Can green ground screw be moved to different hole in crossbar?

14 years ago

Hey all,

I'm a regular in a different forum on GardenWeb and have what I hope is a quick electrical question.

I've replaced plenty of light fixtures in my place with no problem. Today, my boyfriend was helping me and he made a decision that worries me.

The screws/holes in the outlet box, circular crossbar, and new light fixture we were hanging just weren't linking up properly. He moved the green grounding screw to a different hole in the crossbar (this is one of the round crossbars, with many holes). The hole where it was has two dimples next to it.

The light is up, but I won't use it just yet. Is the grounding screw okay in a different hole or is the hold by the dimples the only place where it can go?

This is kind of, sort of what the crossbar looks like:

Comments (4)

bus_driver
14 years ago
No problem.
Jeannine
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks so much. I'm sorry for what must be a totally silly question.

The fixture was a little warm to the touch last night and I posted that between feeling the fixture and feeling another one in the laundry room, which is equally hot. I was worried that something was wrong.
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scottys
14 years ago
No question is silly if you don't know the answer. No problem with moving the green wire to alternate screw hole.

The warmth you feel on the fixture has nothing to do with the green ground wire being attached to a different hole on this crossbar plate.
Billl
14 years ago
Just so you know, no current should be flowing through your ground wire. It is there as a safety feature. If something happens to the light that causes it to become electrified, the current flows to that plate and then to the ground wire and away from you. Electricity flows through metal way faster than a speeding car or plane or anything else you used to dealing with, so it really doesn't matter if the screw is 1 inch away or 4 inches away. The only thing that matters is that the wire is securely connected to the metal plate.