i am replacing a rangetop, i have red,black,white, and green wires coming from the electrical panel and red,black and green wires from the new rangetop. How do I connect these wires?
Ok here is what you need to do. The white wire at the junction box for the cooktop - just cap it off and push it off to the side, you will not need it. Then you will take and connect your wires color for color. Black to black, Red to red, and your green wire to the bare ground wire. Once you do this your all set to go. I understand your confusion - here is why its wired in this fashion. Your old unit required a neutral, this is why you needed the extra white wire. Then new unit is what we call a "true" 220. In this type of setup - no neutral is required. Just the grounding wire to bond the casing of the unit to the grounding wire.
Hope this helps you out. If you need further assistance with this question or just need further clarification - please let me know. Have a great day.
***I am a Verified state "Licensed" electrical contractor, not an internet researcher - I will work hard to give you the exact answers you seek and work you through any problem you may have***
100% customer satisfaction is my goal!!!!!
Experience: ----------JA Verified Electrical Expert!!----------
Thank You!!!!! How does the current complete the circuit without the neutral wire?
There is no return current. In a 220v system, the electrical usage on each leg is exactly the same but 180degrees out of phase with eachother. Because of this, it cancels any current - there for there is nothing to return. Now if your stove was using any 120v applications - you would have return current because it would not be balanced. Example: if one leg of the 220v was pulling 15amps and the other leg was pulling 10amps, you would have 5amps returning back to the panel via the neutral wire. But in your case, you will have the same exact amount in each leg. Therefore - there is 0amps returning back to the panel. Does this make sense to you?
Reply to Joseph's Post: Is each wire 110v adding up to 220v or are they 220v each? Thanks again.
110v each - adding up to 220v.