I am installing a simple light fixture in the ceiling of my living room. This is an old house and the box in the ceiling only has 2 wires coming out of it (white & black). I don't see a ground wire or a screw to attache the fixture's ground wire. This is an old house and the fixture that is in it now has a ground wire that is wrapped around the fixture's chain. What should I do? Just leave the ground wire alone or wrap it around something?
2007-02-25 06:18:15 · 0 answers · asked by Anonymous in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Clip the wire off. Some idiot is bound to tell you to hook it to the neutral. {white wire} But trust me on this, if you have high level electronics like a computer, DVD player, plasma TV etc. the feed back this can produce will cause you big problems in the future. The ground is designed to keep someone from getting shocked. This is highly unlikely with a light fixture. Remember, anyone born before about 1969 never had a grounding system in their house. Hope this helps.
2007-02-25 06:30:41 · answer #1 · answered by bearcat 4 · 8⤊ 7⤋
Ground Wire Light Fixture
2017-01-01 04:36:46 · answer #2 · answered by capps 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The box is probably not grounded (you could test it to be sure, using a neon tester to see whether you get a bright glow when touching the tester to the hot wire (power on during the experiment) and to the box). If it is not, simply coil it up and don't connect it to anything. In the unlikely event that it is grounded, you can bind the ground wire under one of the screws holding the fixture's bridging strap (the bar that you attach to the box with two screws).
2007-02-25 06:25:55 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
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A lot of ceiling fixtures are ungrounded. Or grounded through the mounting hardware: Steel fixture to steel bolts to steel mounting strap to steel box. If the fixture was UL approved without a ground wire, you're fine. It doesn't need one.
2016-04-04 22:12:48 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can leave the ground alone. I also have a old house, and lots of wiring none of which is color coded. But I found the only the green/black and white means something. The ground doesn't have any current in it.
2007-02-25 06:43:52 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It wont hurt to do the exact same thing that was done before. If you do have a ground close by you could tap it onto that. A lot of things only use a two wire configuration, table lamps for instance.
2007-02-25 07:05:09 · answer #6 · answered by just_curious 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
DO NOT Just clip it off!! On the bracket for mounting it, there should be a ground screw hole, put a ground screw in it and attach it to that.
2007-02-25 11:25:26 · answer #7 · answered by Ray D 5 · 9⤊ 0⤋