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I have a pull-chain light in the attic of an older house (1964) we recently purchased. The power coming into the light fixture is old 2-wire with no ground.

I would like to remove the pull-chain light and replace it with a single-pole switch powering 3 light fixtures.

Since the new wiring is going to be 2-wire ROMEX with ground, can I wire this circuit as shown in the diagram? I am more concerned about what to do with the ground wire at the single-pole switch receptacle.

Appreciate any advice on how to resolve this challenge. Thanks in advance!

Old 2-wire with no ground to power new single-pole switch and light fixtures with 2-wire with ground

Albert Pecoraro
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1 Answers1

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2 main options for doing it safely:

  1. Install a GFCI before the switch, with the switch and everything after it fed from the load terminals of (and thus protected by) the GFCI. This could be a breaker at the supply end, a box added at the supply end, or a box near the switch (or a double box with the switch.) I don't see them stocked much, but I guess there are GFCIs that are intended to be used as switches, as well. That would get you there in one device.
  2. Run a retrofit ground wire to the basement. Since NEC 2014, the retrofit ground wire does not need to follow the same path that the supply wiring does. It needs to connect to a ground going to the same supply the wiring comes from, and of sufficient size.

If you connect up the ground wires of the ungrounded circuit (without GFCI protection) and there is a fault to (what would be) ground, all the "not grounded" ground locations become energized. It would be slightly safer (but likely not code compliant unless the work is "strictly repair" of a grandfathered ungrounded circuit, which I think the scope of work described exceeds) to not hook up the grounds at all, in that case.

Ecnerwal
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