Correcting outlet wiring errors (120V)?

[Cubytus]

But the sound of it, you have Romex, wires wrapped in plastic. But I don't like the sound of a fuse box with two fuses in it. Where is that powered from? Modern romex usually has a bare ground wire, but this is old wire. I'm not clear on what you consider to be the ground. If you open a receptacle and look inside, you might be able to see if there is a bare ground wire roll up, which could be connected to the receptacle's ground screw. However, depending on the condition of the wire insulation, if it is brittle, you might be better to leave it alone and instead ask an electrician to make a house call and tell you if you have a electronic cal/fire hazard on your hands.

Fuse boxes are powered from their connection to the meter, in the garage. "Ground" isn't open to interpretation: it should be in the round hole in a North-American outlet.

There's a wire in the receptacle box, and apparently, it features a ground wire in the insulation that has been cut short instead of connected to the box. Very rigid cable and almost no loose cable to pull for tests.

I already asked the FD if it was a fire hazard, but they didn't call back. I guess it's a risk, just not high enough to warrant a CB. Not that I would blindly trust them or the electrician; they can't even agree on the gas stove! For the FD, having a pilot light is forbidden because of the CO and fire hazard, for the gas company it must have one!!

 

[Huntn]

Fuse boxes are powered from their connection to the meter, in the garage. "Ground" isn't open to interpretation: it should be in the round hole in a North-American outlet.

There's a wire in the receptacle box, and apparently, it features a ground wire in the insulation that has been cut short instead of connected to the box. Very rigid cable and almost no loose cable to pull for tests.

I already asked the FD if it was a fire hazard, but they didn't call back. I guess it's a risk, just not high enough to warrant a CB. Not that I would blindly trust them or the electrician; they can't even agree on the gas stove! For the FD, having a pilot light is forbidden because of the CO and fire hazard, for the gas company it must have one!!

i agree that "ground" should not be open to interpretation while acknowledging that neutral and ground wires go back to the same bus in a CB box.

"From my basic understanding, ground-to-neutral can be non-zero, but never as high as 47VAC (tested on a fully-assembled receptacle)"

Neutral wires carry excess voltage back to ground. Ground wires provide a ground and function in the same way as a neutral, protecting the electrical appliance, the receptacle, and metal receptacle boxes (when metal is used). If you are saying you get a 47VAC reading when reading the neutral to the ground, I can't explain this. Neutral wires do carry voltage, and as stated, both wires should go back to the same bus in the CB/fuse box. But for good reason, these wires provide seperate paths back to ground. You would not want excess voltage being routed through the grounded metal portions of the electrical distribution system in your house.

 

[Cubytus]

This ground is left unconnected in the receptacle box I checked. Looks like a quick retrofit of 2-bladed ungrounded outlets common in the 50s with a 3-pronged version to allow plugging in modern devices. What I don't get is why there would be a ground wire in the cable if it were to stay open.

From the electrical code, it's not allowed anymore to simply put a wire between the ground and neutral.

 

[DeltaMac]

What exactly do you want to achieve with this thread?
You have already said that you don't want to spend much money to fix this yourself, and you also said that your landlord seems unwilling to help.
I THINK that in most localities, a landlord has a responsibility to provide a rental that is safe for the renters.
If you are wanting to do something that is within your lease, and that involves a use that you cannot do because of the condition of the wiring, then you might ask the landlord if he would be willing to pay all or even a part of the repairs that you propose. You would somehow have to show that the wiring is not within code, and not complying with that code leaves you in an unsafe dwelling. I suspect that your main contention is about the garage, which would not likely be considered a living space according the building code.
Then, you are left with doing wiring upgrades yourself.
Even if landlord refuses to pay for that upgrade - maybe he still would allow rental reduction if you pay for part or all of your work. Doesn't hurt to ask, eh?

 

[Mr. Buzzcut]

Older homes often had metal outlet boxes and the ground lead was attached there. I retrofitted a few two prong outlets and just added a ground for the outlet. You have to figure out if the ground lead is really connected.

If your electronics are two prong, that won't make any difference.

If you know three prong outlets really aren't grounded, you should not use three prong cords in them. I'd also think the landlord has to fix that. Someone could die from lack of proper ground.

 

[Cubytus]

There's no obligation from the code nor (apparently) the fire department to retrofit old installations, not even from the landlord's insurance. My city doesn't even enforce rules on unsanitary dwellings! Nonsense it is.

What's wrong about the garage?

Older homes often had metal outlet boxes and the ground lead was attached there. I retrofitted a few two prong outlets and just added a ground for the outlet. You have to figure out if the ground lead is really connected.

I checked that with a multimeter. The box isn't grounded (That would have been easy)

If you know three prong outlets really aren't grounded, you should not use three prong cords in them.

I won't bar myself from using TV, computer AC adapters (The Apple one is weird: only two prongs when using the short connector, 3-prongs when using the cord - is ground really necessary?), NAS, UPS, soldering iron just because it doesn't follow modern building codes.

 

[Huntn]

This ground is left unconnected in the receptacle box I checked. Looks like a quick retrofit of 2-bladed ungrounded outlets common in the 50s with a 3-pronged version to allow plugging in modern devices. What I don't get is why there would be a ground wire in the cable if it were to stay open.

From the electrical code, it's not allowed anymore to simply put a wire between the ground and neutral.

Technically that would work, but I would hesitate because I would not want my ground wires functioning as neutrals, or vice a versa. As this is a rental, it's on the land lord's shoulders. I think it boils down to how unsafe do you feel, move or stay put. As someone said, it you are using 2 prong plugs, it's a non-issue for the receptacles in question.

 

[DeltaMac]

I apologize about the "garage" comment. I got you confused with another similar thread that I track

Right now, you are just seem to have a little knowledge, and you don't know what is safe, or what may damage your house electronics. I think you have valid questions.
Wouldn't it make sense to find someone local to you who can answer your questions, and give you some assurance (which is really what you want, correct?) that your local wiring is safer than you think, or can give you valid information.
I would be MOST concerned about the "faulty wiring" light on a UPS.

Have your tried OTHER AC receptacles in your house, just to see if all receptacles share the wiring fault, or (unhappily) just the power where your computer sits?
Maybe you will find out that you have only SOME outlets that are not properly grounded.

 

[Cubytus]

Well I don't feel unsafe in the sense of possible bodily harm. Indeed I wanted some assurance, and I thought the FD would be the right place to ask.

True is that I haven't tested every outlet. However, out of the 7 outlets linked to the same circuit, the five I tested showed significant electrical potential difference between neutral and ground, that I interpreted as "unconnected ground lug".