with 12 circuits.
Anyhow, the number of reds/blacks/whites wasn't adding up. I was short one neutral......Went through all the boxes and found that someone ran a red as the neutral for one particular circuit. Of course it was 4P.M. on a Friday and I had to go. So, me in all my genius grabbed some white tape and taped that line from panel entrance to the buss. I did the same in the box it was ran to. I forgot whether or not that is OK to do. For some reason I think this is a no no, but remember reading about marking a wire.....I have a nasty cold and am not all that interested is running this one down, if someone will grace me with a yaa or naa on having to pull a new wire, that would be greatly appreciated....

Magnettica

As long as its identified as the grounded conductor I think you're okay. Using the red in a 3-wire as a green for an isolated ground circuit is okay so why would this not be ok? I think you're good to go and don't let the Friday at 4 thing come before doing the right job and doing it with some value.

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JamesNLA

Not the GC, the neutral.

And not to worry, this job is still weeks away from being completed. One of todays goals was to get that panel wired up.

jbwhite

In pre fab cables we can sometimes use white re-identified as a hot, or red re-identified as a IG, but I do not believe it is ok to use a hot color re-phased if the wires are smaller than number 6.

If the wireing is in conduit, I would say NO NO NO. You cannot do it.

Of coarse, just to get it going for temp while you continue work, is another story. If it is safe, I say why not.

I also agree that day of the week and time should have nothing to do with the quality of your work.

Also the grounded conductor is refered to as the neutral in trade slang, even when it is not actually a neutral.

The grounding wire is most often called the ground or equipment ground in trade slang.

Magnettica

If this was a multiwire branch circuit (MWBC) as defined in NEC article 100, and the red was re-identified as white, was the original white used as an ungrounded conductor? If not, then the white conductor is the grounded conductor. If the white was being used as an ungrounded conductor then yes, the newly identified white conductor is indeed a true nuetral because it carries the unbalanced current between both ungrounded conductors. I hope that makes sense.

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jbwhite

Nope you are not making sense. Why would someone re-identify the white to a hot color and then the red to a white?????

and the OP did not say a thing about MWBC. the op said not the gc the neutral. It does not matter if the wire is a gc or a neutral for re-identifing purposes. I was of the impression that the op assumed the gc was the grounding conductor, not the grounded conductor.

Magnettica

Thats what lead me to believe that these were MWBC's.

Why anyone would use a red and re-indentify it as a white is beyond me. But there's a ton of do-it yourselfers out there that would do something like this because to them it makes sense.

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Magnettica

By the way, when discussing the equipment grounding (bonding) conductor, I am used to seeing the initials EGC.

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JamesNLA

OK, actually you both are right and accurate.
Mag, this is not a MWBC, it is a GP branch circuit. 3 conductors were ran, one green, one black and one red. This circuit feeds lighting and nothing else. For lighting usually we run that in red. The guy running it, blew it and ran a black wire instead of a white. So I changed the makeup of our colors, and used black as the current carring conductor, and tapped the red to white for the neutral conductor. EGC is green and that is not an issue (although there is a ton of writings about this topic in the NEC).

With respect to 310.11:
The way I have it now, I would blow code, not because I tapped the wire with white tape, but because I have not re-identified the max rating-proper letters for type wire-manufactures name/trademark-AWG- temp limitations & size is not visable.

That said I believe if I mark the wire with white stripes at the point just before termination that would bring this back to code, because all the pertnent info is now available to be seen. However code does state there can be a break in the identifing markingings no more than 1 meter. I have less than one meter of wire in the panel, so in theory wire in the panel could have no markings and still be acceptable.
<<10 min of reading>>
So the final answer is there in print, 310.12(C)

Ungrounded Conductors. Conductors that are intended for use as ungrounded conductors, whether used as a single conductor or in multiconductor cables, shall be finished to be clearly distinguishable from grounded and grounding conductors. Distinguishing markings shall NOT conflict in ANY mannor with the surface markings required by 310.11(B)(1).

Exception: Conductor I.D. shall be permitted in accordance with 200.7

200.7 Circuit of 50 Volts or More.
(1) If PART of a cable assembly and where the insulation is permanently reidentified to indicate its use as an UNgrounded conductor, by painting or other effective means and its termination, at each location where the conductor is viasble and accessible. I.D. shall encircle the conductor and be a color other than white, Grey, or green.

Hmmm, even if you look up (#2) with respect to single pole switch sup-ply (which is what this is) it makes refference to reidentifing a white cable to an ungrounded conductor. I want to do the opposite.......
I need some more cold medicine....

jbwhite

James take note of the part about "if part of a cable assembly"

If in a pre-made cable you could re-identify sometimes. If pulling wires in counduit, you must pull the correct color wire.

Or are you saying that you have a cable assy that comes black red green from the factory?

JamesNLA

I was thinking about that.... article 100 doesn't define "cable assembly"

My deal is wire in flex and I really don't understand why there is a difference if I pull 3 conductors in a flex, or if I buy 3 conductors already pulled through a flex....I think there is something else I am missing. At this point, I could care less about pulling a new string - heck, I don't even have to do it. I just want to know this aspect very well, because the NEC is not very clear on what I am doing, or wnating to do.

Magnettica

You mean there's gray area in the NEC?

NAH!


(sarcasm)

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