Iam changing the cord on my dryer from 3 prong plug to 4 prong. There are 4 wires, I have hooked up the red and black on the sides of the white. (white in middle) There is a green cord left. Do I unhook the green and yellow existing cord ( it says external ground connector on the outside of the dryer)on the dryer and put the green cords prong there and screw in or leave the grren wire to hang.

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

Hi,
Here is a tip that will help you with changing your dryer plug. Dryer Cord and Wiring Dryer 3 Wire or 4 Wire



heatman101

get a 3 prong cord,when you change it out do one wire at a time and you can't go wrong,you should see a white wire in the middle,a red wire on one side and a black on the other,the only difference is the 4 prong has a ground wire on it and the 3 doesn't and the way it plugs into the outlet.just follow the color of the wires

Your new 3 prong power cord needs to be wired up just like the 4 prong you just dont have the seperate ground . in the use of a three wire cord ground runs thru neutral .Hook black to black on the terminal block on unit. hook red to red on the other side of block and white to white or green in the middle reinstall the cover ....Plug in and your ready to dry

Your four prong cord has 4 wires. Black,Red,Green and White.
Remove the 3 prong cord from the dryer.
The Black and Red wires go to the outside terminals on the dryer. The White wire goes top the center terminal. The Green wire goes outside the terminal cover to any nearby screw for grounding.

Hi Jay
Middle terminal is White and goes to the "L" shaped prong
Red and Black go to the Flat prongs (Doesn't matter which)
Round prong to cabinet Ground.
There may be a strap from the White lug to the cabinet. This must be removed for the 4 prong plug arrangment.
Eric

black and red wire, will hook to either end of terminal posts, as long as the white wire connects to the center post. the green wirewill then atach to the cabinet of the unit,( usually a green ground screw just outside the termoal box anyhow!

The white wire goes in the middle between the 2 hot wires.

If you need further help, reach me via phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/dan_73bbd84fe1d95b61

This is common issue. Due to some building codes the 3-prong configuration is no longer used in homes. The wiring is similar with one exception. The 4-wire plug uses an additional (WHITE) NEUTRAL wire.

Here's a brief explanation of how the plugs are configured:

Dryer 3 prong wire configuration:

RED - 120 VAC
GREEN - GROUND
BLACK - 120 VAC

Dryer 4 prong wire configuration:

RED - 120 VAC
GREEN - GROUND
BLACK - 120 VAC
WHITE - NEUTRAL

BOTH plugs provide the SAME source voltages to your appliance:

220 VAC - provided across the RED and BLACK leads are what drives your heating circuitry.
120 VAC - usually tapped of the BLACK wire is used to run the drive motor and timer on MOST dryers.

The wire terminal block in the back of the dryer should have a black, white, and red wire running to it from the dryer wiring harness. With the 4 prong plug, simply attach the BLACK, WHITE and RED wires at the terminal block ensuring that you match the RED and BLACK wires as they are configured and attach the WHITE wire at the remaining terminal lug. Make sure you screw them all down securely. Attach the remaining GREEN wire to chassis (dryer frame) ground. I hope this helps you.