I'm pretty sure that this is OK... just want to make sure.
Assume the junction box is sized correctly for four runs of 14/2 w/ ground Romex.
Romex from panel enters the junction box in the basement.That wire is wire-nutted to a run that goes up to the line side of a GFCI receptacle on the first floor.
From the load side of the GFCI, a run of Romex comes back down into the junction box and is wire-nutted to a run that goes off to a 3 prong receptacle, also on the first floor..
Basically I'm just making sure that it's OK to use the junction box as a pass-through for the run that goes to the receptacles that the GFCI is protecting.
Crimped ground lead to what? You can wire nut the grounds together. If it's a metal box you're using, then it needs to be grounded too via a wire with a ground screw.
I won't need to ground the junction box since it's going to be duct taped to a water pipe which is already grounded.
Kidding!
But seriously, what if all of the Romex was 14/2 w/o ground, like might be found in a older home (including some sections of mine). How would one deal with a metal junction box in that case?
If you're not kidding, be sure to buy grounded duct tape. You may have to buy it at an electrical supply store since Home Depot or True Value may not have it. This duct tape has a fine metallic mesh built into it, and a green embedded wire, and that needs to be connected to a proper ground.
Nothing wrong with the junction box except it may cause problems in the future if it's not clear what you did. For the price of a gfci receptacle, it might be a cleaner job to just tap the second outlet directly from the junction box. You also don't mention where the second outlet is going. To meet code, if that's the intent, it would have to be going to a location that doesn't require AFCI protection.
The last few ungrounded 2 prong receptacles in my house are (were) in the living room. It was never a problem, since they were only used for lamps. I've installed enough grounded outlets in various locations, including the living room, to (formally) meet my 3 prong needs.
However, with all of the cell phones, laptops, iPods, etc. that end up needing to be plugged in when the kids come home from college or stop by dinner, I occasionally find the need to plug a power strip or a 3 pronged charger into one of the "lamp" receptacles. I opted (at least for now) to put a GFCI in and use 3 prong receptacles downstream.
The original wiring had the source coming into the junction box and then wire nutted to 2 others runs. One went to a "stand alone" receptacle directly upstairs from the junction box, the other run went to a receptacle on another wall. That receptacle was the first receptacle in a 3 receptacle chain.
Instead of using 2 GFCI's (a stand alone and the first in the chain) I chose to replace the stand alone with a GFCI and then fish a "load wire" back to the junction box and use that to power/protect the downstream receptacles. (I actually used the old wire to fish 2 runs of new Romex to/from the GFCI.) That's what prompted my question about using the same junction box for the pass through.
Later this summer I plan to do some work to do in the basement which will require me to move some bookcases, etc. At that point, I'll have access to the old ungrounded cloth cover wire and plan to replace it with 14/2 w/ ground from the junction box to the downstream receptacles. The source wire has a ground.
That's something that surprised me when I opened the junction box. The old cloth covered source wire has a ground, but the 2 cloth covered runs to the receptacles didn't have a ground. The wires are all of the same vintage, so why use 14/2 w/ground to the junction box but not to the devices?
To simplify it even more, you could have installed the gfci in the basement J box and protected both runs from there. Strangely, Romex has been available with or without a grounding conductor, albeit undersized, since 1925 and possibly earlier. There wasn't much use for the conductor at the time, so advertising suggested that it made stripping the cable easier. There were locations where a grounding conductor was required, such as for supplying boxes that fed light fixtures that were mounted to tin ceilings.
Perhaps installing the GFCI in the junction box (albeit a *different* junction box) would have been easier, if it ever tripped, it would have been a pain to reset.
It's up above a refrigerator that typically has items stored on top of it. There's no way to reach it without a step ladder and moving stuff. You can't even see the junction box because of the stored items, so the green light indicator would have been on little use until the items were removed.
In the living room it's easily viewable and accessible.
But I do see your point from a wiring perspective.
add a plastic 'light tube' to transfer the glow out to where you can see it. Works great on those pesky garage lights left on all night long! Just drill a hole, add a light tube, and voila!
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