Does a ground wire is a NM home need to be connected to the switches?
In doing some wiring in my house, I noticed that every outlet and switch has the ground wires simply twisted together and not connected to (seemingly) anything.
Is this safe/allowed?
All of the junction boxes are plastic and all wiring is NM (non-metallic). Some switches have an audible spark when I turn them on. Is this because of the non-attached ground wires?
I worry for my home's safety, as this house was obviously wired by an idiot as it is (instead of wires in the 'quick holes' in the outlet backs, the wiring was shoved into the 'press to release' spots).
Last question. Would wiring the ground wires in future outlets to the ground screw actually screw this weird system up? (if is it even safe to begin with, that is)
The ground wire should always be connected when possible. What I would do Is replace all the switches and plugs and connect the ground wire as I go along if they are long enough, If they are not get a piece of wire about 7 inches long and do a pig tail to the ground. The sparking that you here is electricity jumping the contacts inside the switch, you should replace those first. And Connecting the grounds shouldn't screw anything up as long as the ground isn't touching a hot wire along it path, or a neutral wire if its a GFCI. Get a plug in tester with the three lights on it if it says open ground then you know the ground needs to be connected.
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