Panel ground loop drove me crazy for 2 days in Austin

Had to pick between running a separate earth rod for the panel or tying into the existing house ground, and I went with the shared one to save time. Turned out the old wiring had a slight potential difference that set off false alarms every night around 2 AM, so I ripped it out and drove the separate rod on day two. Anyone else hit weird ground issues on retrofits in older neighborhoods?

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nancy_davis8d ago

Wait, tying two ground points together is usually what causes the loop in the first place, not the other way around. When you bond a separate rod to the house ground you can end up with current running through that wire because the two rods sit at different voltages, and that current is what trips stuff. A single rod at the panel can still have issues with old knob and tube wiring though, since those circuits often have no ground of their own. The 2 AM part is strange, makes me wonder if something on a timer was kicking on and pushing that difference over the edge.

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