No Ground in Electrical Outlets

[Johnny76]

Hi guys, I just moved into an older house that has no 3rd wire ground in the electrical outlets. I found this out when my surge protectors all lit up the "no ground" lights. The house has been fitted with 3 prong outlets throughout most of the house, but some are still 2 prong, i took most of the 3 prong outlets apart and found only 2 wires. the inside box is metal, I tried grounding to that but no help. there are 2 outlets in the entire house that are actually grounded and they have new wiring inside and appear to have been upgraded at some point.

what are my options? im worried about my equiptment, i have a home theater and several computers. from what i have read a surge protector will not even work without a ground. i have also heard this is dangerous if a device malfunctions without being grounded. I have two fridges which are not grounded which really concerns me.

i am a renter so re-wiring the house is not an option, unless this place is not following california code, then maybe i could complain.

any help would be great..

Johnny

[kactuskid]

The only way for you to get a ground is to run a complete new circuit that includes a ground and is run all the way back to the main electrical panel. Since you are a renter then that should be left to the landlord to do.

But, there are surge protectors that will work. Mode 1 surge protectors carry the spike to neutral and not to ground. Mode 2 surge protectors carry the spike to ground. So, what you want is a Mode 1 type, they are a bit more $$$, but will protect your equipment and save you lots more $$$ in the long run. Here's a few links to give you lots of details about it. Hope this helps.

http://www.surgex.com/library/82001.html

http://www.svconline.com/mag/avinstall_surge_protectionthe_enemy/

http://www.crscientific.com/zerosurge.html

[Johnny76]

Well I bought some 3 prong adapters for 3 important outlets, and ran grounding wires outside and attached them to the main water faucet. My surge protectors now show ground. I ran 3 outlets this way, 1 for my stereo system, 1 for my computer, and another for the fridge. the problem I am experiencing is this..

I have my computer running a coax cable to my stereo system for music, when listening to music this way, the sound distorts breifly any time the fridge kicks on or off. the problem seems to be the computer, because if i run the computer off battery power the issue goes away. the issue also goes away if i disconnect the ground for the computers outlet.

so what could be causing this? if i disconnect all my grounds the problem is still there also.

John

[kactuskid]

You may not have a good ground. Here is a link describing when and how to replace a 2 prong receptacle with a 3 prong.

http://www.codecheck.com/250_50_commentary.html

The ground wire must go back to the main panel, or to the main water pipe within 5 feet of where it enters the building. And that is only if the main ground from the panel is routed to this pipe and clamped.

[Kidd6488]

We don't have this problem, thankfully, but would it be acceptable to just run a bare 12 guage EGC to all the ungrounded outlets, and then to the panel? Or does the EGC have to run with the ungrounded conductor?

~Jonathon Reinhart