grounded vs. non-grounded outlets

[nwrigley]

I just moved into a room in a condo and I was ready to set up my pc, but the surge protector I use lit up "fault" instead of "grounded" when I plugged it into the outlet. I have 3 outlets in my room and the other 2 are detected as being grounded, but of course the faulted outlet is the closest to where I want to setup my computer, stereo, and TV.

All of the outlets are 3-pronged and the condo is a modern unit, so I assume that the outlet was intended to be grounded. How concerned should I be that it isn?t grounded? Should I avoid using it altogether and run cable from another outlet? Alternatively, I?m guessing that I can use it for 2-pronged plugs since I assume that a 2-pronged outlet is basically the same thing as an ungrounded 3-pronged outlet. My surge protector did light up as being ?protected,? so do I even need to worry at all? Since I?m in the middle of moving it is a little difficult to dig out the reference materials for my surge protector at the moment.

Thanks for any help.

 

[oynaz]

If the outlet is supposed to be grounded and is not, get an electrician to have a look. Faults in the electrical system kills people and burns buildings. A was a fireman once, so trust me on this.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Probably the single most important thing the ground will do is bleed off static charge from the HDDs and opticals.
I would open the outlet and see if it can be grounded and make sure the neutral/common is hooked up to the proper connection.
If that could not be done, I'd run a 10AGW flat extension under the edge of the rug from a known grounded outlet.

I'm not an electrition but did rewire my service so my comps are on thier own breaker.

...Galvanized

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

If an outlet isn't doing it's supposed to, then avoid use of that outlet altogether. 6 years of working on ship electric and electronic stuff taught me this. Because if it isn't grounded, you don't know where it is, and it's not worth using it and something happening.

Are you renting or did you buy? And if you bought, is the place still under the builders warranty? One way or another, you need to get that looked at...

 

[nwrigley]

I'm renting a room in the condo which is owned by my roommate. I assume that it is supposed to be grounded since it is a 3-plug outlet, but how do you know whether an outlet is supposed to be grounded or not? Maybe they just put the wrong socket on?

My knowledge about how houses are wired and so forth is very limited.

 

[Mark R]

Any electrical appliance with a metal case, or exposed metal parts (e.g. a PC) MUST be connected to a grounded outlet.

A metal appliance connected to a non-grounded outlet can become an electrocution hazard if an interal fault develops.

If the outlet is a 3 pin grounded type, but the surge strip is saying that it is not grounded, then that is a dangerous fault and the socket should not be used until it is corrected.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Originally posted by: nwrigley
I'm renting a room in the condo which is owned by my roommate. I assume that it is supposed to be grounded since it is a 3-plug outlet, but how do you know whether an outlet is supposed to be grounded or not? Maybe they just put the wrong socket on?

My knowledge about how houses are wired and so forth is very limited.

If it is a 3-prong outlet, then it should be grounded. Simple as that. Contact the owner, and let them know. It very well could be that the cable came loose, and it's an easy fix. But get someone to check it out before it creates a problem.

 

[nwrigley]

Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo

Originally posted by: nwrigley
I'm renting a room in the condo which is owned by my roommate. I assume that it is supposed to be grounded since it is a 3-plug outlet, but how do you know whether an outlet is supposed to be grounded or not? Maybe they just put the wrong socket on?

My knowledge about how houses are wired and so forth is very limited.

If it is a 3-prong outlet, then it should be grounded. Simple as that. Contact the owner, and let them know. It very well could be that the cable came loose, and it's an easy fix. But get someone to check it out before it creates a problem.

I guess the question is how much would this cost to have someone check out and what can I do myself. My guess is that I should probably not even bother trying to fiddle with it myself since the risk of severly screwing something up is too high. Obviously the actual cost of having an electrician come can only be answered by actually calling one, but if anyone know what a reasonable rate is I would appreciate it.

 

[Bob Anderson]

Do you have access to the circuit breakers? If so, find out which one it is for that wall socket and turn it off. Then, remove the cover and look for loose wires. If there doesn't seem to be any, then call in an electrician. If there does appear to be a loose wire, take off another cover of a good one and memorize what wire goes where. Then repair the defective one.

Or pay an electrician to do it. But like others have said, you do not want to use a three prong plug that is not grounded.

-Bob

 

[SparkyJJO]

If you turn off the circuit breaker look inside. You should see black wires, white wires, and some bare (or sometimes green) wires. The black wires should be on the gold colored screw (same side as the narrow slot in the outlet), the white wires on the silver screw (the side with the wide slots on the outlet) and the bare or green wires on the green screw.

Being a newer unit I would assume the ground wire is loose or it is also possible that the black and white wires were switched which is even more dangerous than a loose ground.

If you don't feel comfortable checking it out, talk to the owner of the place about getting it fixed. In the meantime, use one of the other outlets. I've felt what can happen without a proper ground connected and it doesn't feel good!

 

[bendixG15]

You can go to Radio Shack and buy an outlet test for cheap.

Then you just plug it in and the indicator lights tell you about the grounding.

Safe, no opening up boxes and messing with wiring.

And if you get a reading that says not grounded, then call the owner and tell him so, you got proof positive.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Just spent 15 minutes at Radio Shack site and couldn't find the damn thing.
When I bought mine it was under ten bucks and it worked just fine.

 

[imported_Imp]

My APC surge protector also lights up with the building wire fault. However, we've had computers, three right now, plugged into them, never had a problem. However, I strongly advise NOT to do this if you can. I can't really do anything about it since it isn't my house, and I don't know jack about electric wiring. The house is over 100 years old, so this isn't surprising. Last renovator said something about wires seriously decaying, but rewiring the dump is impossible right now in terms of money and scale. Not to mention the dust...

It may be possible to half-ass 'ground' by connecting a ground wire to a steel/copper pipe or the outlet box. It's suppose to be connected to a dedicated ground wire that goes to a spike in the ground outside. Guessing the building code didn't require that at the time your place or mines was wired up.

 

[bruceb]

By all means, if you are Renting the Condo ... call your Landlord and have him FIX it .. It is his responsibility.
Now if you Bought the Condo ... you would need to call in an Electrician if you are not comfortable
to fix it yourself ... But either way, you MUST fix it before you or your equipment get hurt or it possibly
starts a Fire

 

[MadAmos]

I would advise if you are not very sure what you are doing to get someone who does 115v can KILL or severly injure to say nothing about fire and equiptment damage. Please do not take chances with electricity :shocked:I have worked around it too many years to not respect it (PG&E Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant) and I have seen first hand the burns that you can get from "only" 115v. :Q

Amos

 

[nwrigley]

Electrician just came and checked it out. Turns out the wires were reversed as SparkyJJO suggested. Glad I got it reversed because it would be silly to leave a possible fire hazard alone without fixing it.

Thanks for the help guys.