Guest guest Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I recently got LOR the DIY (YES!!) and was wondering what the green wires were for. Either they can be just cut off, or I am missing somthing extremly important! THANKS IN ADVANCE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 jpcrew109 wrote: I recently got LOR the DIY (YES!!) and was wondering what the green wires were for. Either they can be just cut off, or I am missing somthing extremly important! THANKS IN ADVANCE!Eh? I don't even see the DIY for sale yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 ok ok maybe not the DIY, but the hobbist board Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 jpcrew109 wrote: ok ok maybe not the DIY, but the hobbist boardThat makes more sense...However, I have no idea what green wires you are talking about. Can't recall any green wires sticking out of my boards when I ordered them.It's either time to post a picture, or wait for Dan to respond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Ok im a bad explainer.. I am attempting to talk about the wires that come out of the "pigtails". There is black, white and green.. heres a pic of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Those would be the grounding wires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 jpcrew109 wrote: Ok im a bad explainer.. I am attempting to talk about the wires that come out of the "pigtails". There is black, white and green.. heres a pic of themOkay ... now we're getting somewhere!Since we are talking about electricity, I'm not going to comment. Why? Well, I'm fairly sure I know what I am talking about. However, I'd like for someone else to serve up the answer. This late at night, I tend to mix things up in my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 ok but what do I do with them.. do I hook them up to the LOR board or... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 jpcrew109 wrote: ok but what do I do with them.. do I hook them up to the LOR board or...This much I know ... DON'T! You want to attach them to something else.Just what/where and how, I will leave up to others.Now, I will say, on my setup, I removed the grounding wires. My house did not burn up. Therefore, we can conclude that this was safe, or I got lucky. PLEASE DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Don't assume that my way is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 umm, if you have a metal box I would ground them to the side of the box along with the controler. If its a plastic box, I would hook them all together along with the controler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 There's a good picture in the user's guide showing them grounded to the case.Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 THANKS GUYS !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 JR V wrote: umm, if you have a metal box I would ground them to the side of the box along with the controler. If its a plastic box, I would hook them all together along with the controler.JR is pretty much right. The green wires are for ground. Connect them to the surface of a metal housing. If using a plastic housing, don't worry about it and just bundle them together for future use. Plastic can't be used for a ground. If using a metal box, make sure the ground wire from the house power is connected to the housing.OK, I just stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night so you might want to get with a certified electrician to be safe :].Seriously, if you have doubt, get an electrician. Electricity can kill!!!Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Santas Helper wrote: JR is pretty much right. The green wires are for ground. Connect them to the surface of a metal housing. If using a plastic housing, don't worry about it and just bundle them together for future use. Plastic can't be used for a ground. If using a metal box, make sure the ground wire from the house power is connected to the housing.I believe if your using 2 power suplies you only need one of them grounded thou. Hopefully someone will concure with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I believe if it is a plastic enclosure and it is being mounted to lets say a metal pole or anything else metal then it will be ok.Zac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 jpcrew109 wrote: Ok im a bad explainer.. I am attempting to talk about the wires that come out of the "pigtails". There is black, white and green.. heres a pic of themI didn't know the hobbyist controllers came with pigtails. Silly me made some up ahead of time.Also, I plan to drive a copper stake in the garden near my aluminum box's temporary Christmas location with a heavy ga. wire run inside. This is for the earth ground and where the green wire goes. However, your normal string of lights is a 2 prong and the ground isn't there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Zac_Cutt wrote: I believe if it is a plastic enclosure and it is being mounted to lets say a metal pole or anything else metal then it will be ok.ZacThen the ground wires from the box will need to be connected to the pole to get a ground. Plastic won't bond to ground.This is only if you are running 3 wire. Most christmas lights have only 2 wires. A positive and negative. Then a ground isn't needed for those strands.Again, I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express :]. Seek the assistance before a mishap occurs if your not sure.Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Roadrat wrote: I didn't know the hobbyist controllers came with pigtails. Silly me made some up ahead of time.They don't. You have to order them seperate from the controller. Continue to make up your cords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Santas Helper wrote: This is only if you are running 3 wire. Most christmas lights have only 2 wires. A positive and negative. Then a ground isn't needed for those strands.I believe the correct term should be HOT and NEUTRAL when referring to AC circuits. Positive and Negative refer to a DC circuit.I'm not sure where a mix up in terminolgy could lead, but I would not want to see an accident occur by using a DC device on AC or vice versa.======Roadrat, without knowing your electrical setup, I hesitate to even open this potential can of worms, but make sure if you drive a copper rod for earth ground that you only tie ground(s) to it.Do not tie (bond) neutral back to it as you will lift the path and change the potential of the current flow in relation to the bonded ground at the main breaker panel. This may seem a silly reply, but the question has come up several times in the old forum.-- Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Seems right so far,except I think the point of the feed (cord powering up the controllers) to the controllers may have a ground in it as well which should be attached to the ground. This is the preferred method in most states and provinces. (but talk to the city official electrical supplier)A pole or steel rod in the ground is generally acceptable if you can't get it (ground) by the power supply cord.in a metal case, scrape a little of the paint off and grounds can be connected together there. In a plastic case as well as metal. You can buy or pick up grounding bus for real cheap. Looks like a piece of metal with a bunch of screws on it.the idea of the ground is to bring all electrical equipment, chassis, and devices and non electrical devices, your house, and anything else attached that may come in contact with your electrical system (albeit the hot and neutrals to the same potential ( we are hoping for 0 volts).When I first moved into my house they had crossed some wires up, and the whole outside was hot. But only when you got between it and the ground. It was amazing that no one got hurt . If it was installed correctly there would have been a ground wire attached to it somewhere, I don't know how long it had been the way I thought it was a requirement for metal siding.when you are using GFIs (Ground fault interrupters), that ground becomes a very extremely, highly, critically, important (notice the fixation) part of the safety factor.typical Disclaimer inserted here,BOBI bet it has comes up many a time and can get very deep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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