Article on Bootleg Grounds

[vermilye]

Mike Sokol has posted an interesting & important article in EC&M magazine on Bootleg grounding & how it can "fool" most testers. Since many of us use the three light testers to check campground wiring, it is worth a read.
Failures in Outlet Testing Exposed

[Puttin]

There are at least two ways to verify proper grounding, both are mentioned in Mike's article. First, you could simply remove the receptacle from the wall and look at the back, or- using a multimeter, one probe connected to known ground with the other connected to the ground at the outlet receptacle. (You'd use a long wire bonded to ground near the utility entrance and simply move it to wherever you are testing.)

[mlts22]

Is there a good way to prove to an electrician that stuff is miswired with the mentioned bootleg grounds, other than having a non-contact voltage tester glow red near the neutral/ground wires?

I wouldn't be surprised if this was common. However, bonding neutral to ground will bite people big time, especially if they use MSW inverters which put half the voltage on neutral, half on hot in order to simulate 120VAC.