How well do you know the Code? Think you can spot violations the original installer either ignored or couldn't identify? Here's your chance to moonlight as an electrical inspector and second-guess someone else's work from the safety of your living room or office. Joe, who has a knack for finding shoddy electrical work, did the dirty work and found this mess. Now it's your turn to identify the violation.
Find the Answer
This damaged equipment is located near a parking lot attendant's booth in the theater district of a major city. Lots of drivers use this particular parking lot when they want to visit the shops nearby. Others use it for weekly or monthly parking.
As you can see in the photo, the two posts on the right were originally installed to protect the ticket-dispensing machine on the left. Unfortunately, whoever installed the electrical equipment didn't think about protecting it properly. As a result, you can clearly see where a car or truck bumper has made contact, damaging the conduit body and connection into the meter socket enclosure. Reference Art. 312 for the requirements of a proper meter socket enclosure installation. In addition, if you search your electronic copy of the NEC for the term "physical damage," you'll find many references to support a citation on this installation.