I recently bought an outlet tester, to make sure that all outlets were grounded and properly wired. All of them are okay, except one. The tester indicates an open ground. Is there a way to fix this?

Thx, Gwendolyn

 

there could be. However, there many factors that affect this, including the age of the wiring in your house, if this outlet was original or added, etc. We need more background to be sure.

Scott E.

 

If the outlet was once grounded, but the grounding has failed, then the fix should be reasonable. But if the outlet was never grounded in the first place, the remedy will be more difficult. Also know that those simple testers don't show you the quality of your ground, just its presence or absense.

Start by telling us, as Scott requested, the year in which the house was built.

 

Hi, thx for your responses...

Actually, this outlet is part of a circuit only added in 2001 when the new kitchen was installed. It is connected to a cfgi. I am quite sure it functioned properly before, the cfgi still does. I was wondering whether the outlet should be replaced. I opened it up and the wiring looks okay.

Gwendolyn

 

When you opened up the outlet and looked at the wiring, how many wires were present, what were their colors and where were they connected?

Also, be aware that an outlet does not tell you that an outlet is wired properly with a proper ground. It only shows you that (in the case of the ground) that the ground conection provides a current path back to the source. These outlets culd be improperly wired and still show a 'good' ground.

 

Was the circuit added in 2001 started all the way from the panel with a new breaker? Was it done by an electrician?

Still tell us in what year the house was built.

 

First off, I would like to thank you for your feedback. I appreciate it.

Okay, the house is built in the sixties. When we remodeled the kitchen, a certified electrician put in a new circuit all the way from the panel. This circuit has one cfgi, and two average outlets on it. When I opened up the outlet, I found two wires, one black and one white. (This outlet is the last one in a series.) There is no grounding wire....????????? I always thought that every outlet should have a ground wire, or does grounding happen thru the cfgi????? The other outlet on this circuit tested grounded though.

I hope this gives you more information. I am certainly hoping you can give me an answer as what to do about this......

thx, Gwendolyn

 

The correct term is gfci or GFCI, not cgfi.

It sounds like the electrician did not install a completely new circuit, but rather installed a new circuits and then continued an old circuit from the new one.

As long as the outlet without a ground is on the load side of the GFCI you are okay. The outlet is ungrounded, but this is allowed when GFCI protection is in place. Hwoever, the outlet is supposed to be labelled "No Equipment Ground", so that the user knows this.

This poutlet will work fine for most kitchen appliances, since they generally don;t need a ground anyway. However, I do not recommend plugging a computer or surge supressor of any sort into this outlet.

The only thing that you should do is to label this outlet "No Equipment Ground".

However, I would also investigate the other outlets on the circuit to make sure that they are properly grounded and that they are all GFCI protected (check that the GFCI is properly wired).

 

The grounding wire may be omitted if the circuit is run through metal conduit. Do you have conduit? Do you live in the greater Chicago area?

If you have neither a grounding wire nor metal conduit in a new circuit wired in 2001, then the electrician did a substandard job. Was the renovation done under a building permit?

 

Actually the electrician did not use romex, but metal conduit. I remember because he told me that he liked to use the same materials as the ones already existing in the house.... Yes, the job was checked.

After reading your answers, it seems that the outlet is okay to use for normal household equipment. It is just that when checking this circuit, it confused me to find that the gfci and one of the outlets connected to the gfci checked as grounded and the second outlet not. It just does not make sense to me.

Anyway, thx again for your responses.

Gwendolyn

 

The metal conduit should be providing the ground. I assume that the junction box is also metal (it should be). Make sure that there is a ground wire installed from the receptacle to the back of the metal junction box. Id there is not one then go out and buy one and then install it. They sell them ready made for this application.