“When I connect it and turn it on, it only lights up protected. Should "grounded" light up as well? Why isn't it? is it safe to use and is it doing its job? It's connected to the only wall outlet available. Thanks in advance to anyone that responds”
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My best guess is that your outlet is wired wrong. I just moved into a house and have been gobsmacked out how many of the switches and outlets weren’t properly grounded. This can lead to fried hardware at best or it can lead to electrocution at worst, as the circuit breaker won’t ever trip to kill an overloaded circuit plugged into this device. Get yourself an outlet tester, or, kill the outlet power at the breaker and look in the outlet, or, hire an electrician to take a look at the outlet. Either way, test and repair if needed ASAP.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.I know this is 3 months old, but have you tried another outlet? If the surge protector is new, I'm guessing your outlet isn't properly grounded.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.I assume your surge protector is not defective. The manufacturer should have tested it before shipping. You could confirm by taking it to another location (perhaps another building) and plugging it in. Ground light should be illuminated when the power switch in ON. If the surge protector appears okay then the electrical outlet you have must not be properly grounded. Depending on the appliance you have connected (such as a computer) that should still furnish some surge protection. The national electrical code, which may be modified in your locality, allows a GFI (ground fault interrupt outlet) to be installed; in the absence of a third wire (ground) coming into outlet box. That will trip in case the neutral wire is broken to protect a person. But it will not protect attached equipment such as your appliances, electronics etc. You will note that power cubes, and some television sets, are frequently two prong (no ground) so they shouldn’t be affected by lack of an earth ground. It would be best to have a licensed electrician check your electrical service. But if you don’t own the property I would think it is pretty safe to protect your attached equipment. If it is a three-prong receptacle in the outlet box I would at least replace it with a GFI outlet; to protect you. And to make sure someone did not wire it incorrectly by installing a plain three-prong outlet (three incoming wires) in a two-wire electrical box. I hope this helps. Also, I am not a licensed electrician but I have two rocket fish surge protectors myself. One is grounded and the other is not. The one that is not grounded is connected to a GFI outlet (and has multiple electronic cords/cubes plugged into it), none of which are three wire. Regards.
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