Hot and Ground Reversed is Not True

If you get this reading on an outlet tester, don't believe it. That reading is the one that will often show up when the actual condition is the more common o...

This is an example of a 3-prong outlet tester. You have to have three holes in your outlet to plug it into. And then what it tells you down here at these three lights is information about the condition of the receptacle, that the neon tester could tell you itself by testing between two holes at a time. In the case of this outlet tester, you end up getting several combinations possible, of lights, that are listed on the tester. A particular reading that is confusing to people is this one here, called "Hot and ground reversed." That is a condition that would rarely ever happen, but those same lights show up when the actual condition is this one here, called "Open neutral." I won't explain about that, but if you see "Hot and ground reverse," do not panic; it is a condition, really, that is "Open neutral." The readings on this tester -- Open ground, Open neutral, Open hot -- the "open" refers to that particular wire not getting through, not being well connected. The outlet tester is a very useful tool, and you'll get acquainted with it. This particular one has an additional button that is capable of tripping ground-fault interrupters.