I have a Hotpoint dryer with a 3 prong wire and need to change it to a 4 prong wire. The 3 prong wire has the color red,white and black but the 4 prong wire has red,white,black,and green. What 2 colors goes together when I connect this because it only has 3 slots to connect the wire in. Please help me out. Thank you.

Hi jdebesch
Go to the following webpage and the pictures will show you how to convert you or 3 wire to a 4 wire connection.
I believe this is what your looking for
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Bud
http://www.selfhelpandmore.com/switch-outlet/dryer-circuit-wiring-and-hookup.php

Unplug the dryer then remove the terminal block cover and disconnect the 3-prong cord from the dryer. Note that the cord has red , black, and white wires but sometimes the red and black wires are both replaced by same color wire, usually gray and can switch places. There's also a ground strap wire also connected to the center terminal together with the white (neutral) wire.

Get yourself a 4-prong cord and note that it has red, black, white, and green/yellow wires but sometimes, like the 3-pronged one, the red and black wires are both replaced by same color wire, usually gray and can also switch places. All you have to do now is connect the 3 wires in the same manner they are connected as 3-prong cord to the terminal block. The ground strap wire now just need to be connected to the remaining 4th wire, the green/yellow wire instead of the center terminal together with the white (neutral) wire. Reinstall the terminal block cover and it's done.

It can be observed that converting a 3-prong cord to 4-prong cord is merely splitting the neutral line and the ground thereby increasing the number of prongs from 3 to 4 whereas, on the other hand, converting a 4-prong cord to 3-prong cord is merely joining the neutral line (white) and the ground (green/yellow) thereby reducing the number of prongs from 4 to 3.. The links below might enlighten you further on this matter.

Four-prong to Three-prong Electric Dryer Conversion
Three-prong to Four-prong Electric Dryer Conversion

It's either you convert the 3-prong outlet to 4-prong or the 4-prong cord to 3-prong. But the latter is easier and more feasible. Unplug the dryer then disconnect the 4-prong cord from the dryer. Note that it has red, black, white, and green/yellow wires but sometimes the red and black wires are both replaced by same color wire, usually gray. The red and black wires are lines L1 and L2 reversibly, meaning they can switch places, while the white and green/yellow wires are the neutral line and ground, respectively.

Get yourself a 3-prong cord and note that it has red , black, and white wires but sometimes, like the 4-pronged one, the red and black wires are both replaced by same color wire, usually gray and can also switch places. All you have to do now is connect these 3 wires in the same manner they are connected as 4-prong cord to the terminal block. The wire strapped to the dryer cabinet and connected to the green/yellow wire of the 4-prong cord wire is now left hanging. The last step is to connect this hanging strap wire to the same terminal on the terminal block (center) where the white wire (neutral) is connected and it's done.

It can be observed that converting a 4-prong cord to 3-prong cord is merely joining the neutral line (white) and the ground (green/yellow) thereby reducing the number of prongs from 4 to 3. On the other hand, converting a 3-prong cord to 4-prong cord is merely splitting the neutral line and the ground thereby increasing the number of prongs from 3 to 4. The link below might enlighten you further on this matter.

Electric Dryer Prong Conversion

You have to replace the dryer's 3-prong cord to 4-prong. Get yourself a 4-prong cord then on the terminal block at the rear of the dryer, connect the wires of the 4-prong cord to where the same wire colors (red, black, and white) of the 3-prong cord connects to. The only modification needs to be done is on the green/yellow stripe wire that connects from the white wire terminal to the dryer's cabinet. Remove this wire (green/yellow stripe) from the white wire terminal then connect it to the same wire color (green/yellow stripe) of the 4-prong cord and you are done. The new wire configuration would then be red, black, and white on the terminal block and green/yellow stripe wire on the cabinet.

Check this out:


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The 4-prong plug has red, black, white, and green/yellow wires while the 3-prong plug has red, black, and white wires. The only difference is the green/yellow (ground) wire of the 4-prong plug which is attached to the dryer cabinet. All you have to do is connect the wires of the 3-prong plug in the same way the same wire colors are connected with the 4-prong plug then connect the terminal on the cabinet, where the green/yellow (ground) wire of the 4-prong plug is formerly connected, to the white wire of the 3-prong plug.

Yes, you can put a 3-prong plug in place of the 4-prong plug.

The 4-prong plug has red, black, white, and green/yellow wires while the 3-prong plug has red, black, and white wires. The only difference is the green/yellow (ground) wire of the 4-prong plug which is attached to the dryer cabinet. All you have to do is connect the wires of the 3-prong plug in the same way the same wire colors are connected with the 4-prong plug then connect the terminal on the cabinet, where the green/yellow (ground) wire of the 4-prong plug is formerly connected, to the white wire of the 3-prong plug.

Always disconnect electricity before beginning this process.

All the 4 wire cords I have seen are color-coded. The white wire goes to the middle terminal, the green wire goes to any screw you can reach that goes into the metal case of the dyer. The red and black go to the outside terminals of the block and while it doesn't matter which color goes to which terminal I usually follow the color code of the interior dryer wiring that already exists. Good Luck.

the red wire to red black wire to black white wire to white and disconect the ground wire to the white lug and conect the green wire to the screw that is on the other end of the ground strap you disconected from the white lug

BLACK and RED are 110-120VAC each. WHITE is NEUTRAL - does not carry power. GREEN is GROUND. The Black, Red, and White Wires should connect to the terminal block & should correspond the colored wires already connected to the block from the machine. The Green wire should be grounded to the equipment chassis. I hope this answers your question.