switch not grounded - does it matter?
 

I opened a three-gang box and found that the three switches in the
box not grounded. Two of them are for a ceiling fan and the other
for a split receptacle. The grounding wires are tied together.

Do the switches have to be grounded? If they do, can I use one
sigle wire to do the job?

Is it a metal box, and is the box grounded? If so, the switches are
grounded (more or less) through the box.

If not, then yes, you should ground the switches. It doesn't make a whole
lot of difference; unless they get wet there isn't much chance of getting a
shock off them, but if they have grounding contacts on them, it is easy
enough to do. (even if they are grounded through the box, they should still
be grounded by wire.)

What do you mean one wire? You want to run a single wire from one to the
other and the other and then to the ground? Probably not optimal, but it
will work.

Around here grounds have to be crimped together; but any connection is
better than none.

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 00:13:25 GMT, John Smith
wrote:

I opened a three-gang box and found that the three switches in the
box not grounded. Two of them are for a ceiling fan and the other
for a split receptacle. The grounding wires are tied together.

Do the switches have to be grounded? If they do, can I use one
sigle wire to do the job?
Not necessarily, but it's a good idea. Yes.

Dan

OK, I hope to learn something here. The switches I've installed had two
connections available. My understanding is that the switch goes in series
in the hot side of the conductor, then on to the appliance, then on thru the
common side to the breaker box (or source). How and where would you ground
the switch?

To email me, I have no equal.

"John Smith" wrote in message
. com...
I opened a three-gang box and found that the three switches in the
box not grounded. Two of them are for a ceiling fan and the other
for a split receptacle. The grounding wires are tied together.

Do the switches have to be grounded? If they do, can I use one
sigle wire to do the job?

Most switches also have a green terminal that is the ground. Perhaps yours
are too old or too cheap to have it. Not a big deal, but it is best to
ground them "just in case".

FYI - In some situations you might have a metal cover plate over an
electrical switch and usually there are metal screws holding on a plastic
cover plate.

Sometimes there can be a stray wire touching the metal box, the metal on
the switch, or a metal cover plate. I suppose a switch could also
malfunction internally and cause the metal on the switch to become
energized.

If the metal box and the metal on the switch is grounded, then should a
stray wire touch either, or touch a metal cover plate, then the breaker
should trip turning off the electricity and preventing someone from being
shocked (Or re-direct the electricity to ground).

I've seen situations where someone was doing dishes in the kitchen, went to
turn on the garbage disposal, touched the metal screw, and was shocked.
(Person was OK in this situation, but wanted it fixed of course...)

Certainly safer is better but in the grand scheme of hazards, ungrounded switch
yokes are pretty far down the list.

"toller" wrote in message
...
saying, in part
t
"Around here grounds have to be crimped together; but any connection is
better than none."


Crimping sounds like a very good practice.
Here I see the bare ground wires twisted together and then one or two of
them secured under the ground screw of the metal box.
Sometimes a ground wire is pigtailed up to the device housed in the box; in
other cases they seem to depend on the two screws which secure the duplex
outlet, or whatever it is, to the metal box and which to some extent control
it's 'depth' so as to be covered correctly by the flush plate.
I presume properly pigtailed AND crimped would be best practice?