Sub panel grounds tied to SEC ground wires

I need some help understanding if this is correct or not. 1973, 1851 sf, 3/2 on a crawl. The exterior main is a GE with 5 breakers, one of which is a 60A for a GE sub panel. In the sub the ground wires are all bundled together and twisted with the uninsulated ground from the main panel. The uninsulated ground is bonded to the interior of the sub panel. I’ve included some pics of the sub and one of the main. I’m thinking this is ok, however, since I’ve not seen this type of configuration before I want to make sure. Thanks for the feedback!

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Do you know what the grounding conductor on the left is bonded to?…And, where the wire splits go?

Hey Larry, the wire appeared to be bonded to the sub panel beneath the neutral wires, unless I’m incorrect. I’ve attached another photo of the wire split. It appears one split went to the ground wires and the other were just twisted together going nowhere.

I can’t tell if the bond is to the can behind the neutral bus or to the actual bus.

And the separation of the wire bundle is wrong.

I’d refer it out.

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Did you get a good look at the damaged insulation?

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Got it. Thanks for the insight!

JJ, yep, got it, it’s right there in the photo you posted. Thanks for pointing that out, I would have missed it otherwise!

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The other side of the split might be going to another group of ground wires. Just a guess as the picture is inconclusive.

I think that you need to toss a grenade into this one and start over. All kidding aside the panel on the outside is shot and needs top be replaced. The main lugs are corroded as is the bus bar. The 3-wire feeder with the SEU is incorrect, it need to be a 4-wire feeder (SER) with an insulated neutral. There also needs to be a EGC bus in the sub-panel for the bare EGC’s as the multi-wire splice is not code compliant. Also the NM cable in photo #1 is not permitted in wet or damp locations.

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Daaang!! Thanks for that info, Robert! I was wondering about the missing bus in the sub and I had the corrosion listed, but the other stuff was well beyond my knowledge base.

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Anthony, you’re welcome, happy to help. :sunglasses:

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The aluminum conductors should not be touching the copper in the splices. The wire nuts are also not for use with aluminum.

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That was one to the first things I noticed. How should the stranded copper/aluminum splices or connections be done?

I think that your asking about a wire connector, that would be one that is listed to connect aluminum to copper. In a panel if there wire type EGC’s (like in the photo) an EGC terminal bus is required to terminate the EGC’s. That bus would be listed for both aluminum and copper conductors.

408.40 Grounding of Panelboards.
Panelboard cabinets and panelboard frames, if of metal, shall be in physical contact with each other and shall be connected to an equipment grounding conductor. Where the panelboard is used with nonmetallic raceway or cable or where separate equipment grounding conductors are provided, a terminal bar for the equipment grounding conductors shall be secured inside the cabinet. The terminal bar shall be bonded to the cabinet and panelboard frame, if of metal; otherwise it shall be connected to the equipment grounding conductor that is run with the conductors feeding the panelboard.

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This looks like one of those observations reported as “Numerous major and safety issues observed…”, followed by pictures and short comments under each picture. Included in the narration, “the images represent a sample of the issues observed. Full evaluation and repair by a licensed electrician recommended” (prior to closing??).

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