h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So what are the consequences of fitting the live wire to the neutral terminal? Will the appliance still work?

I have been arguing with my boyfriend about the British electrical wiring system, as we live in Holland where the 2 pin plug is used, and you can plug the applicance in any way round you like with no consequences.

What will happen if you wire the plug wrongly?

If you swap the live and neutral wires, the appliance will still work but it's not as safe because the on/off switch on the appliance will be connected to the live wire, so in this case the actual live connection wouldn't be isolated from the appliance when the switch was off. So, for example, if you were changing the bulb in a lamp, one of the contacts would still be live and you could get a shock.

Since you use 2 pin plugs in Holland, the voltage is probably lower than the 230 Volts in the UK so there is a much smaller risk of being killed. Also there are some switches that isolate BOTH wires when switched off, which would solve the problem.