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old wiring

1K views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  AllanJ 
#1 ·
my house has old wiring with only white and black wires no ground.
when i add a new outlet or whatever to a junction box what do i do with the ground...just connect it to the box or what?
 
#6 ·
The bare/ green wire gets attached to the metal box and then to the green screw on the receptacle.

If you have or are using a plastic box then the bare/ green wire goes directly to the green screw on the receptacle.

The point of grounding/ bonding is to provide a low impedance path to clear a fault.

What's a fault?

Here is how the NEC defines a fault: An unintentional, electrically conducting connection between an ungrounded (hot) conductor of an electrical circuit and the normally non–current-carrying conductors, metallic enclosures, metallic raceways, metallic equipment, or earth.
 
#8 ·
Choice of:

2. Install a two prong receptacle.

3. Install a GFCI receptacle unit. Label the cover plate "no equipment ground"

4. Install a GFCI breaker for the circuit or a GFCI receptacle upstream on the same daisy chained circuit and label the new standard receptacle's cover plate "GFCI protected, no equipment ground".

I would not feel comfortable merely pigtailing the metal box to the receptacle green screw since I am not sure of the quality of grounding given the joints, possibly quite oxidized, between BX cable sheath and box clamps daisy chaining down to the panel.
 
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