Wiring Light without a Ground Wire in Electrical
Box
Older Homes Frequently Lack Ground Wires in
Electrical Boxes
By Mark J. Donovan
Question: Mark, I have an
older light that needs to be changed and there is no ground wire in the
electrical box. Do you have any advice on how to connect a new light to old
wires?
Answer: DG, the lack of a ground wire in electrical boxes on older homes
is a common situation. If your home’s electrical outlets are two prong chances
are there is no ground wire in your electrical boxes.
Older cable either lacked a
ground wire altogether or in some cases the external sheathing itself, which
was made out of metal in some cases, acted as the ground. If the electrical
box that houses the wire for the old light is metal, and the cable sheathing
is made out of metal, it is very likely that the electrical box is grounded
via the metal sheathing. Also, if the electrical box is metal, and the cable
does not include a metal sheathing it may be possible that there was a
ground wire in the cable and it was attached to the back side of the
electrical box.
Two Lights Operated off 1 Switch
Figure by Mark Donovan
Inspect the electrical box for this
type of situation. If either of these situations is the case, just attach the
new light’s ground wire to the metal electrical box.
If it appears the electrical box is
not grounded, and/or metal sheathing cable is not used, then simply wire up the
new light to the existing wires per the manufacturer’s instructions and leave
the light’s ground wire disconnected.
The light will work properly and is
basically no less safe to operate. The only downside is that without the ground
wire there is no protection for a circuit fault condition.
Your only other alternative is to
pull new cable, which includes a ground wire, from the circuit panel box to the
light and light switch. This is a lot of time and money, and updating just the
circuit for this particular light doesn’t address the rest of the electrical
circuits in your home.
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- Wiring Light without a
Ground Wire in Electrical Box -
