My $45 outlet tester saved me from a nasty surprise today

Was wiring up a new GFCI in my own kitchen and the tester caught a bootleg ground that had me scratching my head for 20 minutes. Has anyone else had that weird buzzing sound from a miswired receptacle that sounded totally different than the tester indicated?

3 comments

3 Comments

alicesingh5d ago

Wait, a jumper wire from neutral to ground? That's terrifying, people actually do that and call it a fix?

alicesingh8d ago

The buzzing from a bootleg ground is usually a low hum or a crackle, not the sharp buzz you'd get from a reverse polarity situation. I've had a miswired outlet where the tester said "correct" but the ground wire was just a jumper to the neutral screw. Did your tester specifically flag that bootleg ground with a "open ground" or "hot/ground reversed" indicator? Those two codes can sound totally different from a loose neutral hum. I'm curious what brand tester you were using too, because some are better at catching those sneaky bootlegs than others.

the_anthony8d ago

That buzzing sound alice mentioned is usually the ground wire vibrating against the metal box.