House wiring ground issues???

gjbassist · #1 06-04-2010, 09:14 AM

So I just relocated my gear to my new mini man cave in a room upstairs at home. Ever since moving I have had additional noise and clicking when I touch the metal switches on the amp. I know it is not a bass problem because I moved the amp back downstairs and it was quiet! I also tried moving the amp to another room upstairs and it was noisy too. So my question is what, if anything short of rewiring can I do to quiet the hum from the amp in this room? Also the house is over 100 years old and there is only one outlet in my practice room!

SGD Lutherie · #2 06-04-2010, 09:16 AM

Pick up an outlet tester and check the outlets. Very often they are wired up wrong and the grounds are not connected.

gjbassist · #3 06-04-2010, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGD Lutherie

Pick up an outlet tester and check the outlets. Very often they are wired up wrong and the grounds are not connected.

I have a basic outlet tester with a light on it. What kind do I need to show proper grounding?

SGD Lutherie · #4 06-04-2010, 09:32 AM

GE 50542 Receptacle Tester, 3-Wire Light Improper Wiring Indicator

darkstorm · #5 06-05-2010, 12:11 AM

Most all the little testers will show wether on not the middle prong ground of 3way outlet s connected or not.

uglyrumor · #6 06-05-2010, 07:40 AM

But to answer your question...run an extension cord from a grounded outlet. Your outlets are not grounded, or are improperly grounded. So, without wiring them correctly, run a cord.

SGD Lutherie · #7 06-05-2010, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uglyrumor

But to answer your question...run an extension cord from a grounded outlet. Your outlets are not grounded, or are improperly grounded. So, without wiring them correctly, run a cord.

Beyond the ground being connected, some outlets are wired with the hot and neutral swapped, and that's not good either!

That's why it's good to check the outlet.

**Mound of Sound** · #8 06-05-2010, 08:32 AM

If the house it 100 years old, chances are you don't have a ground (except maybe for you heavy duty appliances).

gjbassist · #9 06-05-2010, 02:28 PM

I went ahead and pulled the outlet out to check it out. No ground wire as suspected. I went to Lowe's and picked up a new metal outlet box and a ground wire. I grounded the outlet to the box. It didn't eliminate the problem totally but did help quiet the amp noise a bit.

DWBass · #10 06-05-2010, 02:32 PM

http://www.ehow.com/how_2089453_grou...c-sockets.html

SurferJoe46 · #11 06-05-2010, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gjbassist

I went ahead and pulled the outlet out to check it out. No ground wire as suspected. I went to Lowe's and picked up a new metal outlet box and a ground wire. I grounded the outlet to the box. It didn't eliminate the problem totally but did help quiet the amp noise a bit.

Of course not. That house prolly has the Paul Revere seal or electrical approval too, with the age of it. Remember him? He flew kites in lightning storms.

The wall box has to be grounded to SOMEthing or it's still not a grounded circuit.

In the ol' mud-n-wire-pair days where they just stuffed the wires IN the lathe before they plastered them over, and they only have a single pair and there ain't no ground in that system at all.

For safety, you MAY have to run a new ground home-run to the distribution panel - or the worst case4 tie into a Eufer or another ground anode that you might be able to pick up somewhere else.

DO NOT USE A WATER PIPE - especially in a very old house as the integrity of the joints are very suspect.

The Eufer isn't really Kosher either, but it may keep you from doing the 60-cycle slam in a puddle of your own juices on the floor awaiting someone to happen by who maybe knows CPR.

You really need to get back to the d-box for a good ground.

DANGER, Will Robbins! DANGER!

gjbassist · #12 06-05-2010, 10:17 PM

Now I'm really getting frustrated! Just to confirm this is a ground issue I ran a heavy duty extension cord to the outlet downstairs I had used before. The amp remained upstairs. Same noise! However, when I physically move the amp downstairs and plug it directly in to that outlet the hum goes away. So what is causing this? There has to be something else in this upstairs room that is giving off a signal to interfere with the amp! There is a computer, printer and small stereo in the room as well. It has also gotten worse as the day goes on. When I first moved up into this room last weekend I did not have this problem. I'm stumped!

hdracer · #13 06-05-2010, 10:23 PM

Do you have florescent lights in the room, or a neon light? I sort of had the same problem until I replaced the ballast in a couple of lights and moved a neon bar clock.

gjbassist · #14 06-05-2010, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hdracer

Do you have florescent lights in the room, or a neon light? I sort of had the same problem until I replaced the ballast in a couple of lights and moved a neon bar clock.

No, just one regular bulb in a ceiling fixture.

nsmar4211 · #15 06-05-2010, 10:40 PM

Start by unplugging everything in that room but your amp......that'll tell you if its interferance

Also, what about the room next to it? Are you near the kitchen? (thinking microwave)? Old houses have thin walls and it might be in the next room......

SurferJoe46 · #16 06-06-2010, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gjbassist

Now I'm really getting frustrated! Just to confirm this is a ground issue I ran a heavy duty extension cord to the outlet downstairs I had used before. The amp remained upstairs. Same noise! However, when I physically move the amp downstairs and plug it directly in to that outlet the hum goes away. So what is causing this? There has to be something else in this upstairs room that is giving off a signal to interfere with the amp! There is a computer, printer and small stereo in the room as well. It has also gotten worse as the day goes on. When I first moved up into this room last weekend I did not have this problem. I'm stumped!

My computer and the WIFI network transmitter makes a lot of noise in my Fender Telecaster guitar - it could be crawling into your amp too.

I also have an Athlon CPU and it's internal clock makes a racket - but it's about the same as my microwave and my wireless phones too.

BTW: Is there a digital speed controller in that ceiling fan? Anything like that is usually noisy too.

Rick Auricchio · #17 06-06-2010, 12:08 PM

You might be picking up electromagnetic noise, sometimes from the power-line entry into the house. The amp/instrument is acting like an antenna and picking up the noise upstairs. Not much you can do.

Grounding an outlet to a metal box---with no ground line back to the main panel---is worthless. You might as well ground to one of these: