I'm doing some wiring repairs on the house; just replacing broken outlets and upgrading a circuit to GFCI. Built in 1962. Not the first one in this house, but they wired the downstairs slightly different from the upstairs. It's early Romex (green braided jacket) into metal boxes, with the ground fully exposed and bonded to the box. So, to be clear: GFCI -> grounded outlet + replacing broken/worn out grounded outlets. Well, I can't use a ground twist nut. It's a nice bond - if you never want to remove it. Permanently attached as part of the box anchoring. (It's actually pretty darn clever.) Oddly enough, they ARE grounded outlets in all the boxes. And every one passed tests. While grounding direct to the box through the outlet mounts - no ground wiring to the outlets themselves. Seriously. They passed every single test. So I'm kind of scratching my head here. Upstairs had ground straps and single entry. Downstairs is no ground straps and double entry (top and bottom.) Do I NEED to install a new ground strap on these, or should I just stick to through the box mounting? (Which yes, is aluminum.) If I DO need to install the ground straps, is it safe to install them with the screw point near the entry or or should I be installing them as far away from the bare ground conductor as possible?

Hi, I am trying to install a GE SunSmart Digital Timer for our main entrance light fixture outside the house. I was able to complete 1, 2, 3a, 3c and 3d. I am confused on 3b and where do I connect or find the hot/live wire of load? What is the difference between the load/line? There are currently 3 light switches on the box. 1. Garage outdoor lights (3-way switch and other switch is in the garage) 2. Main entrance light that I am trying to install the GE SunSmart Digital Timer (Single Pole) 3. Hallway light inside the house (Single Pole) The main entrance light outside switch has a ground, white and black wires. Below are the instructions I tried to follow but finding the hot/live wire is a little confusing for me. I would appreciate any feedback and comments. Thanks in advance! [B]Installation Instruction (Single Pole)[/B] 1. Turn OFF the main power at the circuit breaker or fuse box. [B](Done)[/B] 2. Remove the existing switch. [B](Done)[/B] 3. Connect the wires of the timer to the wall box as shown in [B]Figure 1 [/B]and [B]Figure 2 [/B]using the wire nuts provided. a) Connect the hot/live wire of line to the black wire from Timer. [B](Done)[/B] [COLOR=#ff0000][B]b) Connect the hot/live wire of load to the blue wire from Timer. (????)[/B][/COLOR] c) Connect the ground wire to the green wire from Timer. [B](Done)[/B] d) Connect the neutral wire to the white wire from the timer. Often the neutral (white) wire can be found in the back of the wire box connected with a wire nut. There may be several neutral wires bound together. Add the neutral to all neutral wires bound together making sure wire nut is tight. [B](Done)[/B] e) For single pole installation attach wire nut to red (traveler) wire from the back of the timer. This wire is not needed in the single pole installation.[B]Note: Be sure that all wire nuts are secure.[/B] 4. Tuck the wires into the wall box leaving room for the timer. Using the screws provided, mount the timer to the wall box being careful not to crush any wires. 5. Turn main power ON at the circuit breaker [URL]http://www.jascoproducts.com/support/manual-downloads/applications/DocumentLibraryManager/upload/15312-Wiring-Guide-eng-spa.pdf[/URL]