Simple fixture wiring help

[WannaRace]

I'm trying to rid my garage of this dim incandescent bulb with a new fixture. I don't see a ground up here but guessing it wasn't necessary on this type of plastic fixture. Can I attach a ground wire to the mounting hole or should it be inside the box at the top? Does it matter?

House was built 4 years ago. Purchased as new construction so this is how they had this wired up. I'm thinking I just pop the black/white to the next fixture and add a 14awg bare wire, simple as that?



Switch

 

[pattenp]

Are you sure there is not a bare ground wire pushed up into the top of the ceiling box?

 

[WannaRace]

Are you sure there is not a bare ground wire pushed up into the top of the ceiling box?

Yes I'm sure. I've seen that a lot of new construction homes no longer have a ground wire, rather, it's grounded behind the box on its own making a ground wire to the fixture unnecessary.

I'm going with this theory.

 

[pattenp]

If the box is metal it's easy to check for ground. Use a multimeter and check for 120V betewwn the hot wire and the box.

 

[Evan(CA)]

The box is already grounded. There will be a threaded hole in the box for a 10/32 bolt that you can use but any way you can make the connection to the box is fine. If the new fixture uses a spider ring just connect the ground to the ground screw in the ring and it will be grounded to the box through the bolts connecting it to the box.

 

[WannaRace]

There was only one threaded hole in the top of the box and the ground screw from the fixture didn't even fit it.

An employee at the big box store said modern construction does not need to have a ground to the fixture. I take advice from them with a grain of salt but that was my suspicion in the first place.
I've got the light up and all is well...at the moment

 

[jhelrey]

Who needs grounds?!?!

Actually most light fixtures, etc. don't utilize them.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Every new fixture I've installed recently used grounds. If its a metal fixture, it needs a ground. Electricians probably cut off the bare ground in the Romex where the sheathing stops. Pull out some of the Romex if there is some spare and cut the insulation back and see if there is a ground wire in there.

Charles

 

[Mustang51js]

Looks to me like it's piped in with emt and thhn, if you can drill and tap a hole in the box to get a 10/32 green ground screw in there.

 

[Norcal]

Every metal device box should have a 10/32 tapped hole for a ground screw, unless we were discussing older boxes, & since the OP said the house was built 4 years ago that should not be the case.

 

[WannaRace]

Would either of those two holes that held the previous light be an appropriate place to put a ground screw?

 

[Mustang51js]

Would either of those two holes that held the previous light be an appropriate place to put a ground screw?

A lot of people do it but it's not legal, depending on what type of light you are putting in you may not need a ground, just need to find the right size screw for the hole in box which should be 10/32