Electricians...Please Step In...Because I Need Some Help

[Joe13]

A GFCI requires a ground wire. If there is no ground the GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) will detect a ground fault and interrupt the circuit... i.e. trip immediately.

You will need to figure out some way to run a ground wire to the outlet... and every subsequent outlet on the circuit. Without a ground wire to every outlet on the circuit a GFCI is useless... it wouldn't be giving any protection even if you did get it to not trip.

You can look up the current codes but I am pretty sure metal conduit can no longer be used for grounding outlets. If there is metal conduit from the box to the panel you might be able to tie a string to the current cable, pull the current cable out then use the string to pull a 3 conductor cable with a proper integrated ground. If there is conduit end to end you can pull 3 THHN wires (black, white, green) instead of a cable (Romex) if you prefer... individual wires are usually much easier to pull through conduit than a cable (Romex).

No, a ground is not required for a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) outlet to work. GFCIs work by detecting imbalances in the current between the hot and neutral wires, and will trip the circuit if there's an imbalance. However, there are some disadvantages to installing GFCI outlets without a ground wire:

 

[JRuby]

I know when we bought our current home the inspector called out having no GFCI outlets next to the kitchen sink. The electrician simply replaced the outlets. I though this was incorrect and found I was wrong. At that time we were post and knob since the that part of the house was built in the early 30s.

 

[Mikej]

However guns, medical/ first aid, automotive, plumbing, boating, religious, building construction, survival, child rearing, fiduciary advice, general gossip and opines on any other subject, are exempted.

Maybe just a "Disclaimer"?

 

[P7M13]

If you don't know where the outgoing wires lead to, I would just wire up the GFIC as line only and not load protecting the outgoing lines.
I was once asked to figure out why half of the interior lights were not working in the house next door to me.
Seems the previous clueless owner had wired a GFIC outlet outside behind the garage, which had tripped somehow.
Half the interior lights were hitched to that GFIC and the bush planted next to it had covered it up.
It took a couple of hours tracking it down.

This was done at my house, some time in the '80s. Fortunately it only affects non-critical garage circuits, i.e. my freezers are OK.

The green/ground wire does not affect the operation of a GFCI, what it does do is provide a low resistance path back to the "source" where the grounds and neutrals are tied together.

Yes, but only at the main panel. I found at my house that the original screw type fuse panel was still there, and the neutral/ground were bonded together in that panel too.

Well, I hope OP has this figured out since June 3. Unless he gave up on it.

He's still showing up -- evidence he didn't electrocute himself.

 

[Quirt Evans]

Yes, but only at the main panel. I found at my house that the original screw type fuse panel was still there, and the neutral/ground were bonded together in that panel too.

Yes, the main panel that gets its power from the street/poles IS considered the source, houses generally have a ground rod close by the main panel that's driven into the earth that's connected to the main panel neutrals/grounds.

 

[ron]

No argument. - what about running conduit in rooms where electrical wires cannot be installed in the wall. Is it OK to run romex through metal conduits in these cases. I know we did this when I was in the Navy as an electricians mate.

No. Conduit is for individual conductors. It is industry standard to run a ground wire through the metal conduit
but not required. Short piece of conduit can be used for physical protection of cables like above a panel stubbing up to
the ceiling.

 

[JRuby]

I was reading code 2011 article 334 and says that Romex can be ran through conduit to protect the cabling
Is this wrong? How do you wire concrete rooms where the romec would be exposed to damage?

 

[ron]

I was reading code 2011 article 334 and says that Romex can be ran through conduit to protect the cabling
Is this wrong? How do you wire concrete rooms where the romec would be exposed to damage?

Conduit can be ran on the surface on concrete walls/ceilings using individual THHN conductors. Romex
has to be physically protected not exposed to contact. A J-box is used to convert conduit run to cable.
In limited circumstances conduit may be used for physical protection. In the past this was common
practice but not now. Two different wiring systems, conduit and NM-B cable (Romex) cannot be combined.
This is a more recent update to the NEC.

 

[L84Cabo]

** NECROPOST ALERT **

My people...I do appreciate the help but I posted this back on June 3rd. And the outlet has been up and running since then...more or less. I swapped the GFCI for a different one and it fired right up.

Please let this thread die...may it rest in peace.

 

[ForryL7]

But we haven't discussed appropriate wire gauge nor which types of circuits should be downstream of this device yet!

 

[Bobbygun]

Please let this thread die...may it rest in peace.

 

[Member 24198]

I swapped the GFCI for a different one and it fired right up.

It sounds like you wired something wrong, your electrical shouldn't be smoking or catching on fire.

 

[L84Cabo]

It sounds like you wired something wrong, your electrical shouldn't be smoking or catching on fire.

The outlet works and the house is still standing. I call that a win.