As you can see in the above picture wiring enters the fixture thru a top removable cap and only the black and white wires tie directly to the fixture the ground is only connected to the cap which means if the cap comes loose the ground is no longer made at the fixture
As you can see in the bottom fixture this cap was not properly fitted and has come loose there is no ground to the fixture and if the electronic ballasts fails and shorts to ground the entire ceiling grid can become energized and result in a shock to person working in the ceiling . Why the ground wire is not directly hard wired to the fixture makes absolutely no sense but this is the way it has been done for many years by manufacturers and grounding of these fixtures is critical to prevent issues or a shock or fire could result if the ballast which puts out as much as 600 volts goes bad.
All I keep hearing is excuses as to why this issue has not been addressed but after several times now seeing florescent fixtures ballasts short to ground and either getting shocked while up on a ladder and also seeing where a fire was ready to start I do not buy any of there arguments that the ground not be better done on these fixtures.
No comments:
Post a Comment