In article , "Hustlin' Hank" wrote:


I always thought the white wire was the neutral and should be
connected to the neutral buss. The ground wire (green or bare) can go
to any metal on the object that is being wired or to a ground rod or
the neutral buss too.

Am I wrong here? If so, how?

Yes, you are.

1) White wire is neutral and *must* (not "should") be connected to the neutral
buss _in a 120V circuit_. The OP is talking about a 240V circuit. In North
America, 240V circuits have two hots but do not have a neutral. When a 240V
circuit is wired with 2-conductor cable (plus ground) the white wire is marked
black or red at each end and connected to one pole of a double-pole breaker,
while the black wire is connected to the other pole. When a 240V circuit is
wired using 3-conductor cable (plus ground), the white wire is not connected.

2) The ground wire must be connected to the chassis or case of the object
being wired, not "any metal".

3) In a main panel, the ground wire is permitted to be connected to the
neutral buss, since the neutral and ground busses are required to be bonded
together. In a subpanel, the neutral and ground busses are required to be
electrically isolated, and the ground wire *must* be connected to the ground
buss, never to the neutral buss.