Hello,

I recently was watching TV and I lost power to two outlets and I also lost power to two lights. I tried to reset a breaker, but the breakers were all working. I thought one of the light switches was bad so I started to check it.

It looks like the outlets all run in a series, but the only way I can get power to any lights/outlets is to connect the black wire to the bare ground wire. Once I do that the power is restored to all the outlets and lights.

What am I missing? Shouldn't I be able to connect all of the black, white and grounds together and have the lights work?

Connecting the black or "hot" wire to the bare or "ground" wire should never be done! If switches are involved then sometimes the white or "neutral" wire is used as a "hot" or "switch leg" for lighting.