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Disconnecting part of box - do I need to ground the ground wire?

Disconnecting part of box - do I need to ground the ground wire?


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Old 04-15-15, 05:55 PM
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Disconnecting part of box - do I need to ground the ground wire?

So the previous owner did some weird wiring.... randomly adding new outlets, lights and wire runs.... I want to make some sense of it all and so I will be making "breaks" in some runs and re-routing some wires and adding new circuits to ensure optimal load per each circuit and separate some rooms that are now on single circuit.

My question is...if I have a box that I intend to make an end of a run by removing the outgoing wires - can I just use the screw-on-connectors to insulate the remaining 3 wires from the incoming cable and then close the box or do I need to somehow close the ground ?

I believe that insulating the individual wires before closing them off in an electrical box is sufficient - just to make sure they never contact each other and don't get loose....but I am not familiar with NJ codes

Thanks!
 
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Old 04-15-15, 06:03 PM
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So it sounds like you want to abandon the end of the circuit,capping the wires as you suggested is fine,if it is a metal box the existing bond wire must be attached to the box with a ground screw or clip,the box must remain exposed with a blank plate in place.
Geo
 
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Old 04-15-15, 06:08 PM
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cool - thanks for super fast reply.
This is indeed metal box...what if it was a plastic box? do you then just cap the ground wire?
If so why not do it with metal box as well ?
After all, if the black and the white are perfectly insulated then the box can't become electrify

just trying to understand....thanks!
 
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Old 04-15-15, 06:12 PM
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In a dead end plastic box the ground can be left folded up. Nothing needs to be done as the plastic is an insulator.
 
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Old 04-15-15, 06:29 PM
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[If plastic box] do you then just cap the ground wire?
Why? If he whole wire is bare the cap would insulate less then 10% of the wire.
 
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Old 04-15-15, 06:53 PM
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I know it sounded stupid but at the same time I have heard some weird requirements by local codes...so just wanted to make sure this is up to code....
 
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Old 04-15-15, 07:41 PM
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No question is stupid when you are learning and you are always learning.
 
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Old 04-15-15, 09:23 PM
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Also if it's a metal box be sure to ground the box.
 
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Old 04-16-15, 05:11 AM
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If a cable is not withdrawn from the box then its ground wire may remain connected to the (metal) box and/or other ground wires in that box. Cap (or tape over) the ends of unused hot and neutral wires but do not twist together any two unused ends.
 

Last edited by AllanJ; 04-16-15 at 05:34 AM.
 

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