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Don't worry about it some fixtures have no ground terminals. just shove the groung wire to the back of the box.

Correction, if the fixture is metal and it shorts out, the metal surrounding the fixture could become electrified. That's why fixtures today are normally grounded to their mounting plates and then the lead is attached to the incoming romex. In the past, attaching these plates to metal boxes (either grounded by an incoming wire or grounded to the BX cable) eliminated the need for a ground wire. If the hot wire hit or shorted to the fixture, it would blow a fuse or circuit breaker. Many electrocutions and fires later, the folks at Underwriters realized that even that method of grounding wasn't sufficent (the old aluminum boxes and bx cables were crappy conductors. Solution; (and I practice what I preach because I remodel many old homes) get a little creative and spend the extra time to wrap a little ground wire to a mounting screw, or piece of metal, on the mounting plate of the fixture and then attach it to your incoming romex ground. On an old fixture, it could mean the difference between a fire and a tripped circuit breaker. If you have any metal boxes, old or new, ground to those too.

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Connect a pigtail to the metal canopy, and use a wire nut to connect the safety ground to it.

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13y ago
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11y ago

Connect the ground wire in wall to the base of fixture

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Q: What to do with ground wire in wall when wiring metal light fixture without ground wire into plastic outlet box with ground wire Basically wall has 3 wires fixture has 2 and no place to ground to?
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I am installing a kitchen light fixture in the ceiling. While pulling down the old fixture the green ground wire broke. The new Fixture has a green ground wire. Where do I ground it to now?

The fixture box should have a ground screw on the bottom of the box. Sometimes you have to move other wires out of the way to see it. Just reconnect the fixture ground wire to this screw.


What do I attach the green wire from the light fixture to?

The green wire on the light fixture is a ground wire. If there is no ground wire in the conduit, the green wire should be attached to the metal box with a screw.


How do you ground a plastic box ground wire attached to GCFI and ground at fuse panel. Do I need to ground at the box itself as well?

Grounding a plastic box is a little hard as plastic is a nonconductor.be satisfied with grounding to a ground wire.


No ground wire from incoming outlet box. do I have to have one. This is for a light fixture in the bathroom?

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I am trying to put up a light fixture but it has three wires a white one a black one and a Coppertone where does the coopertoned wire go?

The bare copper wire is a ground wire. if your old electrical system only has black and white, then you don't have a ground wire to hook the new fixture's ground to. Safest bet is to run a ground wire to that junction box (or hire an electrician to do that). If the box in the ceiling (I'm assuming its a ceiling fixture) is metal, the home's electrical system ground wire may be attached to the metal box itself. If that's the case, you simply need to attach your new fixture's ground wire (the bare copper one) to the metal box. If in doubt -- have an electrician look at it.

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I am installing a kitchen light fixture in the ceiling. While pulling down the old fixture the green ground wire broke. The new Fixture has a green ground wire. Where do I ground it to now?

The fixture box should have a ground screw on the bottom of the box. Sometimes you have to move other wires out of the way to see it. Just reconnect the fixture ground wire to this screw.


Do you have to Connect both fixture and house ground wires?

If you're asking whether you have to connect the fixture ground to the house ground, you do. The idea is to connect any exposed portion of a metal fixture to ground, keeping anything you would be able to touch from having a hazardous potential on it. The way to do this is to connect the fixture ground (which is connected to the metal chassis) to the building ground (which comes from your electrical panel).


Can you connect the ground wire from a light fixture to anthing in the metal box that does not have a ground coming from it?

I always connect the ground wire to the box. However, if there is no real ground wire running back to the panel it really does you no good. The NEC requires that you rewire the circuit with the proper conductors. Remember that the ground is for your protection. Without a proper ground, you run the risk of injury or death if the fixture wiring fails.


Is is ok if the lighting fixture ground wire is wrapped around the bottom of the chain and the ground wire from the light box is connected to the ground screw on the mounting crossbar?

If you are referring to a porcelain or plastic ceiling light fixture most do not have a place to connect the ground wire. You cannot ground these type fixtures. Just connect the ground wire to the mounting crossbar and forget about connecting it to the light itself. It is on the ceiling and will never be touched unless you change the bulb and then you will have the switch in the off position. It is perfectly safe.


How do you ground a fixture if there is no ground wire from the wall and is it absolutely necessary to use the ground wire from the fixture or can you just cover it?

If you don't have the wire then you just can't ground it. This should not be too much of a problem. Most light fixtures are not grounded and some don't even have ground wires.


What do I attach the green wire from the light fixture to?

The green wire on the light fixture is a ground wire. If there is no ground wire in the conduit, the green wire should be attached to the metal box with a screw.


Is a fluorescent light grounded?

If you are talking about the lamp then the answer is no. If you are talking about the fluorescent fixture, it should be. It is the fixture grounding that helps the tube to ignite. because of the close proximity to the metal of the fixture. There are many occasions when the fixture will not operate, but as soon as the ground is connected the fixture operates fine.


What if the light fixture has two copper house wires?

If you mean 2 bare copper wires those are the ground wires. Tie them together and then connect the light fixture ground wire which will be green or bare copper to those ground wires.


Where do you hook the ground wire on a porcelain light fixture on a metal box?

Connect the ground wire to the metal box.


Can you install a light fixture without a groundwire?

Yes but, I won't tell if you won't tell. Maybe don't do it in a bathroom, basement, or close to any possible light to ground contact.


Can you run power from a light fixture to another light fixture?

Yes. Connect Black to Black, White to White and bare ground wires together.


What to do with no ground in wall but ground wire in fixture?

Very often the ground wire in the fixture is ignored, or just connected to the box, if there isn't a conductor to connect to. This, however, is a code violation as any fixture with a ground wire is required to have it properly connected to an equipment grounding conductor back to the panel. This is for YOUR SAFETY. Technically you should rewire the circuit with the proper conductors. It is BAD PRACTICE to connect the ground wire to the neutral or white wire because this could create a hazard of its own.