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Basic Grounding Wire Question in Receptacle Box - Please Help.
Nate Nagel wrote:
On 06/04/2010 09:15 PM, wrote: On Thu, 3 Jun 2010 20:17:03 -0700 (PDT), "hr(bob) " wrote: On Jun 3, 10:10 pm, wrote: On Jun 3, 10:43 pm, wrote: On Jun 3, 10:33 pm, wrote: wrote in message ... Hi. I'm replacing an old switch for a ceiling fan that only had 2 wires; a black and a white. The new switch has 3 wires, a black, white and a green grounding wire. The wire coming into the receptacle box area through the wall has 3 wires, a black, a white and a bare copper wire and the bare copper wire is just connected to a screw on the metal receptacle box. My question is when I install the new switch that now has a green grounding wire, what do I do with it or how do I connect the new green grounding wire to the receptacle box. Can I just wrap it around the screw that the bare copper grounding wire is wrapped around and have 2 wires connected to that one screw? If not, where does that green grounding wire on the new switch go and how do I do it? Right now everything is connected and the ceiling fan& light works fine except that I don't have that green grounding wire on the new switch attached to anything (just wrapped it in electrical tape for the time being) and I want to make sure it's safe. Many thanks to all. Very much appreciated. There is probably another 10/32 tapped hole that you can put a screw in and wrap it around, or you can just cut it off as the screws attaching the switch to the grounded metal box are sufficient for grounding purposes. OR, he could do it properly and pigtail the bare ground conductors and the green wire from the new switch using a greenie wirenut which would allow one of the bare conductors to be left long and be bonded to the box via the 10/32 grounding screw that is already there... ~~ Evan Evan - So if I understand correctly, remove the bare copper wire coming from inside the wall from under the screw and connect/twist that with both the green wire from the switch and add another separate wire lead that then connects to the screw? So, the 3 ground wires would be connected via the wirenut and just the one new wire I added goes to the screw? Can you just confirm I got that right. So it's dangerous to wrap 2 green ground wires around that one screw? Thanks for the clarification very much appreciate and education.- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - It isn't necesarily dangerous to put two wires under one screw, if you are careful you can get a good connection for both wires, but there is a much greater chance of one of the wires slipping out from under the screw and touching anything else in the box, some of which could be hot. So, Evan and Nate have good suggestions. It's common practice on bare copper grounds to just twist them together, and then trap one or both under the screw - but that doesn't work with the stranded and insulated ground. In the US it is not acceptable to put 2 wires under a screw. It is also not acceptable to twist ground wires and not use a wire nut. Far as I know neither has ever been code compliant. I remember back in the day taking receptacles out and just finding the grounds spliced as normal but with no wire nut at all, just wires twisted together. I always thought that was a little cheezy, was that acceptable by code at one point in time, or was I just looking at shoddy work? Shoddy work. -- bud-- |
#3
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Basic Grounding Wire Question in Receptacle Box - Please Help.
On Fri, 04 Jun 2010 21:25:09 -0400, Nate Nagel
wrote: I remember back in the day taking receptacles out and just finding the grounds spliced as normal but with no wire nut at all, just wires twisted together. I always thought that was a little cheezy, was that acceptable by code at one point in time, or was I just looking at shoddy work? nate AFAIK it is still acceptable on bare copper ground wires. |
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Basic Grounding Wire Question in Receptacle Box - Please Help.
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