What do i do if there is no ground wire?
Question:it is an older house so there is no existing ground wire in the box
Answers:
even tho they are connected at the same place in the panel the netural is there to carry the max of the unbalanced load of the building ground is there in case the netural fails but if there is no ground than run a #12 back to your panel or to a copper water pipe and attach with a ground clamp or you can drive a 8 foot ground rod outside and run the ground wire to it as that one outlet that you do this to will be the only one grounded keep that in mind
So what. Just add one. Run a new ground from the panel to the switch and from the switch to the fan. Or just don't have one at all.
Some old wiring aren't up to code. My grandmother's house didn't have any and the lights used to flicker when we were living there. When an aunt of mine came to visit with her new husband, he pointed this out and long story short he brought it up to code. I don't know what all he did, we were young then about 40 years ago, and didn't really pay attention, but now, there is a ground cable that is attached to something and it runs into the ground. You should have it thoroughly checked, and have it adjusted accordingly. Be careful and good luck.
if you own the house you can upgrade the service, if you rent you should talk to your landlord
This is common. But not really a big deal. The white is neutral which actually is a ground. Not up to code by present standards but should be safe as long as the wires are not damaged. Talk to a few reputable electrical contractors.
The lack of a ground wire is not a necessarily a problem. If you gave some idea what you were doing that made you feel a ground wire was needed, it would be easier to give you some direction.
Older buildings often do not have a ground wire. You can make minor alterations with some limitations without replacing the wiring. Replacing an outlet, for example, would be allowed. You simply need to install a two-wire outlet without a ground connection.
There was a time when they hooked the ground wire to the outside of the metal boxes. This changed when they switched to plastic boxes. Check for continuity from the box to ground.
Don't listen to that moron. Neutrals are not grounds. Neutrals are grounded, current-carrying conductors. Never use a neutral for an equipment ground. It is a code violation. Neutrals are to be bonded to grounds ONLY at the first means of disconnect. Normally, your breaker box.
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