Amplifier and voltage spikes

[glarsen84]

Hello,

When I'm turning off florescence lights in my apartment, and when my refrigerator turns off/on the thermostat my amplifier fails.
Sound will stop for ½-1 second and then continue. the amplifier is connected to my PC SPDIF.
I've had an electrician to check my installation and he told me that it's not the power but my amplifier that's the problem. I do however not believe him since it's not the only equipment that fails when turning stuff on and off in my apartment. My vacuum cleaner's motor will also decelerate for about 2 seconds and then accelerate again when I'm turning other stuff on or off. Then the electrician told me that the vacuum cleaner is broken too.

Can it be voltage spikes and is it normal? I'm considering buying a new amplifier and a Ivy Bridge rig but i fear that the power spikes (if it is power spikes) will slowly kill it. I don't even know if my amplifier really is bad, or if eventual power spikes has handicapped it. What I know, is that the problem has worsen since it started about a year ago.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Definitely sounds like a wiring issue. Someone else might be able to help you more.

Do you have a multimeter? You could test if your voltage is going wonky that way and know for sure.

 

[glarsen84]

Unfortunately I don't have a multimeter. Will it be able to to measure spikes too? I see if can borrow one somewhere.
I just found out that It may not be my amplifier but my SPDIF-out on my motherboard. I checked jack->AUX and there's no problem. That was what I feared. While it can still be the amplifier I now think it's my PC that's failing.

Do any know is a surge protector will totally protect my PC against those internal generated transients? (if the problem is spikes of course).

 

[alcoholbob]

My subwoofer always has popped (turned on/off) every time I turned off the bathroom lights the next room lol.

 

[glarsen84]

For me it's just the other way around. My sub are causing my other equipment (Pc, vacuum cleaner) to malfunction.

If I cannot find any solution I will have to move to another apartment which I hate, but I will do anything for my new PC. If a surge protector can fix it, it would be perfect.

 

[Modelworks]

Surge protector will not solve the problem. The condition you are experiencing is from using too small a wire either inside the walls or to feed the service panel. Using a meter will not show the fault. To see the fault you need a meter that can log the changes in voltage and then a load is placed on the wiring to see what the voltage is dropping to when loaded.

The voltage is fine until a high current item, refrigerator, vacuum , is turned on then it will cause a voltage drop until the motor has fully engaged and the voltage will return to normal. It sounds like the voltage you are seeing is really close to the limits for AC wiring in the USA of about 108 volts. Below 108 volts devices are not guaranteed to work as advertised even though some things may.

You need to find an electrician that understands how to test wiring under load. This can be a safety issue since small wiring heats up when under load and can cause fires if overloaded for too long.

 

[Modelworks]

My subwoofer always has popped (turned on/off) every time I turned off the bathroom lights the next room lol.

Need to replace that light switch. Light switches don't last forever and there are some poorly designed ones on the market that cause a lot of arcing when switching , which is what causes the sound you are hearing.

 

[glarsen84]

Surge protector will not solve the problem. The condition you are experiencing is from using too small a wire either inside the walls or to feed the service panel. Using a meter will not show the fault. To see the fault you need a meter that can log the changes in voltage and then a load is placed on the wiring to see what the voltage is dropping to when loaded.

The voltage is fine until a high current item, refrigerator, vacuum , is turned on then it will cause a voltage drop until the motor has fully engaged and the voltage will return to normal. It sounds like the voltage you are seeing is really close to the limits for AC wiring in the USA of about 108 volts. Below 108 volts devices are not guaranteed to work as advertised even though some things may.

You need to find an electrician that understands how to test wiring under load. This can be a safety issue since small wiring heats up when under load and can cause fires if overloaded for too long.

I can't find another electrician since I'm only allowed to use those associated to the housing association. Sadly I don't think they will listen, because they already condemned my PC to be the cause.
But how does it explain, that the problem has worsen. A year ago my music might had dropped out a few times a day. Now it happens every 5-10 min. on average.
Can I do some tests myself somehow. Maybe provoke a total power failure in some way?

The problem is both when I turn stuff on and off so I guess it's both voltage drops and spikes?
Also, lamps doesn't dimmer or blink.

 

[Modelworks]

Can I do some tests myself somehow. Maybe provoke a total power failure in some way?

The problem is both when I turn stuff on and off so I guess it's both voltage drops and spikes?
Also, lamps doesn't dimmer or blink.

How old are the apartments ?
If the apartments are older they may contain aluminum wiring. Aluminum wiring is fine if properly installed and maintained but the problem is that over time it can develop an oxidation on the outside that turns into resistance in the connection. Now aluminum wiring when used is coated with a special grease that inhibits the oxidation. Aluminum wiring is also prone to breakages from expansion and contraction more often than copper.

Is the problem only occurring with devices that use motors ? Usually when the current capability is low things like lamps will dim when a motor starts up and then return to normal brightness after the motor reaches its target rpm.

If it is only happening with motors then what you need to use is a filter designed for removing that type of noise. A standard surge protector may not work if the noise is excessive since they are not designed for high noise issues and some don't filter noise at all. You need one that specifically says EMI/RF filtering and it comes in varying degrees of removal so you may have to try different brands.

One that doesn't cost much that I own myself is the cyberpower 6050 . It has withstood several large surges and so I opened it to make sure it wasn't harmed. I was impressed with the level of filtering they have in that strip, especially since the price isn't high.
http://www.cyberpowersystems.com/products/surge-protectors/home-surge/6050-Black.html

For more money this one has 58db of noise removal, the other one is 40db.
http://www.cyberpowersystems.com/pr...?selectedTabId=specifications&imageI=#tab-box

APC has this one that does 70db removal
http://www.apc.com/products/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=P11VT3

 

[glarsen84]

Having my vacuum cleaner turned on doesn't cause any problems, no audio drop outs or lights dimming. The motor however is affected when I turn the fluorescent lights on or off (motor go down in speed).
I also tried to spam the switch on my compact fluorescent lamp and turning on and off my microwave oven very fast but this doesn't cause any problems.

My compact fluorescent lamp won't dimmer either when I spam the switch to the big fluorescent lights even though my pc's audio will drop out every time (the big fluorescent lights that is). Maybe I should try with an old incandescent bulb.

It has nothing to do with me using TOSLINK S/PDIF with a very cheap optic cable for audio? It might just be a stupid question. Also this doesn't explain why my vacuum cleaner acts like it does.

I only got two options for surge protectors here in Denmark. Belkin and APC, so I will take a closer look at that APC.