The house was built in 1991. You can add a ground wire to your electrical box in the ceiling for an extra measure of safety when replacing a ceiling light.
![Smart Light Switch Neutral Wire Do You Need One](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/d0jW06Ike24/maxresdefault.jpg)
Smart Light Switch Neutral Wire Do You Need One
No ground wire in light switch box. Disconnect your lighting circuit at the main service panel. Anyway a friend suggested i connect the ground wire on the dimmer to the metal switch box to ground it. Going without a ground wire if the light switch has a screw for a bare ground wire but your electrical box doesnt have one youre ok just leaving that screw empty and connecting your other wires to the hot screws. I thought a ground wire was required by the building code. If the box is not metal and a ground wire is not available in the fixture box then you can still install the key less light fixture. Thread an 8 32 nut onto the screw.
If the box is metal then attach the fixture ground wire to the box. Last and least if theres no screw present in the box to connect a ground wire and no place to put a screw heres a workaround. Turns out the old switch didnt have a ground wire attached. I checked another switch. Ground wires and ungrounded fixtures and boxes. In many cases especially in older houses with metal boxes the metal box may be grounded even if you dont have a ground wire.
Electrical wiring in some older homes does not have a ground wire for outlets ans switches and some older homes have ground wires that are bonded behind the electrical box. Wrap the wire around the screw then cinch the nut down to hold it. Dont ground to the electrical box. The box could overheat and start a fire or someone could get a shock from touching it. I went to install a dimmer switch yesterday. Connecting the ground wire to a metal electrical box will energize the box in the event of a short circuit.
Never cut the ground wire off. Remove one of the long screws that holds the fixture in place. When you have a ground wire and there is no place to attach it then place a wire connector over the end coil up the ground wire and push it back into the electrical junction box. Light fixtures and the ground wire. Dont rely on metal sheathing or an exposed ground wire. If your light switch spark box is made of metal its likely that the bare copper ground wire youre looking for is wrapped around the wiring cables sheath and held in place by the clamp holding.