The ground prong broke off!?

Question

i have a three pronged outlet. in which the ground prong broke off in the socket. can't I just yank it out with a pair of pliers? Is there any current flowing to or through the ground prong???

Answer 1

Yes, you can yank it out, it is supposed to be at ground (0V) potential. But to be on the safe side you should cut the power to the plug first.

Answer 2

You CAN just grab it and pull it out if you trust that the socket is wried per code. If wired correctly, the ground is connected to nothing but a ground rod buried in the ground outside near your electrical panel. I would err on the side of caution and open the breaker for the socket anyway, just to be on the safe side. Hey, you might slip and end up poking your pliers into the wrong hole! I am wondering HOW you broke off the ground pin IN the socket. Replace the plug with another as soon as you can, as that ground is a safety issue and running an appliance without a ground when it was designed to use the ground pin, is dangerous business and can get you killed in a horrible manner, fried from the inside out...

Answer 3

Just pull it out with a pair of long nose. It is tied to the safety ground.

Answer 4

If you're certain it's the ground lead, you could l**k it if you wanted too (don't try this might be a dodgey connection inside or something no point taking an unneccessary risk), ground is just a place for the current to go if it shorts out, so if the appliance breaks the mains electricity goes down the ground lead and into the Earth (literally) and not into you. All electricity is trying to get back to Earth, if you're the only way it will go through you and electrocute you, but if theres an easier way like a direct wire it will take that instead.

Answer 5

the ground is a dead wire so no current