Before I try to wire up the new fluorescent fixtures I’ve set up in my basement, I thought I’d double check my plan before I turn myself into a French fry.
The wiring in my basement that I will be working off of is old, but in good shape. It’s armored cable with two wires in the cable (hot and neutral, no ground wire). The cable is armored all the way back to my main circuit breaker. I’m pretty sure that the cable sheath and the receptacles are grounded. The way I tested this is with a voltmeter:
Hot – neutral = 120V
Hot – receptacle box = 120V
Neutral – receptacle box = 0V
A circuit tester showed that I can get current flowing from hot to the box.
Is this enough to be sure that the cable sheath and boxes can be used as a ground?
The cable that I will be wiring my lights with is BX 14/2, with a hot, neutral, and ground cable within the sheath, and I was planning to connect the ground wire to the receptacle box I’m connecting to with a ground screw.
Replies
Wil,
Make sure the existing cable sheath is connected to the ground buss in the breaker box and to the ground screw at the receptacle box. The cable sheath is then properly configured as the ground wire. It carries no current.
Then procede as you've described with the new wiring cable, using its ground wire as intended.
Rich
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