[Samin123]

There are 3 wires being the outlet. Can I Splice into one of the to use as a ground wire? Is that safe

[Samin123]

There are 3 wires behind the outlet It's the same with the light switches there is no ground hooked and 3 wires behind them would like to use one as ground if possible

[creahands]

What is the color of cover on wires. If u have a white, black and bear(no cover), then the bear is ground.

If u have a red, black and white. The red and black are usually hot and the white is neutral.

Tell us how the wires are hooked up to switch and outlet.

Chuck

[donf]

You may very well have several things going on here.

If you have a 14/2 cable in the walls, you would have Black = Ungrounded, or Hot. White = Grounded, or Neutral and Bare = Equipment Grounding Conductor.

If there are three wires, as in 14/3, then you have Black = Ungrounded or Hot. Red = Ungrounded or Hot. White = Grounded or Neutral.

Now if you have Black/White -Bare going to a switch as part of a "Switch Loop", for example, the power comes into an overhead light fixture and is diverted from the fixture to the wall switch and then returned to the fixture, then you do not have a Neutral.

Switches use only Ungrounded (Hot) conductors.

If power is brought directly to the switch and then routed to the light fixture, then you would see Black connected to both terminals of the switch and White or Neutral would by-pass the switch connection.

In this situation, you would have a Hot and Neutral to tap onto, providing the device box has sufficient volume to accommodate the new conductors.