How do you know which wire goes to which terminal on a normal 1/3 hp electric furnace motor?

Question

When hooking up an electric cord with a wide prong and a narrow prong. How do you know with wire goes to which to which terminal on the motor? When you pull the small cover off the motor, I see 3 bolted connections. The one on the left looks like a black or dark green wire going to the motor, the middle wire is also connected to the cord, and the connection on the right has no wire going to it. It looks like a white wire goes to it from the motor. So which connection goes to the wider prong on the cord?
Thanks,
Vince

Answer 1

Black is hot, white is neutral and green is ground. That being said i dont think it's responsible for anyone to advise you other than call a pro. If you mix up the wires.....BOOM!! you'll be asking your wife to open your ketchup bottles the rest of your life.

Well..not that severe, but still dont mess with it!

Answer 2

If it is a capacitor start motor, it really doesn't matter if the white and black wires are crossed. The motor will only spin in one direction, Green is always the ground. If you have two black wires coming out, then the motor is case grounded and it still doesn't matter which wire goes where because they are interchangeable. There should be a wiring schematic inside the cover plate or on a separate sheet of paper in the box the motor came in..

Answer 3

I agree with the concensus, if you aren't comfortable working with electricity call an expert, save the motor and your fingers.

Answer 4

that is something you should let a electrician handle if you connect it wrong you could burn down your house,spend a little money and be safe