Our grounding wire got severed 8 months ago. About 7 months ago our refrigerator stopped working. We replaced it with a brand new fridge... 3 times! We are about to put in a fourth brand new fridge and I am wondering if the lack of a grounding wire can affect our major appliances, or have we really just purchased every single lemon in our area?

Thank you.

The ground wire is a safety device. With the exception of modern day florescence light and some electronic devices it is not a part of the circuity.

If you have gone through 3 refrigerators in 7 months you have some other kind of problem. Possible power surges, start looking for a good electrician.

Ground wire should be replaced for safety reasons.

I have to ask why you keep replacing the units yourself. Have you had any of the units serviced? If so, what was found to be wrong with them?

Flip the frig circuit to off and see what other major amp unit also goes off
Chances are you are sharing the same circuit with another major unit
Put the refrigerator on a separate dedicated circuit