So I recently bought some surge protectors (plug in to wall socket, not power panel type) for my 20 yo house.

I found one outlet where the the Grounded indicator light stays off, indicating some issue. I tried another surge protector with the same result. I tried both protectors on another outlet and the Grounded light turns on.

Seems like the outlet has an issue. But I’ve been using it seemingly without issue for years.

How bad is this issue? Get an electrician to check it out asap? Or no real issue if it seems to be working?

make / model of the surge "protector" ??

The Grounded or Earthed light indicates that your surge protector is connected to a properly grounded outlet. If this light is not ON, you may have a ground-wiring problem and should contact an electrician to inspect and properly ground the outlet.

The Link

Will call electrician. Curious: if so, how will issues manifest in devices? Will they just not work? Will they break? Will they work intermittently? Hazardous situation?

20 years and haven’t noticed an issue with attached devices to that outlet.

There are many areas in and around Tokyo that don't use grounded outlets. I found that out the hard way.

Everything will work fine.

The surge protector won't work as advertised but your devices will continue to function like they always have .

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Will call electrician. Curious: if so, how will issues manifest in devices? Will they just not work? Will they break? Will they work intermittently? Hazardous situation?

20 years and haven’t noticed an issue with attached devices to that outlet.

If you have no ground, then the surge protector won't work. If you plug something into the outlet that has an internal fault to the frame of it and you also touch something grounded (sink faucet, radiator, HVAC supply/return) then you will be shocked. Otherwise it will work just like any other outlet.

Got it. Thanks guys.

I'll have an electrician take a look; I want to get a quote for installing the whole house surge protection anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I want to get a quote for installing the whole house surge protection anyway.

Good choice.

I've hated plug in surge protectors since some caught fire a few years back and had to be recalled. Just never trusted them.

Besides, it's just about $3 of extra components that go into those plug in / power strip ones. Split one apart sometime and you will see what I mean. Those cheap components don't do well over time. Which is why the cheap power strip ones need to be replaced every few years or so.

^^^ correct

Do better than simple diode protection … musicians have been using surge protection and power conditioning for their equipment for many decades now.

It’s fairly well developed and you don’t have to use those shitty cheap diode surge protectors.