HELP Installing Fault Interrupter Electrical Outlet!!!!

pancho12

I have a very big problem that I need some help with. I have to replace a fault interrupter electrical outlet in the basement, the only outlet in the basement. When i took the plate off to replace it I seen that whoever installed it never put a ground wire through the conduit to the outlet. Is it safe for me to replace it and hook it up the same way, without the ground wire. Or is there a way to ground the fault interrupter electrical outlet out without running new wire? I'm no good at all with wiring and have no clue whatsoever. Maybe a short wire to the electrical box to the plug in? Need some help with this so I can get it fixed!!

brric

If it's a continuous conduit back to the panel then the conduit serves as the grounding means.

DangerMouse

GFCI devices do not NEED a ground wire, therefore you are fine just the way it was.
But if you want to add one, that's fine too.

DM

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kbsparky

This only applies to a metal conduit system.

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AllanJ

Since it is in the basement, it's a short run so it would not be hard to add the ground wire. Incidentally, if you can't string it through the conduit without pulling out all the wires and rethreading them, you can run the ground wire outside the conduit more or less following the same routing, and perhaps held on using cable ties.

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pancho12

Thanks everyone!! I'm heading to Menards right now to see if they carry a short piece of heavy duty ground wire for this. Hopefully with connections at both ends to ground it to the box itself. If they don't have one I'll run the wire on the outside of the conduit with ties as suggested. I just don't trust it without some kind of ground wire even if it's all metal conduit to the box. The reason I have to replace it is because I was cutting a piece of wood with a power saw and not watching what I was doing and I knicked the cord of the saw with the saw blade. Instead of throwing a switch in the box or plug in, like I thought these ground fault interrupters were designed to do, it sparked and smoked and fryed the ground fault interrupter. That's why I am so concerned about a ground wire and thought it was possibly hooked up wrong originally. I don't know if it was supposed to fry like it did but a ground of some kind would make it seem safer to me. I apprecite all the ideas and suggestions and hopefully it will come out OK!!