The solid/dashed lines on wires like the ones pictured in your question are used to indicate polarity e.g. for the “wall wart” power supplies. Usually* the wire with the white stripe or the dashed lines carries the “positive” (+) end, while the other, unmarked wire carries the “negative” (-) end.
Which wire is hot black or black with white stripe?
The black wire is the “hot” wire, it carries the electricity from the breaker panel into the switch or light source. The white wire is the “neutral” wire, it takes any unused electricity and current and sends it back to the breaker panel.
Is the striped wire hot or neutral?
The wire with the ribbing or stripe is the neutral wire, and the other one is hot. If you don’t see any markings on the wires, and the plug has two prongs of equal size, the cord is not polarized.
Is the white stripe on speaker wire positive or negative?
Most wires have a white line on the positive side and some have gold and silver wires to designate positive and negative.
What does a black wire with a white stripe mean? – Related Questions
Is black with white stripe positive?
The black wire is negative. The white wire (if present) is ground (sometimes called neutral in DC). If both wires are black but one has a white stripe, the striped wire is negative, while the plain black wire is positive.
Is white wire with black stripe negative?
In most cases, this stripe indicates the presence of a positive electrical current. While black is a negative electrical wire, white is a positive one. Likewise, the unmarked white wires are negative. If you don’t know what to do with a black wire with a white stripe, you should contact a professional electrician.
What does the white line in speaker wire mean?
A speaker wire with a white stripe is usually a positive one. Depending on the configuration, some speaker wires will be positive while others will be negative.
Which speaker wire is positive white line?
The color codes for the four-conductor wire for speaker one are Red (positive), Black (negative), and White or Yellow (positive), Green (negative).
How do I tell positive and negative on speaker wire?
Colour-coding: Speaker wires are often colour-coded, which will help you remember which one is positive and which one is negative. The most common colour coding is red and black, where red is positive and black is negative. Listen: When you are using your speakers, how is the sound quality?
Which wire is positive and negative on speaker wire?
typically, the positive wire is red and the ground, or negative, is black. However, most speaker wires don’t do colors. Good news is, with speakers it doesn’t really matter which one you choose as your positive and which as your negative, just so long as you are consistent.
Which wire is hot and which is negative?
Usually the red is marked as + (plus) and the black is marked as – (minus). Notice that in both AC electricity and DC electronics, there is a black wire. But in AC electricity the black is hot (“positive”) whereas in DC electronics black is for negative.
Does it matter which wire is positive?
The positive wire, also commonly called the hot wire, will typically be black in color. It is the source of the electricity. The electrical current travels from the outlet or other power source on the positive wire, so if it is plugged in anywhere, it should be considered a live (and dangerous) wire.
Does white speaker wire go to red or black?
The color code for four-conductor wire is speaker one: Red (positive), Black (negative) speaker two: White (positive), Green (negative). Its purpose is to carry an electrical signal (voltage and current) from the amplifier (or the amplifier section of a receiver) to the speakers.
Which wire is live red or white?
US AC power circuit wiring color codes
The protective ground is green or green with yellow stripe. The neutral is white, the hot (live or active) single phase wires are black , and red in the case of a second active.
What color does the white wire go to?
A white neutral wire usually connects to a silver-colored terminal or white wire lead. A green or bare ground wire almost always makes a ground connection—to a ground screw on a device, electrical box, or appliance case or to a green wire lead.
What happens if you mix up red and black speaker wires?
If you switch the red and black speaker wires, all that happens is that the drivers push out instead of pulling in (and vice versa). When the rest of the speakers in your system are creating the same sound, their drivers will be going in a completely different direction (exactly opposite).
What happens if you connect speakers the wrong way?
If one of your speakers is wired up the wrong way it will be ‘out of phase’. In other words it will be moving ‘back and forth’ while the other speaker is moving ‘forth and back’. Your ears may not notice it but this results in the stereo seperation and sound quality not being as good as they could be.
