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Troubleshooting Ungrounded 3 Prong Outlets

What does it mean to have an ungrounded three prong outlet? Is it dangerous? It is dangerous and that is because you are identifying that circuit as a grounded system when it is not. The ground wire is very important in an electrical system. It provides a path to ground in the event there is a fault. There are three things you can do to bring that ungrounded three prong outlet up to code:

1. Install 2 prong outlet
2. Install Gfci or gfci breaker on circuit
3.Rewire circuit with ground wire

There are benefits to all these options. For the first option, you are correctly identifying to others that they are plugging into an ungrounded system. 2 prong outlets will not protect you from shock but they will be up to code.

For the second option, you are actually protecting people and making your system as a whole safer. GFCIs will trip if they detect a fault. This is probably the most cost effective way to upgrade your system.

And the third option is great because you are upgrading the entire system with an actual ground wire. However, this is also the most expensive option.