Removing CGFI from Ceiling Box

[Jonmustang]

We have four T8 fluorescent fixtures running off a switched ceiling box in the garage. The electrician who installed them also put an ungrounded CGFI outlet in the box for occasional light-duty use when the lights are on.

Anyway, the CGFI doesn't get used at all and I thought I'd just remove it in favor of a cover plate, since I'll be up there installing an additional light fixture anyway. However, the ground wires from the light fixtures all terminated at that ungrounded CGFI.

Now I'm wondering, is there any benefit in having the ground wires from the lights terminate at an ungrounded CGFI, or is that kind of arbitrary?

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I'm no electrician, but how can you have an ungrounded GFCI?

Tommy

 

[Jonmustang]

I'm no electrician, but how can you have an ungrounded GFCI?

Tommy

It's a GFCI outlet installed without going to a proper earth ground. More common in older homes as a less-than-ideal retrofit, or so it seems.

 

[Jonmustang]

From another website, I found this:

"GFCIs are for personal protection, not equipment protection. You can use them to provide a 3-prong recep but they won't do much else for your stuff."

Besides that, I've had a little think about it, and all the CGFI does is trip if there is an imbalance between hot and neutral... doesn't even need a ground to function. Thus, I'm guessing it doesn't do much good for the light fixtures to terminate at an ungrounded CGFI, since its own ground doesn't go anywhere.

Correct me if I'm wrong.