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Underground Copper Wire Green?

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Underground Copper Wire Green? Jim Conway 09-02-2008
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Posted by Jim Conway on September 2, 2008, 10:23 am


Hi,

I'm having intermittent problems with an exterior post lamp (light
sometimes works, sometimes doesn't and it's not the bulb). I pulled
back the wire from the fixture itself through the post bottom, but
damaged that run while removing (~6'). Upon cutting and stripping that
length back at ground level so I could splice in a new wire into the
post (using an underground splice kit to mate the old/new), I noticed
that each copper wire of my existing wiring (black, white, ground) has
a green coloring such as you'd see on copper roofs exposed to
moisture. I'm guessing that water's penetrating which might explain my
intermittent problem, so I've halted my repair at the moment.

Does underground wiring normally turn green, or is water somehow
penetrating where it shouldn't be? House is 15 years old. Thanks!

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Posted by dpb on September 2, 2008, 10:40 am


Jim Conway wrote:
...
> Does underground wiring normally turn green, or is water somehow
> penetrating where it shouldn't be? House is 15 years old. Thanks!

No and yes, sounds as if...

Good chance the original was pulled using ordinary romex used for the
rest of the house rather than underground-rated cable.

Best guess from here is you're best bet is to pull a new cable using
U(nderground)-rated wire.

You could try the repair and perhaps get by for a while but it's going
to fail completely sooner rather than later so the effort w/o the
replacement would likely be more futile than not...

--

Posted by John Grabowski on September 2, 2008, 11:39 am



> Hi,
>
> I'm having intermittent problems with an exterior post lamp (light
> sometimes works, sometimes doesn't and it's not the bulb). I pulled
> back the wire from the fixture itself through the post bottom, but
> damaged that run while removing (~6'). Upon cutting and stripping that
> length back at ground level so I could splice in a new wire into the
> post (using an underground splice kit to mate the old/new), I noticed
> that each copper wire of my existing wiring (black, white, ground) has
> a green coloring such as you'd see on copper roofs exposed to
> moisture. I'm guessing that water's penetrating which might explain my
> intermittent problem, so I've halted my repair at the moment.
>
> Does underground wiring normally turn green, or is water somehow
> penetrating where it shouldn't be? House is 15 years old. Thanks!



Green is an indication of moisture infiltration. As a result there may be a
section of the cable that is arcing between conductors which may explain the
intermittent problem. Normally UF cable does not experience moisture
problems unless the outer jacket has been compromised. However if the cable
is regular type NM (Romex) then that would explain everything. If it is
Romex you should replace the entire run.


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