# Can I connect 2 wire romex to 12-2 new wiring?



## tpagel (Jan 30, 2008)

Looking to install a j-box where I can connect 50 year old cloth-covered romex wiring with new 12-2 wiring. Can I do this somehow if the old stuff only has a black and a white wire? What would I connect the ground wire in the new wiring to? Hope this is possible! Thanks in advance for your replies.


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## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

When existing wiring is being replaced, older portions can be spliced in at junction boxes until the rewiring job for the entire circuit can be completed. 

No extensions may be made to older wiring that does not meet code for example has no ground wire (equipment grounding conductor). Instead the proposed extension, with modern cable or conduit, must continue all the way to the panel.

As sections are replaced piecemeal, three prong receptacles may not be installed where two prong receptacles used to be until the new wiring with ground wire has been completed from that point down to the panel, or ground fault circuit interupting protection has been added for example using GFCI receptacles. 

As a temporary alternative, a separately strung ground wire can run from a location needing a 3 prong receptacle, possibly tapped to other receptacles on the same branch circuit, and all the way down to the panel. This may not simply tie into the ground wire of the nearest cable of code compliant wiring.


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## Jim Port (Sep 21, 2007)

You do not extend older ungrounded circuits.


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## M3 Pete (May 10, 2011)

tpagel, is the romex run in metal flex conduit?

Sometimes the conduit is used as the ground, if the conduit provides a continuous electrical connection back to the panel. You would have to use a metal box, use an appropriate fitting to attach the conduit to the box, and attach the ground wire to the box.

If you have no metal conduit, then Jim and Allan are correct.


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## tpagel (Jan 30, 2008)

The old romex is not in metal conduit. Is there any code compliant way to connect two sections of old 2 wire romex with new 12-2 wire, both ends being in junction boxes?


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## andrew79 (Mar 25, 2010)

nope.

It's the rulemakers way of telling you to update your wiring so it's safe.


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## tpagel (Jan 30, 2008)

thank you for all the rapid replies. My solution seems to be an accessible junction box with blank cover plate in the middle of my ceiling to connect the two portions of old wiring I wanted to span.. Not the end of the world, but not very pretty either. I can't renovate the rooms uphill or downhill of the wiring at this time, and was hoping to just splice in a section of new wiring. Oh well. It's just a tiny coverplate, I guess. Thanks again.


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## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

If the two sections were not originally connected via that route, you may not energize the dead section by stringing a new cable between them there,

You could run a new cable to the panel as a new branch circuit and hook that to two orphaned sections of old wiring pending the latters' replacement and upgrade. It's okay to use 12-2 cable and a 15 amp breaker with the future intent of upgrading the older 14 gauge portions to 12 gauge and making it a 20 amp circuit.


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## tpagel (Jan 30, 2008)

Allan...There is not enough old wire in one leg to make it to a common junction point, and if there was, what would the new wire ground connect to?


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## tpagel (Jan 30, 2008)

if i ran new 12-2 to the panel, how would i connect the wires at the junction bow with the old two wires? The new ground wire would go where?


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## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

When the old wiring sections are de-energized, a new cable up from the panel can go to any combination of junction boxes to re-energize the old sections. The ground wire of the new cable would end at the junction boxes and be connected to nothing until such time as the old wiring sections were upgraded.

An old section being re-energized with a new cable must have been completely isolated with its neutral also not connected to any other branch circuit at the far end.


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