How to fix a ground issue in my garage

[fred d]

When I first bought this house the garage had one outlet to plug-in and one light in the middle of the ceiling with a single incandescent bulb.

I added 3 outlets on each of 3 walls, brought 220 in the garage to run my compressor & welders, and installed 4 florescents 8 ft lights.

I purchased a new home stereo and mounted 4 stereo speakers from old home stereos. The stereo was put in a cabinet to keep all of the dust and grime out of the unit. The cabinet is metal.

My problem is that my radio reception flat *****. I have added an additional external antenna which has not helped. My portable dewalt radio has perfect reception on AM&FM.The problem with the DeWalt is that I live on a very busy road. When the garage door is open it does not give enough volume to hear over road noise.

I have been told that it could be a ground issue.
My FIL helped me wire garage, and he told me he did not attach the solid copper wire to the green ground screw on the outlets because it wasn't necessary.

I am not sure if that is the reason or not.
I tried to go back and attach the ground, but he cut back the ground wire ( so it wouldn't be in the way) so I don't have enough wire left to connect.

Question
Is it a ground issue causing my poor radio reception?
Aside from stretching new wire through garage, what can I do to fix?

Have tried to give as much info, so others can help me diagnose this, if you have questions necessary to diagnose, please ask

I have also tried removing the stereo from the metal cabinet to see if that made a difference, but no change.
Also the drywall was added after the electrical was run, so no access

 

[kd3pc]

I doubt this is a ground issue...

Does the stereo work at all, and is there static or rushing wind noise or buzzing?

Did the stereo get decent reception elsewhere, before you installed it in the garage?

You will likely need an outside antenna or at least a better one.

Again, likely NOT a ground issue.

 

[dw1]

I have been told that it could be a ground issue.
My FIL helped me wire garage, and he told me he did not attach the solid copper wire to the green ground screw on the outlets because it wasn't necessary.

I am not sure if that is the reason or not.
I tried to go back and attach the ground, but he cut back the ground wire ( so it wouldn't be in the way) so I don't have enough wire left to connect.

Question


I have also tried removing the stereo from the metal cabinet to see if that made a difference, but no change.
Also the drywall was added after the electrical was run, so no access[/QUOTE]

I would try to get bare ground wires on green screws of the receptacles and switches, this is a safety issue. I agree with poster above about the antennae, try to hook one up and set it outside of the garage, if it works better, look at a permanent installation.

 

[Nick Danger]

First, I would bring the radio to the house to see if it works there. Ideally, I'd hook it up to known-good speakers.

 

[mustangmike6996]

The radio might not be designed with the same RF Noise suppression as the Dewalt. I understand that one works and the other does not, this can be a few different things. I have an older radio that gets ok reception depending on where the antenna is placed. I usually wrap it around the junction box rod or it will make RF noise/static/not pick up all channels etc.

As stated above, move the radio inside and retest. Who knows, do you live by powerlines? That will cause poor reception.

If it improves in other places I would look into some RF filter/noise supressor for the radio.

As for the grounds, I would be kicking my FIL in the head. Do you need them? no, but it is a huge safety thing. Did you install metal boxes? If so, you can get the ground wire with the scew already attached and then run some copper wire to each box then to a good ground in the home.

 

[Turbo900rr]

Not a ground issue. Is the stereo designed for four speakers? If you have wired four speakers into two speakers outlets you changed the load on the amplifier and reduced the speaker output even though you doubled the number of speakers. Look on the back of the stereo it should say what ohm speakers it's rated for. If this is mismatched it will lower db output as well. Let us know what you find out. Good luck.

 

[_Dock_]

I had major interference with radio reception in my garage as well. It was the stero and the florescent lights.

 

[mustangmike6996]

I guess if you are getting too much RF Noise/EMI you can build a Faraday Cage to surround the radio.

 

[n8n]

I have been told that it could be a ground issue.
My FIL helped me wire garage, and he told me he did not attach the solid copper wire to the green ground screw on the outlets because it wasn't necessary.

If the ground wires are attached to metal boxes with ground screws there, and the devices used are the "self grounding" type with little brass things on the yoke to engage the device screws, he's right.

however, cutting wires too short to make up connections to the device *is* a code violation - NEC requires a certain length of wire to be able to be pulled out past the face of the box, I want to say it's 3" but don't quote me on that because I'm going off memory.

 

[sberry]

You need to fix the wire issue, your fil doesn't understand what he is doing and leaves a dangerous situation in everything he wires. Take his tools away.

 

[zappman]

Are your florescent lights always on when your trying to tune in a station?
Florescent lights can not only mess with your reception, but can also sometimes cause a buzzing noise in the amp's output just being on the same circuit.
Also you said "The cabinet is metal"? That can mess up reception if your using the radio's internal antenna.
If you had a bad (weak) ground, it would more likely cause a hum in the speakers than mess with your reception.
Hooking up two speakers to each output channel (L & R) will alter the ohm load. If the amp is balanced for an 8 ohm load and you wire in (2) 8 ohm cabinets to the left channel and (2) to the right, your now running a 4 ohm load. This will reduce your output signal at the speakers, but wouldn't have anything to do with your reception.
If your problem is as you state that your "radio reception flat *****" it pretty much has to be either your antenna, or something in the garage interfering with your reception.

 

[Jlbc212]

Shut off the florescent lights and see if that helps. I use my I-phone and TuneIn radio app to get crystal clear reception. Also use a pair of noise canceling headphones. They block out the compressor and power tool noises.

 

[landyacht]

I had a radio that all of a sudden wouldn't pick up any fm stations (never tried am). Turns out the poco installed our smart meter the day the problem started, and it's right behind the radios location. After fighting the good fight to have them give us a new meter (they say it can't possibly be defective) I finally gave up and reconfigured my garage cabinetry to move the radio to the other side. Problem solved. Definitely ground your plugs as a matter of safety, but move your radio to see if that can fix the problem

 

[BillK]

Fred,
I didn't read all of the responses but basically if the DeWalt radio works then the problem is with the "Stereo"

 

[RunninOnEmpty]

Not necessarily a "problem" so much as different radios just have different sensitivity. Ever change a stock head unit in a car with an aftermarket one only to lose a significant amount of radio signal strength?

In any case, anything solid in between the towers and your antenna will hurt your signal, but metals and other really heavy, dense materials like concrete hurt it the most. But conductive metal, especially when grounded, can also create a Faraday Cage type effect.

Edit: Oh, and whoever said that the outlets are wired okay if the boxes themselves are metal and grounded, that is typically true. Personally I like to ground the box and run another ground wire to the screw on the outlet/switch just to provide a little extra protection (particularly from someone stupid enough to actually unscrew the switch or outlet and think it's fine to use that way for whatever reason.. I've seen it)