It is found that there is electric shock when I touch any metal part of the cabinet. Over the last several years and through several upgradations I never had such an issue. What may be the reason and solution? The first thing I did on finding the issue was to check the mains earthing using a multimeter and it seems alright. AFAIK, SMPS is the only part where AC mains is present and hence the only possible culprit.
PC Peripherals Electric shock on touching the cabinet
- Thread starter janitha
- Start date
techno_guy
Skilled
This is surely due to the earthing problem
I faced a similar problem in my old house problem used to get solved when used to insert the pin of the surge protector properly by hitting it
which surge protector you use see if it has lights which indicate if there is proper earthing or not
I faced a similar problem in my old house problem used to get solved when used to insert the pin of the surge protector properly by hitting it
which surge protector you use see if it has lights which indicate if there is proper earthing or not
shaunak
Adept
First thing that popped into my (and I am sure anyone else who was trained in vocational electronics'es mind) 
:
"Earth to Neutral voltage is out of tolerance."
Solution:
* Make sure you use only three pin connections, your and get a branded spike guard. Preferably from "MX".
* Get your earthing checked.
* If you have a voltmeter, then stick a probe into the earth pin and one into the neutral line. The max value should be 2V.
I have opened many of these Chinese and "better" Indian ones to find nothing but diodes and LEDs inside. That will definitely not protect you against spikes and in-fact cause the earth neutral fault. I have repaid a bunch of these by simply removing the LED-Diode circuit [making it a glorified extension box].
:"Earth to Neutral voltage is out of tolerance."
Solution:
* Make sure you use only three pin connections, your and get a branded spike guard. Preferably from "MX".
* Get your earthing checked.
* If you have a voltmeter, then stick a probe into the earth pin and one into the neutral line. The max value should be 2V.
I have opened many of these Chinese and "better" Indian ones to find nothing but diodes and LEDs inside. That will definitely not protect you against spikes and in-fact cause the earth neutral fault. I have repaid a bunch of these by simply removing the LED-Diode circuit [making it a glorified extension box].
bloodlines
Disciple
1. are u using "Schuko" power cord ( geraman/eu), if yes then u have to modify it a bit.janitha said:
2. there could be power leakage, this mostly occurs for high end systems ( 1000+ watt psu ),
if this is the reason then u have to ground ur chassis with proper 6amp/10amp high
quality wire ( use a empty 3 pin plug and connect the grounding wire only )
3. as other suggested check ur psu/ups/socket
Thanks to all of you for the quick replies and suggestions.
Initially I had tested the mains socket using a multimeter. The voltage between left and right (neutral and phase) was normal. (~ 220V) Between earth and phase, it was near to the mains voltage. (~ 217-218V) and between earth and neutral it was about 2-3V. Hence I assumed everything was alright with the mains. Yesterday called a local electrician and he checked it using a bulb between earth and phase and seeing it lit he said that earthing is alright and I may get the PC checked and if necessary, he will install separate earthing for the particular room but being in a rented house, I postponed the option. (I know these tests are not perfect but we do not have access to things like impedance testers!)
All the while, the the connection was from mains to a Belkin Spike guard and from it to an APC 650VA which supplied to the PC, monitor and modem while the laser printer was fed by the spike guard itself. Today made the connections to PC and monitor through the UPS, avoiding the spike guard and the problem disappeared. Then connected the spike guard to the mains and measured the voltages and it is seen that the phase and neutral are reversed, the right side terminal being neutral and left one phase. So my provisional diagnosis is that the Belkin spike guard was the culprit.
Initially I had tested the mains socket using a multimeter. The voltage between left and right (neutral and phase) was normal. (~ 220V) Between earth and phase, it was near to the mains voltage. (~ 217-218V) and between earth and neutral it was about 2-3V. Hence I assumed everything was alright with the mains. Yesterday called a local electrician and he checked it using a bulb between earth and phase and seeing it lit he said that earthing is alright and I may get the PC checked and if necessary, he will install separate earthing for the particular room but being in a rented house, I postponed the option. (I know these tests are not perfect but we do not have access to things like impedance testers!)
All the while, the the connection was from mains to a Belkin Spike guard and from it to an APC 650VA which supplied to the PC, monitor and modem while the laser printer was fed by the spike guard itself. Today made the connections to PC and monitor through the UPS, avoiding the spike guard and the problem disappeared. Then connected the spike guard to the mains and measured the voltages and it is seen that the phase and neutral are reversed, the right side terminal being neutral and left one phase. So my provisional diagnosis is that the Belkin spike guard was the culprit.
Holy shit! That is not good coming from Belkin least of all. Perhaps you can open the spike guard and reverse the terminals? Does it void the warranty of the spike buster that way?janitha said:
I have an MX spike buster and was planning to get a Belkin one for another setup. I think I should reconsider rather.