Hey anyone How do I ground a 3 prong outlet and there are only 2 wires one black and one white. No green

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Originally Posted by gregmjohn

Hey anyone How do I ground a 3 prong outlet and there are only 2 wires one black and one white. No green

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Is your house wired using metal conduit? If so, then ground is carried through the conduit and you can connect a standard 3-prong outlet using a green ground clip to the box. If you have a volt meter you could check for voltage between the hot wire (black) and the box.

Even if you don't have conduit, check it with a meter. I've seen older houses where they wrapped the bare ground wire around the romex wire under the romex clamps.

And in most cases [ all that I have seen] you will find a bare wire -- not a green one. -- Savage

To be legal the new style outlets with a ground must be grounded. Now there are exceptions and work arounds to this in the National Electric code.
GFCI will work if connected properly.
Running a separate wire from the device to the water line if the water line is grounded. And a few others.

I have been known to fill in the grounding hole in the outlet so that nothing that requires a ground can be plugged in.
There are also outlets available for service on two wires. They cost a few bucks but they just replace exactly what is there.

Does a gfci have to be grounded at the breaker box or can it be grounded at the box if the box is grounded? I know the gfci will function measuring differential voltage but if not grounded it will not protect against shorts and direct contact with wires.

Assuming your referring to a GFI receptacle, the device needs to be grounded at the outlet box. If the outlet box does not have an equipment grounding conductor, then the GFI will do exactly what you mention, protect against ground faults only.

There is an exception that allows an equipment grounding conductor be added from the outlet back to the grounding system at the panelboard, however, my opinion is that if a grounding wire can be added, and new cable with a grounding conductor can be installed.