Live, neutral, and ground wirings are domestic wiring terms. Live and neutral carry sufficient voltages and currents to kill. Today, we will discuss whether you can connect live and neutral together or not.

A short circuit happens if the live wire connects with the neutral wire. Both wires will carry huge amounts of currents when combined. It further creates excessive heat, which is impossible for the circuit to handle. As a result, the fuse blows and shuts off.

This guide will help you understand whether live and neutral can be connected or not, the results of their connection, and some precautions to take while working with electrical wirings.

What are the different basic electrical wirings?

Before you understand whether or not to connect the live and neutral, it is important to understand what these wires are.

Though there are many wires, we will discuss the circuit’s three basic types of wires – hot or live wire, a neutral wire, and ground wire.

Hot or live wire

The hot wire is the initial power feed to the circuit.

It carries the current from the main power to the other outlets of your houses. 

Since they are the first representative of the circuit, hot wires always carry current. 

It means they are more dangerous than the other two wires.

So, they should not be touched bare, especially when the power source feeds them. 

In most cases, the hot wires are black.

But now, they also come in red, blue, or yellow.

Neutral wire

When the hot wire carries the current, the hot wire will need another wire to complete the circuit.

The neutral wire does this role. 

Once the hot wire sends the current to the neutral wire, the neutral wire sends back the current to the original power source. 

The process circulates the current and makes it fully utilized.

Besides, neutral wires also prevent faulty or excessive currents from flowing through the outlets. 

Neutral wires are usually white. 

Ground wire

Now, it is time for safety.

Ground wires do not have any currents.

But, when any short circuit occurs, the current takes an alternative path, i.e., the ground wire, and flows through this wire. 

So, instead of the current flowing through your body, it gets flowed through the ground wire, thus saving you from severe electrical shocks. 

Grounding wires were introduced much later.

In the old houses, there was no grounding. 

The ground wires are green or bare copper wires. 

Let’s see what happens when live and neutral are connected.

Also read: Can Ground And Neutral Be Connected Together?

Can I connect live wire and neutral wire?

The black wire is the live or hot wire that carries the current from the main power source.

It is the positive one. 

The white wire is the neutral wire. It is the return path of the current, where the current is taken back to the original power source.

It is the negative one.

Both wire carries currents.

Since the wires carry a lot of currents, you should not connect them. 

However, you might see that the black and white wires are sometimes connected.

The whites are not always neutral. 

Some white wires can be hot wires, for example, in light or fan switches. 

It is mostly seen in cases of the wired-switch loop.

That is why they are connected. 

What happens if I connect the neutral wire with the live wire?

If the neutral and live wires connect, a huge amount of current will be carried by both wires together. 

It can further heat the circuit so much that it will become unable to handle such heat and currents.

Since there is no resistance, there will be a short circuit in the end. 

Since they are wires with different roles, they should not be connected.

Neutral wires are white.

But you will find that sometimes white wires are connected to the live wires. 

It is because all white wires are not neutral.

Some can be hot wires connected to make a wired-switch loop.

However, if the neutral and hot wires are not connected to any power sources, then connecting the two won’t do any damage. 

The short circuit will occur once the power is on and the wires get activated. 

When this happens, you will see a large spark, a fuse blow, and breaker tripping. 

Either you connect the wires actively or activate them after connecting them, the results will be the same.

There is one condition where you might not see any short circuit while connecting live and neutral. 

If you connect a live wire with a neutral wire through some applications, the current will pass from the live wire to the load and from the load to the neutral wire.

In such a condition, the load will have some resistance for which the voltage will drop.

So this will further reduce the power flow and prevent short circuits.

Can I use neutral wire as an alternative to live wire?

Some thoughts come to mind when people run out of wires.

They think of using the neutral wire as an alternative to the live wire. 

Since both the wires carry currents, they think they can use neutral instead of black. 

The steps are mostly expected from people who have half-ideas about the wire roles and want to do the job themselves.

Remove this thought from your mind, and never approach such dangerous thoughts. 

If you use neutral wire as an alternative to the hot wire, you will end up causing a fire hazard.

Do not ever mess up with electrical wirings if you are naive and do not have any concepts about their workings. 

But sometimes, a neutral wire is turned into a live wire or connected to hotwire to create a switch loop.

But, it would be best to use it after you know how it works. 

A loop is used to create one or multiple switches to operate for only one particular appliance, for example, a light or fan. 

But, since using one wire as an alternative to another can be quite dangerous, there are several other ways to create a switch loop.

Can I connect 1 neutral wire to many live wires?

As I said, you cannot connect any neutral wires to live wires or vice versa. It causes dangerous short circuits.

But, it is said that you can connect 1 neutral wire to 2 live wires if those 2 live wires have been taken from 2 different poles. 

If the voltage of these two poles is 180 degrees out of the phase, the current the neutral wire gets will be the difference between the 2 currents in the live wires. 

For example, if you connect 12 amp and 9 amp live wires with a neutral wire, the neutral wire will see 3 amp of current. 

So, in that case, the neutral and live wires will not carry excessive amounts of currents.

As a result, there are fewer chances of short circuits, and the neutral wire will safely carry the current. 

But, if the 2 live wires are taken from the same pole, the neutral wire will have to face the currents of both the live wires. 

For example, if one live wire is 12 amps and another is 9 amps, the neutral wire will have to see 21 amps. 

It is too much current for the neutral to carry and the circuit to handle.

As a result, the circuit will heat up and end up with a short circuit and probably a fire hazard. 

Essential things to consider while working with wirings:

Every person doesn’t rely on electrical workers to fix small things in the house.

If you want to do the job yourself, there are certain things that you must maintain.

Working with electrical wirings is not a cup of tea for everyone.

It is not as easy as making a cup of coffee. 

You must follow some guidelines given below to work properly without any risks:

• Do not ever touch any wirings in wet hands. It doesn’t matter whether you are in a hurry or just reckless. It would be best always to start working with dry hands. Always wear safety gloves if your hands take time to dry or you are in a hurry.
• Even if your hands are dry, wearing gloves is necessary. It can help from getting an electric shock. However, gloves can’t protect you from bigger shocks. But it will protect you to some extent. 
• Please don’t mess up any wires at the circuits if you don’t know much about their roles and functions, especially if you are naive.
• While working with the wires, don’t work alone. Take help from someone and keep the person beside you as your assistant. 
• Whenever you are working, always keep the main power switch off. Though some experts work with the switches on, you should not do it. The experts do it because they know how things work and which wires are dangerous and harmless when main switches are on.

These suggestions are helpful in all situations.

But, they are more helpful while attaching a 15 amp switch for a 20 amp circuit. 

Another suggestion I would like to give is about gloves.

Consider wearing thick nitrile gloves, not random gloves, when you work with these electrical wirings and all on your own.

Here are some suggestions:

• Disposable Nitrile Gloves – Latex Free, Powder Free Medical Exam Gloves
• Heavy Duty gloves, Infi-Touch Strong and Tough

What to do if black wires are connected to white wires?

Black wires are the live wires, and white wires are the neutral wires.

Some white wires are hot wires.

That is why seeing the black and white wires connected is common. 

First, if your white wire is the hot wire, mark it for identification.

Either mark it with a black marker or wrap it with black tape.

If the wires are connected, and you want to move a light fixture, do not move the wires. 

Combine the new fixtures with the white and black wires connected to the existing fixtures. 

If you replace a switched outlet and find the white and black wires are connected, wire out the outlet and shift to the tab with the black side and break it.

Don’t bother the tab on the white side.

The direction for working should start from the wire nut to the hot empty screw. 

If you are clueless about these things, call an expert.

Doing things wrong can cause a short circuit and fire hazard. You can even receive a short circuit.

Final thoughts

Connecting neutral wire with the live wire is a very bad idea. 

Since both carry currents, joining them together creates a huge amount of currents which becomes impossible for the circuit to handle. It has excessive heating, short circuit, sparks, and fuse blow.

But, sometimes, the wires are connected with safety precautions to create switch loops. Sometimes, one neutral is connected to two lives, provided the lives are taken from different poles. 

However, it is not recommended. It is better to stay connected with the same wires category, like live-live, neutral-neutral, and ground-ground. 

Sometimes, white and black wires remain connected in the circuit. It is because some white wires are hot, which is why they remain connected with the black hot wires. 

FAQs

Can I connect the live wire or neutral wire to the ground wire?

It is the worst idea to connect live or neutral to the ground.

Ground doesn’t have currents like the live and neutral wires.

Connecting live or neutral with the ground wire will make the ground a live wire.

As a result, the ground won’t be able to save you from electrocution and short circuits.

Can I tie-swap live and neutral wires?

You can do it, and there won’t be a problem.

The error will exist, and your life can go on for months, but it can be very dangerous.

So, it would be best not to take such risky steps.

Swapping the two will reduce electrical safety and cause severe noise and interference issues.

Besides, there is no purpose behind doing such things.

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Reference: BASICS OF HOME ELECTRICAL WIRING, Electrical wiring Wikipedia.

Learning about the different electrical wires is confusing, and working with them is risky. If you do things wrong, you create health and fire risks. For example, you shouldn’t connect ground and neutral wires. Here, we will share the reasons behind it.

In general, connecting ground and neutral together is not recommended because it will make the ground wire live. If we do so, fire accidents and electrical shock are likely as all wires are live. However, you can connect them in the main panel, street drop, and meter.

This guide will help you know the results behind joining ground wires to neutral wires, vice versa, and both together.

Understanding electrical wirings

Normal wiring is done with plastic-sheathed cables possessing 3 conductors.

Out of the three, two of them are covered with plastic insulation.

The third conductor is a bare copper wire. 

You can differentiate them by their colors, white and black. 

The black wire is the hot wire that gives a 120V AC current source. 

The white wire is the neutral wire, allowing the hot wire’s current to return, thus completing the circuit. 

The bare wire is the ground wire. It stays connected with the earth’s ground.

Hotwire or live wire

Hotwire is the main power feed attached to the circuit.

It carries the current from the main power source to the outlet.

Hotwire always carries current, which means they are very dangerous.

Neutral wire

The neutral wire is a part of the live wire.

Once the hot wire gets current, there must be another wire to complete the circuit.

The neutral wire plays the role. 

The neutral wire carries the current back to the original power source. 

This procedure circulates the current through the electrical system and gets utilized. 

Neutral wires also prevent faulty and excessive currents from flowing to your outlet.

All the appliances need hot and neutral wires to operate. 

The neutral is connected to the ground in the main panel and the final step-down transformer of the supply. 

Neutral wires in the same grounded electrical system have the same potential because all are connected through the system ground. 

Ground wire

The ground wire is a conductor that gives a low-impedance path to the ground and prevents dangerous voltages. 

This wire is not much needed, but it is used for safety. 

Normally, it does not carry any current.

But, if any short circuit occurs, the ground wire takes up the current, preventing electric shocks.

The ground wire connected to the neutral wire at the breaker box gives the current another route to flow. 

If anything goes wrong, the ground wire will handle it by carrying the current and blowing the breaker instead of giving you any shock. 

Can I connect ground to neutral or vice versa?

Connecting ground wire with neutral wire is quite risky.

When you connect the ground to the neutral, the former becomes hot or live. So, it increases the chances of electrical shocks. 

The hot wire is a dangerous live wire; touching it exposed can shock you.

These hot or live wires are mostly black.

However, live wires also come in other colors like blue, yellow, or red.

The neutral wire is white, and the ground one is green.

Sometimes, people mistake connecting neutral to the ground wire without understanding the results. 

In old houses, there were only neutral and live wires. 

The grounding was introduced much later. It saves from shock as it is an alternate path for current flow if any short circuit occurs. 

What happens if you connect ground to neutral?

As mentioned earlier, the ground wire doesn’t carry any current. 

The metal case of any appliance is connected to the ground.

If the case gets energized due to any broken or loose wire, touching the case will give you a shock. 

The ground wire prevents this shock.

The electricity changes the route and flows through the ground wire instead of going into your body. 

But, since neutral wire carries current, connecting the ground wire to the neutral can make the ground wire live. 

Instead of drawing the current away from the metal case, the ground wire will energize the case, and touching the case will complete the circuit, just like with the neutral wire. 

If this happens, you or anyone touching the appliance will get an electrical shock. 

Technically, you can connect the neutral wire to the ground in certain situations. 

But, implementing such a thing is risky, especially in domestic settings, because most have single-phase currents. 

However, the practice won’t cause any issues during industrial applications. They use three-phase currents. 

Combined neutral and ground conductors are also used in electric supply companies, huge buildings for fixed wirings, and special applications with few alternatives like railways or trams.

Why is neutral wire connected to the ground?

In some circumstances, people connect the neutral wire to the ground due to some reasons:

It is done to change a 2-prong outlet into a 3-prong outlet.

A jumper wire connects the neutral wire to the ground one.

Generally, 3-prongs are a showoff. 

Some people use them to fool the inspectors.

The process is called Bootlegged Ground.

People having old houses can use this technique and trick the electric checkers.

It helps in passing the inspection. 

Even if you use it to trick the inspectors, practicing such risky things is not recommended, especially in household settings. 

Despite having such risks, the practice is common in the service panels, where the wires are connected with a grounding electrode. 

For such things, first, understand the difference between the main and sub-panels. 

The main panel is directly connected to the buildings or houses at the entrance. 

On the contrary, the subpanels give a proper methodology to install the outlets and organize the electrical system into something effortless.

All the subpanels are fed off the main panel. 

The neutral and ground wires are never connected in the sub panels. 

Neutral wires provide only a single return path for the current. 

The main panel is easier to handle as they have the main breaker, especially the larger one where you can switch the power off.

That is why people can connect ground and neutral wires to the main panel.

Subpanels are downstream from the main panels and are powered with wires connected to the main panel.

Can we use the neutral wire as the ground wire?

The wires that carry currents are live and neutral wires.

The ground wires are not supposed to carry any current.

They are used for safety purposes to avoid short circuits and other accidents. 

Using neutral wire as a ground wire will result in an electrocution threat.

If anything happens to the neutral wire, like loosening or disconnection, the ground wire gets activated as the neutral.

It will lead to energizing every other thing you plug in.

For example, suppose you connect a television or a computer with an outlet whose neutral is not working, or the ground wire got activated as a neutral wire.  

In that case, you will be energizing the desktop or TV.

As a result, whenever you touch the appliances, you will get a shock. 

Using a neutral wire as a ground wire is more dangerous than the other things explained above. 

If you connect the neutral or hot wire in the wrong terminals, using the neutral wire as the ground will connect the hot wire to the outlet.

You will receive an even more dangerous shock. 

Can I tie the ground and neutral wire together?

Tying the ground and neutral wire together is more dangerous than connecting one with another. 

It will have the same result as in the connecting stages, and the risks are even greater. 

But, to balance the ground’s absence, you should install a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) instead of using any jumper wire or bootleg ground process. 

The NEC (National Electric Code) has approved this method.

If your house doesn’t have ground wiring, install a GFCI. But, don’t connect any grounding terminal screws.

Warn people by placing a GFCI placard so that people stay safe.

You can also install grounding wires for more safety.

How to wire neutral and ground together?

Though the method is not recommended, a lot of people do it.

And for that, all they need is a jumper wire to connect the neutral and ground. 

It is done in the 2-prong appliances for grounding.

But, as I have mentioned multiple times, it can be dangerous. 

If you have a GFCI setting in your circuit, trying the Bootleg Ground here will prevent the setting from activating. 

It won’t let the GFCI setting protect your home or the appliances from ground faults. 

Though you can join the wires, it is better not to connect them, keeping the risks in mind. 

If you must join them, do them in the main panel and not in the subpanels.

Final thoughts

I don’t recommend connecting the neutral and ground wires. 

The ground wire’s purpose is to protect us from shocks. If it is joined with the neutral wire that holds a current, the ground turns live, and it won’t save us from any short circuits anymore.

However, ground and neutral are still connected to trick the inspectors through a process called Bootleg Ground. And to convert a 2-prong into a 3-prong outlet.  

Electrical companies and big industries connect the two wires because they have a three-phase circuit. In domestic settings, single-phase circuits are used, which is why connecting the two is dangerous. 

Install a GFCI instead of connecting these two wires. You may join them in the main panel, which has main breakers. Avoid joining the wires in the subpanels. 

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Reference: BASICS OF HOME ELECTRICAL WIRING, Ground and neutral wire Wikipedia.