IEC 15 to IEC 15 PC?

Hey Mark — as you know, cable companies don’t offer this off the shelf, but in my experience most any of them that hand build their cables will make a custom build for you. The two brands I deal for, DH Labs and Synergistic Research, certainly will. 

The one watch out I would caution is that you will need to absolutely make sure it is wired right. 15A cables typically have their hot and neutral conductors twisted/flipped at one end of the connectors, or else they will be out of phase. If you already have a stock cable of sorts, you can use a multimeter to check for the continuity of each hole in the cable and diagram it for whatever company you want to build it.

Thanks Juan - good point. I’ll connect with you privately on getting some cables.

Best,

blisshifi

... you will need to absolutely make sure it is wired right. 15A cables typically have their hot and neutral conductors twisted/flipped at one end of the connectors, or else they will be out of phase.

Could you please clarify that? Any power cord should connect the hot on the input to the hot on the output. Similarly, the negative connector on the input should show continuity to the negative connector at the other end.

I assume the power cord you need has a 15 amp male prong IEC connector on one end (plugs into supply power unit) and and a 15 amp female IEC connector that connects to a piece of audio equipment.

Would this adapter work for use of a regular 15 amp male plug to female IEC connector power cord?

PC Burn-in adapter

https://www.vhaudio.com/images/pcburn-in.jpg 

VH Audio

/ / /

High Dollar adapter. (Hear a difference?)

https://voodoocable.net/product/iec-to-nema-break-in-adapter/ 

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cleeds

6,298 posts

08-22-2025 at 08:27am 

blisshifi

... you will need to absolutely make sure it is wired right. 15A cables typically have their hot and neutral conductors twisted/flipped at one end of the connectors, or else they will be out of phase.

@cleeds response:

Could you please clarify that? Any power cord should connect the hot on the input to the hot on the output. Similarly, the negative connector on the input should show continuity to the negative connector at the other end.

True. But I have read many posts where the AC polarity on a DIY power cord was reversed at the IEC connector. 

Observe the markings on the IEC connector. Therein,  L (Hot), N (Neutral) G (safety Equipment Ground).

When checking for the correct AC Polarity on a power cord, hold both the NEMA male plug and Female IEC connector facing you. Ground up or ground down. Both must the same direction.

Check for continuity. With ground up on both connectors, N (Neutral) is on the left. L (Hot) is on the right.  Check G (Ground) to G (Ground) for continuity.

I think where A DIY builder sometimes makes a mistake is thinking, looking at male plug to wall receptacle with the ground up or down he sees the AC polarity correctly.

Example.

Ground down, L (Hot) on the right. N (Neutral) on the left.

Ground up. Hot on the left. Neutral on the right.

Then the mistake. With the male plug facing away from the person and the female IEC connector facing the person, The builder of the PC thinks the connections of the Hot and neutral run straight through. They do not.

Example.

Looking at the wall receptacle, the male plug will plug into, with the equipment ground up, the Hot contact is on the left side of the receptacle. Neutral contact is on the right side. 

Looking, (facing), at the female IEC connector with the equipment ground up. The connector’s correct wiring connection, the Hot is on the right side of the connector, and the neutral is on the left side of the connector. Therein matching the markings on the connector Hot conductor to L (Line). Neutral conductor to N (Neutral).

So yes, the Hot and neutral conductors are twisted on one end with respect to the other end. AC wiring polarity is correct for each connector.

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@jea48 

Thanks for the link. I’m trying to remove adapters I have. Looks like Juan at Bliss might be able to make me exactly what i need. And, there’s a small chance I’ll send in my unit to be converted - negating my need for the custom cords.

There was another thread where in the course of discussion I mentioned how I’ve managed to complicate things for myself. This is but one example. 🙄.  Someday I’ll learn the lesson.