builder3116 posts12-07-2018 8:36pm
What you described is the code requirement currently, as I understand it. The grounding connection is a safety requirement. Barring an electrical issue, it shouldn’t be doing anything at all. Again, that’s how I understand it.
Barring an electrical issue, it shouldn’t be doing anything at all.
But with the absence of the mother earth connection could it have been adversely causing a problem?
Is it possible there was electrical noise being introduced on the service neutral conductor at the utility power transformer neutral earth connection? I suppose with the proper test equipment it could be checked by lifting the mother earth connection at the house electrical service again.
Some background.
The secondary neutral of the utility power transformer is connected to mother earth at the transformer location. In fact a mother earth connection, I believe, is made at every power pole and connected to the high voltage neutral conductor. At each utility power transformer the secondary neutral conductor is connected to the high voltage primary neutral conductor and then connected to mother earth. (Same method is used for underground high voltage power lines and pad mounted utility power transformers.) All for lightning protection as well for a hot high voltage line and or a hot secondary line ground fault event.
As you can see multiple mother earth connections galore. All kinds of possible stray voltages/currents passing/traveling through the earth. Another reason Isolated earth ground rods should not be used for audio equipment.
The 2 new ground rods, (Grounding Electrode), the OP connected to the electrical service entrance neutral at the electrical panel may be a lower ground (earth) resistance than the one at the utility transformer. My guess it is. What effect would, does, the lower resistance earth connection have on electrical noise traveling on the service neutral conductor from the utility power transformer earth connection? Beats me. Is the noise traveling on the service neutral conductor shunted back to mother earth at the new ground rods? Is there a closed circuit? Could it be tested using test equipment and lifting the earth connection for the test? Someone like Al, (almarg), might be able to answer that question.
Jim.
.
.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stray_voltage