Dishwasher Installation - Power Cord Ground Wire?

Question

Please excuse this simple question but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I've read the instructions a million times.......appliance must be grounded but I don' t know what that means!!! Under the dishwasher I see a black wire (hot), I see the white wire (Neutral) and the green ground wire is attached under the head of a screw to the appliance - does this mean its already grounded? So now I purchased a universal 3- Wire Dishwasher Power cord. Obviously white to white and black to black but the power cord has the green ground wire........where do I connect this to? Would I place it under the same screw where the other green wire is? I have no experience doing this. Please help before I get electrocuted! It seems simple enough but I'll wait for some advice.........and may be someone can clear up what hardwiring means?!?! Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Yes, attach the green ground wire to the screw (usually painted green) on the appliance. The metal chassis of the motor is the ground.

Hard-wiring the appliance in would mean a direct connection to an existing power cord coming out of the wall with no outlet.

Answer 2

OMG. So many answers that contradict each other. How are you doing to choose which one is correct? If you knew the correct answer, you wouldn't have asked the question so you need help picking the correct one. Dragonfire was probably the closest. He/she was correct, but left out a suggestion. Volts, amps, watts, water, hose, buckets... The analogy to water is pretty common because you can see water. Volts are like the water pressure. Water pressure determines how fast the water is flowing, but not how much. Think about a hose that you pinch off at the end. The water squirts further, but less comes out. The total volume is like watts. That is what determines how fast the bucket fills. It is a product of the flow rate, and the amount of water that can pass though the pipe. In the case of water, the bigger the pipe, the more it is capable of flowing at any given pressure. Okay, enough with the water. I'm not sure you really even need to understand that. You do NOT need a GFI on this because the case of the dishwasher will be grounded and there is no chance of touching the wires once the job is complete. I think some people misunderstand the rules. Years ago, they used to consider the metal shield an adequate ground, but they no longer do because it is not reliable. This is because of physical problems that can be in the circuit from the breaker box to the appliance. One missed connection and you have no ground. We also assumed that there would not be a hot wire ever touching the case. As it turns out, that was not a good assumption. It doesn't happen that often, but when it does, someone can get killed. Not a good risk. That is why a separate ground wire is now required. It is true that the neutral is at the same voltage level as a ground. Actually, there are literally connected to the same bar inside the breaker box, so they have to be. They are run in two separate wires so that the ground can be treated special for safety. The ground is connected to the frame of the appliance. That way, no matter what is done with the hot or the neutral, the appliance case can not possibly shock you, no matter what. Under normal conditions, there is no current flowing through the ground. 100% of the current flows though the hot and the neutral. This is kind of like the bumper on a car. It just sits there and does nothing, ever. Except then there is an accident involving the front or rear end of the car. Then it takes the brunt of the force that shouldn't be there. Hopefully, by it taking the force, you will not have to. It may be destroyed in the process, but your injuries are hopefully lowered. What Dragonfire did not suggest is that you can run a separate ground wire without removing everything. It would be better to run it inside the metal shield, but it is safe to run it outside the shield. They make a special lubricant just for making wire slicker to run inside conduit easier. That might help you. The wire should go from the breaker box to the appliance, if possible. If you have to cut and splice, then you have to. If not, I like to not cut it. The dishwasher can be plugged in or directly wired into the box, your choice. Since you are not taking it out and putting it back in periodically, it really doesn't need an outlet and plug. Personally, I don't put in a switch either. You would never turn it on and off, like you would a garbage disposer. I do not know what code says. In this case, I really don't care because no one is going to inspect it and it is completely safe. If there was even the slightest danger, I would put one in. There is not. Hope this helps sort out the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Answer 3

I assume the universal power cord plugs into an outlet on the wall in the rear of the dishwasher. The cord should have 3 prongs. Two flat ones and a rounded one. The rounded one is the ground plug and it is connected to the green wire. Coonect the green wire on the opposite end of the cord to the same screw as the green wire on the DW. This will complete the grounding. If you did not have an outlet to plug into (just wire coming out of the wall or box) you would use electrical wire with 3 wires in it. A white, black and uncoated copper wire. The copper wire would be the ground and it would hook up under the same screw and be connected to the copper wire from the wall wire using screw-on electrical connectors. This would be hardwired.