What is an Open Ground at an electrical outlet?
When a grounding receptacle (three-holed type receptacle) does not actually have a grounding conductor. • What is the concern about an open ground”? You may have noticed that the electrical outlets in most modern homes now have three-wire receptacles that accommodate electrical cords with three-prong plugs. The third prong provides a path to ground along which the electric current travels. Most major appliances, such as stoves, refrigerators, and computers, have three-prong plugs, meaning they are grounded. If, for what ever reason, there is no grounding conductor at the receptacle, there is a danger of possible shock or electrocution and damage to the equipment. A missing grounding conductor often occurs in older homes that previously had ungrounded 2-prong outlets and then was upgraded erroneously with 3-prong outlets without the presence of a grounding conductors. Or sometimes in newer homes the grounding conductor was mistakenly not connected or has come off the terminal. Although
