Thats probably because the other end was internally connected to active and the earth was acting like a neutral.Quote:
the EM was working when I had the earth lead connected to the little pin.
It's too difficult to go into why this is not advisable here.
Your meter looks like it won't cope with more that 12V.
It's beyond me why anyone would even think of tackling ANYTHING involving Mains V - even replacing a plug or socket - without a working 250V meter.
Its quite possible the motor wiring has the colours the other way around - it sounds like this is best referred to a sparky.