Ground wires disconnected from outlets

5 years ago

My son came over to replace a couple of upstairs electrical outlets for me this week, and discovered in both cases the ground wire was deliberately not connected to the existing outlets. In each case there's a ground wire, but it was sort of knotted on itself instead of being attached. Before proceeding any further he would like to know why this might have been done.

When he replaced outlets downstairs they had the usual ground-wire connection, so he doesn't know if there was a reason the upstairs outlets were handled differently. We bought the house in 1975. Wiring in the kitchen and another room was redone in 2003, but any large-scale wiring was done by the previous owner.

The outlets I want to replace have three slots, so we assumed they were grounded. This is an old (c. 1850) house, and fire is always a concern. I want to be able to plug an electric heater into these outlets occasionally, and do it safely.

Your advice is appreciated!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

kudzu9
5 years ago
There should be no reason a ground wire isn’t connected to a receptacle if the wire is a real ground. At least you now have the chance to determine if there is a ground rather than presuming there was one simply because a ground wire was attached to the receptacle. It’s an easy test to determine if these ground wires go all the way back. One possibility is that some re-wiring was done of parts of circuits using cable with a ground that was patched in and connects to original ungrounded cable or knob-and-tube. In that case, whoever did it was at least giving you a warning with the unconnected wire that it wasn’t a true ground.
Alisande thanked kudzu9
Alisande
Original Author
5 years ago
Thank you, Kudzu. What is the test to see if the ground wires go all the way back? I tried to look it up, but got lost in the explanations. Perhaps my son would understand them, but if you could explain I'd be grateful.
Related Professionals
Tuscaloosa General Contractors · Gulfport General Contractors · Johnson City General Contractors · Oneonta General Contractors · San Angelo General Contractors · Richmond Home Remodeling · Moline Home Remodeling · Potsdam Home Remodeling · Eureka Home Remodeling · Saint Joseph Bathroom Remodelers · Middletown Bathroom Remodelers · Saginaw Bathroom Remodelers · Sheboygan Bathroom Remodelers · Concord Bathroom Remodelers · Bend Bathroom Remodelers
kudzu9
5 years ago
Perhaps the easiest way for you would be to buy a $5, plug-in circuit tester, connect the ground wires to the receptacle ground screws, and see what the tester indicator lights show.
Alisande thanked kudzu9
Alisande
Original Author
5 years ago
That does sound easy--thank you so much!
Ron Natalie
5 years ago
If the box is metal, then the ground wire should at least go to the box. There are some receptacles that are designed to be grounded through their mounting to the box if they are installed in a metal box. You can usually tell this because they'll have a little spring piece of metal under the mounting ear to insure contact. They're not particularly common in the US.

In Canada, some plastic boxes also have a metal strap that allows (when properly grounded) those sort of receptacles to be used.

As pointed out, the tester above will quickly tell you what's going on.
Alisande thanked Ron Natalie