How to Wire a UK Plug

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This wikiHow will teach you how to put together or fix a UK three-pin plug.

Steps

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  1. Take off roughly 3 centimeter (1.2 in) of white covering, leaving you with three thinner cables. [1]
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  4. Leaving the plug on a desk/table/floor, take the stripped end of the thick white wire and separate the three wires inside it from each other, so each one is relatively maneuverable.
  5. Strip roughly 0.5 to 1 centimeter (0.2 to 0.4 in) off of the end of the blue, brown and striped wires, so that the copper insides are clearly visible.
  7. Put all three wires through the cable grip, along with the thick white cable, until the cable grip can be securely tightened onto the thick white cable. The cable grip may have to be loosened with a Philips screwdriver in order to fit the cable underneath it. [2]
  9. The Blue (Neutral) wire (bl = bottom left) goes into the hole in the bottom left (when the three pins of the front of the plug are facing away from you). [3]
  10. The Brown (Live) wire (br = bottom right) goes into the hole on the right, connected to the fuse (which should be clipped in). [4]
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    How would I wire a brown and blue cable?
    Community Answer
    Blue to the left and brown to the right, as shownabove. It's a standard cable for a device which doesn't need an earth wire.
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  • Question
    If the wires are black and red, which is Live and which is Neutral?
    Community Answer
    Red will be Live and Black will be Neutral.
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  • Question
    The cable for my hob has four wires: green/yellow, blue, black and brown, whilst the plug only takes three. Can I use either the brown or black?
    Community Answer
    No! Usually a brown wire is live and black or blue wires are neutral, so they are NOT interchangeable. I haven't seen such a connection in my hobs, so I would recommend that you contact the supplier, manufacturer, or a professional electrician.
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      Tips

      • You will have to take out the fuse to put the wires in place inside the plug. Make sure you put it back in afterwards or the plug won't work as there will not be a complete circuit without the fuse.
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      Warnings

      • This can go quite wrong if wired incorrectly, and death/serious injury can occur.
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      • If unsure, it may be a good idea to have an electrician check things over/do the whole job himself, as getting this wrong can be very dangerous .
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      Things You'll Need

      • Wire strippers
      • A thin Flathead screwdriver
      • A small Philips screwdriver
      • Good hands

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      Expert Interview

      Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about electrical wiring, check out our in-depth interview with Ricardo Mitchell .

      References

      1. ↑ https://www.pat-testing-training.net/articles/wiring-plugs.php
      2. ↑ https://www.pat-testing-training.net/articles/wiring-plugs.php
      3. ↑ https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zw8n2nb/revision/2
      4. ↑ https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zw8n2nb/revision/2

      About This Article

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      Reader Success Stories

      • Malcolm

        Aug 15, 2022

        "Used a 3a fuse instead of a 13a had to rewire new plug, this was very helpful."
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