All Questions
1,077 questions
2
votes
1
answer
630
views
How do I properly ground a light fixture?
I installed a light fixture in my bathroom and need help grounding it properly. The previous fixture wasn't grounded. When I removed the fixture, there were two wires, one black and one white, from ...
- 21
5
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Can two ground rods be bonded via a PVC conduit above ground?
According to my understanding, if a supplementary ground rod is installed, it must be bonded to the existing rod via a buried 6 AWG cable (NFPA 70).
However, because virtually every side of my house ...
- 271
1
vote
2
answers
6k
views
Is it okay to drill a ground rod through pavement?
All the sides of my house are paved, and I need to drive a new ground rod for an antenna.
Would it be against code (NEC) to drill a hole in the concrete to pound in a ground rod?
Bonus question: How ...
- 271
1
vote
4
answers
48k
views
How far does a ground rod need to be from the foundation?
I need to ground an antenna strapped to my chimney, which requires hammering in a new ground rod.
However, the entire side of my house is paved, meaning I can't dig it up to find the foundation ...
- 271
1
vote
2
answers
88k
views
Is ceiling fan missing grounding wire from the ceiling box, and is this safe?
I recently had a contractor/handyman install a Hunter ceiling fan for me. It worked great, but my wife came home and thought it was too big. I ordered a different Hunter fan, and figured I could ...
- 11
1
vote
2
answers
63k
views
Is my circuit breaker box grounded? If not, can it be?
I recently bought a house that was built in 1960. During the inspection, I was told that the majority of outlets weren't grounded. However, it appears a few are such as in the bathroom. How do I ...
2
votes
3
answers
52k
views
Does an extension cord from 2 to 3 prongs have any benefits?
If you're plugging a device with a 2-prong plug into an extension cord that has 3 prongs on the other end, does that give it the grounding benefit of the third prong?
- 135
3
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Do I need to ground Ethernet cable run beneath a pier & beam house?
I'm fairly amateur when it comes to home networking, though I get the basic concepts.
I bought a 1000' spool of this Cat6 Ethernet cable, simply because it was the only outdoor-rated cable sold by ...
- 223
1
vote
2
answers
988
views
Where do I attach the earth conductor on a plastic fixture?
I'm replacing some outdoor lights. The old ones were metal, and the earth wire was connected to a screw on the base. The new fixtures are plastic, and there's no earthing screw. Where should I connect ...
- 11
1
vote
1
answer
737
views
A ground rod where a drain needs to go
My house sits on a hill, and the gutters don't properly drain. As a result, I'm digging a new drain along the side of the house to re-route the water.
However, while digging the drain, I came upon a ...
- 181
2
votes
5
answers
8k
views
How to solve a miswiring of neutral and ground
An Outlet in the dining room which had a microwave plugged into it stopped working. I found 120+ volts from hot to ground and 96+ from hot to neutral. Also at one point my "three light tester" showed ...
- 21
2
votes
5
answers
112k
views
3 wire service to panel... neutral and ground wires on the same bar? [duplicate]
I'm getting two conflicting reports and was wondering if anyone can help me. I was told that on the distribution panel, grounded conductors (neutral) and ground wires need to be separated in the ...
4
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Can armored bx cable come into contact with other metal objects?
I am running armored 12/2 bx to wire 4 high hats, the armored cable is grounded. There is a heating duct which I must go over, but the AC will come in contact with it... Is this ok or do I need to ...
3
votes
2
answers
10k
views
Japanese Appliance has a Green/Yellow Ground Wire coming out of it, What should I do?
So I recently purchased a Japanese Toiletseat thing (I can't read japanese but I've just been translating little by little), and it has a ground wire (a green/yellow wire) Coming out of the back, ...
- 440
0
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Does HVAC lineset need to be grounded?
My HVAC contractor says the installation of the line set between the air handler and the condenser outside is complete but he has not grounded the lines.
Do HVAC copper pipes need to be grounded?
- 7,584
0
votes
0
answers
63
views
Ligth Switch with 4 wires
I removed an old light-switch and the following appeared:
I went to Brico, showed them the old switch, and got the one below.
I am wondering a bit how to connect it.
I am a bit worried that I only ...
- 101
6
votes
4
answers
14k
views
Could bad grounding cause sparks and fire when connecting the cable box and TV?
I just moved into a home built in 1955. During inspection, it was noted that none of the outlets were grounded even though they had three prong outlets installed.
Per our agreement, the owner ...
- 185
0
votes
1
answer
186
views
New Fan Switch Grounding Cable issues
I installed a new switch for a new ceiling fan. For power, I pigtailed the 3 wire cable to my new switch from an existing light switch.
My problem is with the newly installed ground cable.
The 2 ...
2
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What do I do with the ground wire?
I just bought a wall timer to replace a three-way switch. The wall timer comes with three wires, one for the common screw wire, and the other two are for the travelers, with no place for a ground wire....
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Integrating into knob-and-tube wiring: okay to borrow a ground [duplicate]
I have a mixture of knob-and-tube and NM-B.
If I'm extending from knob and tube, but I have a (different) an NM-B circuit nearby, is it technically allowable to ground via ground wire in the other ...
- 701
1
vote
8
answers
45k
views
Since neutral is connected to ground how is current kept off of ground?
If neutral is connected to ground and current desires ground then I would think it would go to ground. But my understanding is that it is kept off of ground until it's "upstream" of the breaker box, ...
- 39
3
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Where do I attach the fixture grounding wire when no supply grounding wire is provided?
I am replacing an undercounter light and I have a black, white and red supply wire but no green or bare copper supply wire. Where do I attach the green ground wire attached to the fixture?
- 31
6
votes
3
answers
34k
views
How do I add grounding to my old electrical wiring?
This old house is (50's) is wired with cloth covered 12/2 Romex with no ground and all metal boxes. Can I just run a 12 ga or 14 ga solid wire between boxes and then to the ground bus of my service ...
- 73
5
votes
2
answers
13k
views
Can I terminate a ground wire to the neutral bus if the ground bus is full?
I have a Crouse-Hinds main load center. The ground bus is at the top left of panel and the neutral bus is at the bottom right of the panel. I want to add a 15 amp circuit for two outlets in my ...
- 51
1
vote
1
answer
2k
views
Ground wire behaves weird
I never experienced this and it doesn't really make sense.
I installed recessed lights(6) with the switch. I connected them all in parallel. The house uses only two wires for lights, white and black. ...
- 11
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Why do I hear intermittent speaker hum that goes away when I turn lights off or on?
I'm hearing speaker hum in a stereo system that I recently hooked up. I can't pinpoint when the hum begins, but I've identified that turning certain lights off or on in the same room eliminates the ...
- 143
3
votes
2
answers
29k
views
Why doesn't my motion sensor light work?
I want to install a simple motion sensor (Lutron Maestro MS-OPS2) on a single pole switch in my garage. When I installed it the light would not turn off. The instructions (PDF) that come with the ...
- 31
0
votes
1
answer
412
views
Why do I detect voltage on my ground of surge protector?
Renting an older home and upon moving in was saddened to see outlets without grounds (two prongs). So, for one of the outlets I bought a 2 to 3 prong with ground clip and ran the ground to some vent ...
5
votes
5
answers
10k
views
How should I connect to a short ground wire in a metal box?
I live in a 50's era house that has breakers and a ground wire in every metal box of the house. The problem is they only used 2 prong outlets. They cut the ground wire short and wrapped it around the ...
- 51
20
votes
4
answers
155k
views
I have a 3-pronged receptacle but no ground wire connected to it. Is this ok?
I removed the plates from outlets to paint walls and noticed that some of my electric boxes have ground wires connected to outlets while others do not have a green wire at all. Is this ok?
I know ...
- 1,293
13
votes
4
answers
336k
views
Where does the ground wire go in a 3-prong dryer cord configuration?
We moved to a new place where the dryer connection is 3-prong instead of 4-prong. The dryer was originally 4-prong, so we bought a 3-prong cord and installed it. It works fine, except I am not ...
- 233
12
votes
3
answers
280k
views
Is it okay to have an ungrounded light fixture?
I recently moved into an older home (built in 1968) and have been replacing some of the older light fixtures. We pulled down one of the lights and found that there is a ground running into the box but ...
- 349
5
votes
2
answers
22k
views
Are directTV dishes energized in some way?
Are directTV dishes usually energized in some way?
I was recently at my grandmothers house installing an over the air digital tv antenna. I decided to use the same coax cable that originally ran to ...
- 153
7
votes
2
answers
71k
views
Is there a length limit on grounding conductor to ground rod?
My service panel is over a concrete patio, it was improperly grounded in the crawlspace. I cannot drive a proper ground rod in the crawlspace so I would like to drive one into the earth on the side ...
- 10.4k
4
votes
1
answer
19k
views
How many ground rods are required for panel and subpanel?
I have a main service panel with two breakers: the main service breaker and a single large breaker to another subpanel in the same structure.
All other circuits are serviced from the subpanel.
My ...
- 10.4k
3
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Can I attach the main ground from my service panel to the old steel water main in my house?
My current main ground is improperly connected to the water line in my house and I am planning on changing it this week. It is "connected" to (read: formerly soldered, now kind-of-sort-of laying on) a ...
- 415
4
votes
1
answer
12k
views
DIY solution for open ground wiring where electronics need to be plugged in?
Although many of the original two-prong outlets in a rental property (built around 1958) have been replaced with three-prong ones almost none of them are actually grounded (the couple that are ...
- 596
13
votes
3
answers
271k
views
How do I properly ground my subpanel that only has one neutral/ground bar?
I am adding a sub panel in an unattached building. My sub panel has the connection for the 2 hot wires coming from the source panel (a 40 amp double breaker) In addition it has one neutral/ground bar ...
- 131
6
votes
3
answers
8k
views
How would I ground an internal ethernet surge protector?
I have a Cat-6 cable running to an external PoE security camera that I'd like to have surge protected, but I'm unsure how to ground the protector. It has a prong coming off that I assume is the ground ...
- 61
2
votes
1
answer
79k
views
Where do I attach the grounding conductor to my bedroom light fixture?
I have a problem, I broke the center piece that holds the glass part on my light fixture in my room. I purchased a replacement and removed the two screws holding my fixture on to the ceiling. Now I ...
- 31
4
votes
2
answers
9k
views
How should I ground two switches in a handy box that were previously ungrounded?
I am replacing two light switches in my bathroom. One controls the light above the sink and the other controls the fan in the ceiling. When I took the old switches out, I saw that the three neutrals ...
- 41
2
votes
1
answer
20k
views
Can I extend the ground/bus bar in a main service to accomodate subpanel equipment ground?
I am about to replace the main service breaker panel in my house. The old panel (a 200amp Siemens 40-circuit) had bus bars that extended the entire vertical length of the box. The new panel I would ...
- 5,155
6
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Can I obtain grounding from a different outlet?
I have a room with 2 ungrounded (2-prong) outlets and 1 switched grounded (3-prong) outlet. This has not been a serious inconvenience so far, as most of the equipment I wish to connect has ungrounded ...
- 4,084
8
votes
3
answers
11k
views
What is a 'grounded neutral' and how bad is it?
I bought an electrical device a few months ago. A few weeks ago, it failed, complete with the release of magic smoke. I contacted the company, and they've had me mail it to them and have been ...
- 515
4
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Is this switch properly grounded?
I replaced a standard single pole switch with an Intermatic ST01 timer switch, into a metal electrical box with three other switches. The switch I was replacing had no ground connection, but some of ...
- 268
6
votes
3
answers
9k
views
Is it OK to have ground wire connected to breaker box wall instead of neutral bus?
After having issues with lights flickering, I noticed the main 100A breaker was warm and arcing slightly. Instead of just replacing the breaker, I decided to call in a electrician to install a larger ...
- 61
1
vote
3
answers
2k
views
Can I ground my workbench using an unused outlet's neutral?
I haven't found any advice on my specific predicament, so I'll ask here. First, some background.
I just moved into a house with old electrical wiring (read: ungrounded outlets). Unfortunately, the ...
user9831
6
votes
5
answers
61k
views
Can I safely ground a light fixture if the ceiling box has two hot and one neutral wire (no ground wire)
Checking for dupes, I saw this question, but the situation appears different as my box is metal, among other things.
I'm fairly new to electrical projects, so bear with me. I recently installed a new ...
- 594
10
votes
3
answers
416k
views
How should I connect the ground wire for my light fixture?
I am replacing a light fixture in my bathroom and have the following setup:
The electrical box is plastic
The wire coming from supply has black (hot), white (neutral) and copper (ground).
The light ...
- 461
4
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Could a disconnected ground wire in the breaker box have caused any problems?
A major home improvement company renovated the outside of our home. During the process the subcontractor jacked into our breaker box without permission and without the use of an electrician. After ...
- 41