Maytag Neptune mde4000ayw dryer recepticle issue

[bearsxx]

Hello
We just moved and the dryer has a 3 wire "y" connection on it. The new place has the newer 4 prong recepticle that will not take this connection. I took the recepticle from y old place to get the dryer going. When switching the recepticles there is 4 wires instead of the 3. What I did was let off connecting the white (neutral) wire and connected the red/black/ground to wire up the old recepticle. Now, when I go to start the dryer, it wont start all the way and seems to be pulling power. I do not have any multimeters or anything to check current so I am thinking it has something to do with the white (neutral) wire I did not connect.

Any help is appreciated and I apoligize if my post was confusing!

[AJ]

Hi,

You should have simply replaced the three wire dryer cord with a four wire dryer cord and left the outlet as it was.

Here is how a three wire dryer cord is wired.




Here is how a four wire dryer cord is wired.

[jimbo6679]

First off, it is a CODE VIOLATION to convert that installed 4 wire receptacle to 3 wire.    What you NEED to do is get an electrician or appliance tech to put a new cord on the dryer, and make the appropriate changes on the dryer connections.

The old ( no longer allowed) dryer receptacles were 30 amp /125/250 VAC, NO GROUND.  Which is why they are no longer allowed.  They do require the WHITE ( neutra ) wire.   It was allowed to serve as the ground, but finally it was realized this was not safe enough,.   

Please get this fixed right away.  If you do not have electrical knowledge to deal with the instructions then you should get help....better safe than sorry!

[tgoods]

Like what others have said, put the old 4-prong receptacle back in.  So, why did they change the code to four wires, the neutral is already grounded, right?  When you're using your ground as a power source you're running current through it.  Any conductor with current running through it can fail.  When your neutral fails on a three wire appliance the metal cabinet becomes live.  120vac running through your body when putting wet clothes in is not a pleasant experience.  I've seen two cases of a failed neutral in a three wire dryer.  Luckily, nobody died.


Anyway, 99% of the dryers I see with a four-wire cord are wired improperly.  The most common mistake is not separating the ground from the neutral.  The white or green wire that's attached to the cabinet needs to be connected to the center terminal.  Only the green wire from the cord should be attached to the cabinet.