What is the difference between ground and neutral from the perspective of the wall outlet working backward to the power company? (2025 Update)

Both should be at close to the same potential. Only the neutral should be carrying any current during normal operation. The ground is there to shunt a fault, ie a hot wire comes in contact with a metal case and to keep all the metal at close to earth potential.

If it's hot only when water is flowing, then it must be because for water to flow, the WM is powered on and activating the solenoid valves, not because of the water. Something is seriously screwed.

You should point her to an electrician or someone who's qualified.

Only if there is a metal pipe.

No, it doesn't have to be wired serially, in that order.

I'd say close to zero, the neutral carries current, with substantial current you could see some voltage difference, but not a dangerous level.

The rest is correct.

Anything, including grounds are typically connected somewhere in between.

Yes, and it's connected to the transformer center-tap too, which is the most important part.

A pretty accurate assessment

The neutral (GroundED) conductor will see voltage drop imposed on it that actually results in a higher voltage at the utilization site. The bonding (the proposed term for the groundING) conductor is tied directly to the earth via the grounding electrode system and in normal operation should see no voltage drop so the case of your equipment should be zero volts as compared to the concrete floor.

The one flaw in your description is theoretically the earth has no affect on current flow. In reality that is not true, particularly with wye distribution of the medium voltage at the transformer but your local ground should still remain zero in reference to the grounding conductor. The path for neutral current should be the grounded conductor going back to the transformer.

In your friend's case I would first insure that there is no load side panel (sub panel) involved and if so that the grounded and grounding conductors are isolated in that panel and that the bonding jumper was not installed. Also try unplugging the dryer, particularly if it is a

So you've got a washing machine cabinet that she will almost certainly touch that is hot with 110VAC, and you've got water too, maybe dribbling a little where the hoses connect to the washing machine, or the water pipes, and maybe even a little bit on the floor. Plus if she retrieves something from the tub**, she'll have wet, soapy hands. Soapy water is even worse than plain water. Dangerous.

Water and electricity is is a very bad combination.

It sounds like there is a short in the water valve. The washing machines I know use a double valve, that is, the hot and cold water valves are one piece. So you don't have to decide which half it is.

Measure the voltage at an unpainted part of the case, when the machine is on and the water (hot AND cold) is filling it, disconnect the four wires to the water valve, turn the machine on again, measure the voltage again. If it's much less, replace the valve, and measure again.

Until she gets it fixed, have her go to the laundromat.

She doesn't need to know this right now. She needs now to get the machine fixed.

ONe valve on Amazon for many modesl of 285805 Clothes Washer Water Inlet Valve with Mounting Bracket for Whirlpool Kenmore Maytag GE Frigidaire Electrolux brands is only $13. Hers will probably be more but even if it's $60 it's progbably well worht it.

She doesn't need to know it, but someone qualified needs to figure out what's wrong, because it's a lot more than just the washing machine. That washing machine fault, assuming there is one, could have the metal cases of anything else on that circuit, maybe even in the whole house, energized. As could another fault, someplace else. The washing machine you can just unplug until it's fixed. The wiring problem, no one knows the extent of it at this point.

This doesn't look quite right to me. Electricity tries to return to its source through all available routes, not to ground. You can have a lamp and a tv running on the same circuit, for example. Two lamps with incandescent bulbs of different wattage will work on the same circuit. Ground rods are for lightning protection. They won't do any real good if there is a short to ground somewhere in the system.

There's an illustration here:

This one is a bit better:

What's not right is that if the panel, the circuit to the house and the washing machine are correctly wired, the metal case of the washing machine can't be hot. A fault inside the washing machine, eg the hot coming into contact with the case, would cause a short that would trip the breaker. You could not have the case of the washing machine be hot. The path of the current would be from the hot at the panel, through the fault in the washing machine, back through the ground conductor, tripping the breaker. Clearly that ground path from the case back to the panel does not exist. This all would work even if the neutral was not earthed back at the panel, which is a side issue. One prime purpose of that, like you say, is to provide a path for lightning, but it also provides a common reference point for the whole system, so that faults to earth don't behave unpredictably.

What they are showing there, the guy getting shocked, is similar to what the washing machine lady has. It shows a guy touching the metal parts of an outdoor sign that does not have it's metal connected to the grounding conductor and a fault occurring, where the 120V hot touches the metal. Instead of having the metal bonded and connected to the grounding conductor, that sign instead used an illegal ground round and a really bad one at that. Like the washing machine, if the eqpt was properly connected to the required grounding conductor, the fault would have tripped the breaker if it was a direct short. And if it was a smaller short that did not trip the breaker, the case would still not be at a significant difference in potential from the metal appliance case next to it, a water pipe, etc. If that washing machine circuit was GFCI, it would have tripped on even a 5 ma current. This example shows why having them is a good idea.

Correct that first sentence to read what I meant to say:

What's not right is that if the panel, to the washing machine and the washing machine are correctly wired, the metal case of the washing machine can't be hot.

If there is a problem with the grounding electrode system "ground" on the case of the machine can be above the potential of the concrete floor

What kind of water hoses does she have.

If they are rubber only, no metal cladding, and if you are accurate that the it's hot when the water is coming into the tub and not hot when the water is no longer coming in, the problem, as unlikely as it seems, is in the electric water valve inside the washing machine (just on the other side of where the hoses connect). That's why disconnecting the 4 wires from the solenoids and then testing again, in my previous post, is an important step.

If they are metal-clad, I can see how at the water pipes a metal pipe could make electric contact with the metal end of the hose, and if at t he washing machine end the fitting is metal, that would be enough to charge the washing machine case, but if the charge is coming from the water pipes, I find it very unlikely that whether the water is running or not would make a difference.

People often misreport symptoms and test results. She needs to do the testing again.

when I tried

Again, there is a lot more wrong here than a fault in the washing machine water solenoid circuit, otherwise such a fault would never result in the metal case being hot. She should get someone qualified to figure out what's wrong, for obvious reasons.

One simple thing she could do is to buy one of the testers that you plug into a receptacle and it has LEDs that show if hot, neutral and ground are there on the correct pins. That would determine if it's a washer with multiple problems or a washer and circuit problem. They are available at HD, online, hardware store, maybe Walmart.

Your analysis is correct. There are simple plug-in testers that will tell you if the ground is connected and if the "polarity" of the outlet is correct or backwards. They are widely available for under 10 bucks. From the description of the problem MY first step would be investigating the ground. I SUSPECT the "ground" is floating or "live" and you will measure a significant voltage between neutral and ground

- and less than line voltage between the line (black) and ground.

Combined with this there is SOMETHING in the house "injecting" power into the ground. This COULD be the washing machine but not likely or you would get a shock off of it when water not connected and flowing.

With the washer disconnected test between the water pipe and neutral with the VOM. Bet you get a reading. Then shut off ALL breakers, (voltage SHOULD go away) and turn them back on untill you get the voltage back. Something on that circuit is defective.

I hope you hire an electrician when you have electrical problems, as you do NOT understand electricity

ANd the water pipe can be at 115 volts in relation to the neutral - and the floor. There is SOMETHING wrong with the ground system.

Try the math here yourself.

DUH!! That's why code REQUIRES a contiguous safety ground, bonded to the neutral at the service panel.

Which is why physical "safety grounds" are required.