Did an inspection today and had a question about the air handler wiring in the sub panel. The wiring for the air handler (Black, Red, White) has the white wire connected to the ground bus in the panel. Is this correct? Part of me says it’s ok because the white wire is the ground wire for the air handler, while another part of me says it should be on the neutral bus (because it’s white). I’ve looked through the installation literature but didn’t see any references regarding wiring in a sub. Any advice, correction, any Helpful advice would be appreciated. I always have people wanting to give me “advice”. Thanks!
No the white conductor should not be on the EGC bus. However the unit likely does not require a neutral so it’s possbile that the other end is not connected to anything. Was the EGC run in that cable connected on both ends as it should be?
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Hey Robert, Thanks for the info. Question: if it’s possible the unit doesn’t require a neutral, why would they hook it up? Is this a sign of “non-professional” work?
I’m not sure what you mean by “Was the EGC run in that cable connected on both ends.”
This looks like they were sharing the neutral as a ground. Instead of running an extra ground as a home run to the panel. From the picture, that’s what it looks like.
Was there a bare or green grounding (EGC) conductor in the cable? Or was it just the black, red, white?
White cannot be used as a grounding (EGC) conductor.
If it is being used as a grounded conductor (neutral), then it cannot be hooked to the ground bus. If it is being used as the grounding conductor, it must be hooked to the ground bus, but cannot be white.
(Sorry for the bold, just want to make sure you are noticing the difference between grounding, and grounded)
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Hey Ryan, Thanks for the clarification. Thre was no bare or green wire in the cable; just the red, black, and white. So that would tell me that it’s being used as the grounding conductor and that it can’t be white. Is my understanding correct? If that’s the case, do you mark the white wire some way? I can’t see stripping the white off a stranded wire.
If it’s being used as the grounding conductor, then re-labeling a white conductor is not allowed I don’t think. White is specifically reserved for neutral (grounded conductor) as far as I know.
Conductor colors can get a bit confusing sometimes though, and I’m not an electrician. Robert will likely chime in to either confirm, or correct my understanding.
Just to be clear… you are referring to the Gray sheathed NM Cable that is NOT trimmed back as required to expose and identify the conductors within? All that is visible in the photo is the one RED conductor, the other two are not visible.
The single White conductor your arrow points towards, does not appear to be from the sheathed cable.
The green arrow is mine. This almost looks like your bare conductor in the cable. Appears to be dead ended. Someone thought using the bigger white conductor would be a better grounding conductor, is what I’m thinking.
Good eye, Ryan. I thought the change in color of the sheathing was from the separation of the white from the red & black. That being said, I don’t know how it’s wired up inside of the air handler. So how would I know what a correct connection in the panel should look like?
Better, thanks.
Now that I can see the grounds and neutrals being separated, it’s obvious the White (is/should be) a ground and needs to be re-identified with Green tape as a ground, and not a Neutral… after verification at the other end of the cable!
It likely can’t be correct as is.
They should have left the white conductor unused, and instead used the bare conductor as the grounding conductor. Hopefully they didn’t hook the bare up at the air handler, and then the white at the panel. The only way to confirm would be to open up the air handler to view the connections.
Anyway, fairly easy fix. Have an electrician redo the wiring connections so that the bare conductor is being used as the grounding conductor.
Bare grounding conductor dead-ended at green arrow…
So would the following comment be accurate?
“The wiring for the air handler in sub panel #3 is not right. A neutral from the air handler is being used as a ground, however, it’s not marked as a ground. The actual ground for the air handler is not properly connected in the sub panel. Recommend review by a qualified electrician/contractor for proper installation.”
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That’s not too bad. Here is what I would probably write…
“A white conductor appeared to be used as a grounding conductor for the air handler. This practice is not recommended. Grounding conductors should be green or bare (no insulation) in this application. Recommendation: Consult with a qualified electrical contractor for repairs.”
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Got it. Clear and concise. Thanks!
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That’s the deal with electrical issues. Try not to go too deep into the nitty gritty with your narrative. It can be hard sometimes, but we have to remember our audience. Just make it clear enough that an electrician will know what you’re saying, lol.
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Remember… assuming that the work in question is fairly recent, there’s a darned good chance that the same electrician that installed the concern, will be called back to correct it. Say too much or the (not) exactly correct thing, and your arse will be thrown under the bus!!
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That is what I saw as well and is the reason I asked if the bare conductor was connected.
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Personally I would call it out as a neutral wire being improperly installed on the ground bus, If a sparky finds it’s correct, then the wire should be identified as a ground, otherwise it should be attached to the neutral bus bar.
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