help with installing light with no ground

jayp · 02-04-2010, 11:49 PM

I have a light fixture with no ground wire I need to install in a blue plastic light box. Should I just attach white to white, black to black and ignore the ground from the power source? The fixture has no ground.

detailedEye · 02-05-2010, 12:06 AM

Does the fixture have a green ground screw? This is common on fixtures instead of a separate wire.

If not, and there is no screw on the fixture you can connect a ground wire from the box to, then you don't really have a choice but to ignore the ground. Unless you want to buy a new fixture. If it's in a dry location you shouldn't have any problems without the ground.

J. V. · 02-05-2010, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by detailedEye

Does the fixture have a green ground screw? This is common on fixtures instead of a separate wire.

If not, and there is no screw on the fixture you can connect a ground wire from the box to, then you don't really have a choice but to ignore the ground. Unless you want to buy a new fixture. If it's in a dry location you shouldn't have any problems without the ground.

While this technically is a violation, as detailedEye states, theres not really not any other way to connect the new fixture without pulling new cable for the circuit. So yes, I would just add the new fixture minus the ground, in my house. In your house I would run a new circuit.