In 1996, the rules about how clothes dryers connect to electric panels changed in many places. Their standard plugs, which used to connect to a three prong outlet as shown in Figure 1, were updated to a four prong version. The earlier models of dryers used to wire the neutral and the ground together, which at the time was accepted by the NEC (National Electric Code) standards. This, however, left the risk of the current flowing to the ground wire and the consequent possibility to energize the dryer’s metal frame, creating the potential of electrical shock.
