I am currently replacing an old yard lamp that is mounted in the yard. The old electrical wiring from the house to the lamp is still in good shape, so am re-using it. Have put the lamp together. Have connected the black and white wiring from the house to the corresponding black and white wiring supplied with the new lamp. So far so good.

The old wiring that runs from the house also has a bare ground wire. I have not yet connected that to anything metal inside the lamp. The base of the new lamp has a ground wire connected to the body of the lamp, and I have connected it to a metal bolt that is set in concrete (holds up the lamp}. My question: Will the wire connected to the metal bolt properly ground the lamp, or do I also need to connect the ground wire included in the electrical wiring to something? FYI, I checked the lamp and all 3 lights do work, so evidently all other wiring is correct. Used an electrical feeler gauge and touched it to the base of the lamp, and the gauge did not light up.

Let me know what you think. Thanks, Kevin.

My answer is no. You need to connect the bare grounding conductor to the bare grounding conductor from the house.

What you have is effectively set up a condition that could get you shocked.

If you touch the lamp, then there is a ground path from the lamp, through you and into the ground.