Equipment for General Use — NASCLA Electrical Practice Questions

13 questions · 13% of the NASCLA Electrical exam

Worked questions

1. A three-phase motor has unbalanced phase currents and repeated overload trips during commissioning. What should be done before changing overload settings?

ABypass one phase
BRemove equipment grounding
Diagnose before changing overloads
DIncrease overload settings until it runs

Where to look it up

https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.305

Why C is correct

Investigate the supply, connections, load and motor condition. Preserve compliant overload protection while diagnosing the cause. Raising settings merely to suppress trips or removing grounding can leave a hazardous condition unresolved.

2. An AC unit’s supplied installation instructions require its disconnect to be visible from the unit and accessible. A proposed disconnect is around an opaque corner and cannot be seen from the unit. Which response follows those instructions?

AAccept it because distance alone establishes visibility.
Revise the location to satisfy visibility and access.
CAccept it because the corner is in the same building.
DRemove the disconnect requirement from the instructions.

Where to look it up

https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.303

Why B is correct

The text supplies the missing geometry: the corner blocks the view. The proposal fails the specified visibility condition. OSHA 1910.303(b)(2) also requires listed/labeled equipment to follow included listing instructions; this is not a claim that every disconnect has identical placement rules.

3. On a restaurant build-out during plan review, field calculations conflict with an air-conditioner's marked minimum circuit ampacity and maximum overcurrent protection; what normally governs?

Apply the marked equipment values
BUse the smallest conductor available
CMatch overcurrent protection to running current only
DIgnore the nameplate

Why A is correct

Listed HVAC markings incorporate equipment-specific conductor and protection considerations and are central to branch-circuit selection. The best answer is therefore “Use the marked values with the applicable equipment rules.” The other choices either address a different system, rely on an unsafe shortcut, or make a conclusion not supported by the stated facts.

4. An existing nongrounding receptacle is being replaced where no equipment grounding means exists. Under OSHA 1910.304(b)(2)(iv)(C), which listed approach can be permitted with the required labeling?

AAttach ground to a water faucet
BLeave a false equipment-ground indication
Use a permitted labeled GFCI replacement
DConnect ground to neutral at the receptacle

Where to look it up

https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.304

Why C is correct

The provision permits specified GFCI replacement arrangements with the required markings, including No Equipment Ground and, where applicable, GFCI Protected. GFCI protection does not create an equipment grounding conductor. A faucet connection or a neutral-to-ground jumper is not the described replacement method.

5. A motor overload setting is raised to stop nuisance trips without diagnosing current. What should happen?

ARemove grounding
Restore compliant protection and diagnose motor, supply, and load
CBypass overloads permanently
DIncrease short-circuit protection only

Why B is correct

Overloads protect windings from sustained heating. Repeated trips can reveal voltage imbalance, mechanical load, cooling, or motor defects that must be corrected before settings are changed.

6. A switchboard has an opening that exposes energized parts after a required dead-front barrier was removed. What is required before normal use?

Restore the listed guarding barrier
BMark the floor with tape only
CIncrease the feeder rating
DLeave it open for cooling

Why A is correct

Electrical equipment must guard energized parts from accidental contact during normal access. Floor markings, larger conductors, or added ventilation do not replace the listed enclosure barrier.

7. Rear-access switchboard doors open into stored material. What is required?

ALock the rear doors
BUse storage as an arc barrier
Clear the required access and working space
DIncrease bus rating

Why C is correct

Rear-access equipment needs the working clearance and egress required by its exposed parts and service method. Storage obstructs maintenance and can add combustible material.

6 more in the bank

Answers and explanations for these are in the app.

On a small hospital renovation during plan review, dry-type transformer ventilation openings are blocked by stored materials; what should be corrected?
On a warehouse conversion during plan review, a machine disconnect is difficult to identify among several adjacent disconnects; what should be provided?
On a multifamily project during plan review, a stationary battery installation is planned in a small enclosed room; what hazards require coordination?
On a retail shell project during plan review, EV charging equipment will be installed where vehicles may strike it; what must the design include?
A fixed appliance requires servicing but has no permitted disconnecting means. What must be provided?
A disconnected capacitor bank is assumed safe immediately. What is the concern?

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Equipment for General Use — NASCLA Electrical Practice Questions

Worked questions

1. A three-phase motor has unbalanced phase currents and repeated overload trips during commissioning. What should be done before changing overload settings?

2. An AC unit’s supplied installation instructions require its disconnect to be visible from the unit and accessible. A proposed disconnect is around an opaque corner and cannot be seen from the unit. Which response follows those instructions?

3. On a restaurant build-out during plan review, field calculations conflict with an air-conditioner's marked minimum circuit ampacity and maximum overcurrent protection; what normally governs?

4. An existing nongrounding receptacle is being replaced where no equipment grounding means exists. Under OSHA 1910.304(b)(2)(iv)(C), which listed approach can be permitted with the required labeling?

5. A motor overload setting is raised to stop nuisance trips without diagnosing current. What should happen?

6. A switchboard has an opening that exposes energized parts after a required dead-front barrier was removed. What is required before normal use?

7. Rear-access switchboard doors open into stored material. What is required?

6 more in the bank

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