ECN Forum Forums Code Related Discussion NEC & other Code issues Is This Receptacle Wired Correctly?

Here is a 20A, 250V receptacle (6-20R):


In my house, there is one that was wired using "BX" 10-3. (It's either type AC or type MC, black/red/white, no separate ground conductor.) At the device, the black and red connect to the two hot terminals, respectively. The white connects to the ground terminal.

At the panel, the black and red connect to two 20A breakers, with the common trip (is that the term?) so if one trips, the other does as well. The white is connected to the neutral bus bar.

Do you see any problem with this?

If the panel this receptacle is being fed from is your main service panel I don't see much of a problem other than the wire should be green and there should also be a pigtail to the box. If the panel is a sub panel then there is a problem. By connecting the equipment ground of the receptacle to the neutral buss in the sub panel you have created a parallel neutral path for the sub panel path back to the service panel using the armor of the BX cable. The neutral wire should be disconnected from the receptacle and capped off then a jumper installed from the metal box to the receptacle.

Curt

Curt:

The panel is the main panel. I was thinking along the same lines, that perhaps there is a risk of parallel paths.

If it's not an issue (the neutral and ground bars are bonded inside the panel) then that's great.

Thanks.

If the white wire is reidentified as green at both ends (socket and panel) and in the panel it is connected to the equipment ground (that the right term for the green wire and metal case of the panel?) that the bare grounds from
romex runs connect to, that should be fine, yes?

I recently encountered this issue with a 220v (2-pole) GFI breaker. Guess what? The wire that I always thought was a neutral turned out to be a ground instead- the GFI set me right!