How to change your dryer from 3 wire to a 4 wire power cord. (short and simple)

Dryers come with a wire or metal strap connecting the center "neutral" terminal to the frame of the dryer. When using a four wire power cord, take that wire or strap off the frame. (it can be discarded or better yet, in case this dryer needs to ever be converted back to a three wire cord) connect the frame end of the wire / strap to the center terminal of the power block. Now, Green (ground) wire goes to the dryer frame, White (neutral) goes to the center terminal, and the Red and Black (both "hot") wires go to either outside terminal. (one to each)

On a three wire configuration, the ground and the negative are tied together at the center position, using the dryer ground strap. Following is a description of the difference between three and four wire. Hope it helps you.
These two pictures illustrate the power wiring on a the terminal of an electric dryer. The one on top/left is the old-style three-wire configuration. Most people have this type in their homes. New code changes, though, require that dryers now have a four-wire cord, shown on the bottom/right.
Besides the number of wires in each cord, there are two important things to notice. First, in the four-wire configuration, notice that the dryer's grounding strap is folded back on itself. The whole point of the four-wire cord is to separate the ground from the neutral. The green wire (the "new" extra wire in the four-wire cord) is attached to the dryer cabinet. In the three-wire configuration, the grounding strap is left intact and the neutral and ground are tied together.


Sure hope this helps you find a resolution to your delimma! Best wishes.

Dryers come with a wire or metal strap connecting the center "neutral" terminal to the frame of the dryer. When using a four wire power cord, take that wire or strap off the frame. (it can be discarded or better yet, in case this dryer needs to ever be converted back to a three wire cord) connect the frame end of the wire / strap to the center terminal of the power block. Now, Green (ground) wire goes to the dryer frame, White (neutral) goes to the center terminal, and the Red and Black (both "hot") wires go to either outside terminal. (one to each)

Dryers come with a wire or metal strap connecting the center "neutral" terminal to the frame of the dryer. When using a four wire power cord, take that wire or strap off the frame. (it can be discarded or better yet, in case this dryer needs to ever be converted back to a three wire cord) connect the frame end of the wire / strap to the center terminal of the power block. Now, Green (ground) wire goes to the dryer frame, White (neutral) goes to the center terminal, and the Red and Black (both "hot") wires go to either outside terminal. (one to each)

If you have an old 3 wire set up, the middle wire is the neutral, the outside terminals are the two hot, which can be reversed.
If you have the four wire cord, the black and red wires are the hot wires (go to either of the outside terminals, one to each, of course) the white is the neutral, which goes to the center terminal, and the green is the ground which attaches to the dryer frame. On a four wire set up, the wire or metal strap which normally connects the center terminal on the dryer to the dryer frame should be removed.