Great Light Switch Ground Wire
This wire is needed to complete the circuit.
Light switch ground wire. This is sometimes an indication of a neutral feedback when one of the main power legs is lost on a 240 volt service but this may also be an indication that the neutral wire is being switched and you may find that when the switch is in the on position this voltage reading will change to zero or 120 volts factors within the circuit will affect this including the type of light bulbs that are used in the light fixture. Locate the ground wire coming from your home s electrical box where the light fixture is to be installed. If the wire is covered with green insulation you will need to strip 1 2 inch of the green insulation off of the tip of the wire.
If the box is not metal and a ground wire is not available in the. The ground wire connection should provide a continuous bond throughout the metal components of the light fixture. The ground wire will be either green or bare copper wire.
Sunday december 9 2018 light switches have been required to be grounded since the 1999 edition of the national electrical code. Electrical wiring in some older homes does not have a ground wire for outlets ans switches and some older homes have ground wires that are bonded behind the electrical box. The switch serves to cut the power from reaching the light switch.
If the box is metal then attach the fixture ground wire to the box. So any light switch installed since your local ahj authority having jurisdiction or in other words the building department adopted the 1999 nec should be grounded. If you have a ground wire connect the ground wire to the green screw.
Connect the black wire to the other brass screw. Light fixtures and the ground wire. In some cases the ground wire extends through out the light fixture to junction box locations where the light socket wiring is spliced together.
If the switch that was there is a standard light switch with two brass screws on it and one green screw you can connect the red wire to either of the brass screws. If you don t have a ground wire leave the green screw unconnected. The white or neutral wire bypasses the switch and goes straight to your lights.