Grounding NOT required?

[mbecker123]

The 2014 404.2(c) code says most switches are no longer required to be grounded. This is a big problem for me.

I just did some work at a house wired in the 70's, switches were not required to be grounded then either. I got shocked touching a ceiling fan and a kid's desktop computer (nobody got hurt). Grounding was connected at all light fixtures, receptacles and panel. The panel had main breaker with bonded neutral, so poor grounding was not result of a loose locknut. The main had good water pipe and ground rod connections.

The problem was at the switches, the ground wires were cut along with sheath. I had to go to every switch with needle nose pliers splicing those grounds. Scary to think this problem was only noticed after 40 years! And yes the house was built with permit and inspected.

Even if grounds are spliced and cover plates are plastic, the cover screws are metal and people touch those screws. Common residential grade switches have hot wire only a quarter of an inch from the metal yoke. So if a hot wire touches the yoke and that yoke is not grounded, people get shocked touching those screws!

The code has always meant for a grounding path to outlets, but some electricians (and even inspectors) get confused and interpret the code wrong.

http://www.2014necchanges.com/tag/nec-articles/

 

[luckylerado]

404.2(c) refers to the grounded conductor (neutral). If there is a green screw, it needs to be grounded to a grounding conductor.
Look at 404.9(B)

 

[jumper]

The 2014 404.2(c) code says most switches are no longer required to be grounded. This is a big problem for me.

That section has nothing to do with the grounding/bonding of switches. It deals with providing a neutral or the means of installing one later at switch box locations.

Bonding/grounding is covered here:

404.9 Provisions for General-Use Snap Switches.

(B) Grounding. Snap switches, including dimmer and similar
control switches, shall be connected to an equipment
grounding conductor and shall provide a means to connect
metal faceplates to the equipment grounding conductor,
whether or not a metal faceplate is installed.

 

[JFletcher]

My sisters house has those plastic yoke switches and there is no place to attach a ground to the switch. My house has no ground wire in the old cloth NM so regardless what switch is used, it's going to be ungrounded. I think hers was built late 80s early 90s, this one was built in 1953. There was a thread here long ago about 'is this switch grounded?' which showed a grounded metal box and the switch screwed, in normal fashion, to the mudring, which was ofc screwed to the box. 404.9(B)(1) (2008 NEC) allowed this, dunno if the 2011 or 14 versions do.

Point being, there are times in old work where grounding wasnt done (but still to code), not possible (old 2 wire), or done via metal boxes/raceway.

On an aside, Ive never gotten bit by a switch, but had the daylights knocked out of me on more than one occasion where a 3 prong was put on 2 wire circuit, or had the ground/neutral screws tied together via a cheater.

On an aside, now that I'm thinking about it, is this why Ive seen some older work (2 wire circuits) where the switches/receptacles changed, have been wrapped with electrical tape? Added security on an ungrounded system to keep ungrounded wires from touching metal yokes if the screws/termination fails?

 

[user 100]

My sisters house has those plastic yoke switches and there is no place to attach a ground to the switch. My house has no ground wire in the old cloth NM so regardless what switch is used, it's going to be ungrounded. I think hers was built late 80s early 90s, this one was built in 1953. There was a thread here long ago about 'is this switch grounded?' which showed a grounded metal box and the switch screwed, in normal fashion, to the mudring, which was ofc screwed to the box. 404.9(B)(1) (2008 NEC) allowed this, dunno if the 2011 or 14 versions do.

Point being, there are times in old work where grounding wasnt done (but still to code), not possible (old 2 wire), or done via metal boxes/raceway.

On an aside, Ive never gotten bit by a switch, but had the daylights knocked out of me on more than one occasion where a 3 prong was put on 2 wire circuit, or had the ground/neutral screws tied together via a cheater.

On an aside, now that I'm thinking about it, is this why Ive seen some older work (2 wire circuits) where the switches/receptacles changed, have been wrapped with electrical tape? Added security on an ungrounded system to keep ungrounded wires from touching metal yokes if the screws/termination fails?

IIRC, sp light switches were exempt from the egc req for a very long time- I know that most light fixtures were exempt until the 1975 or '78 NEC. To each their own but I feel that taping ungrounded devices (or any device for that matter in a home) is a little ludicrous and a waste of time.
A lot of electricians (or diy's pretending to be one) tape devices even in grounded metal boxes- the reason being (obviously) that the device or wires could work loose and rub up against the side of the box- the fact that the device is already( or should be) tightly secured to the box, or that any wires attached to the device are tightly wrapped around a screw and aren't going anywhere, doesn't seem to register w/ them and it stinks having to peel off layers of the sticky, staining mess later to get a glimpse of the terminals. I could see taping the device if there was an unavoidable tight fit- gfci into one of the old shallow boxes that couldn't be easily changed out- other than something like that- forget it.

 

[ptonsparky]

The reason we taped devices way back when was we never put plates on until we walked out the back door for the last time. Power could have been on for months. That and the journeyman I worked with told me to tape them.