My computer has been shocking the crap out of me latly. I have the Coolermaster Wavemaster case, and all the metal parts have been shocking the crap out of me. Its not like a zap either, its a steady flow. Whats going on here? Could it be my surge protecter or anything?
electric shock
- Thread starter ascarytiger
- Start date
seems your PSU is leaking current. It may not be above the surge limit but there's a lot of leaking current from the PSU going to the case. I'd try another PSU and check what happens.
I would guess outlet, because the is the second new PSU thats done this. So should I just change outlets?
Definately use another outlet. If you can do it replace the outlet with a GFI one.
Radio Shack makes a small outlet tester that lets you know if you have an open ground, reversed wires etc.
Radio Shack makes a small outlet tester that lets you know if you have an open ground, reversed wires etc.
Without doubt a bad ground at the wall outlet, though there could be other problems as well. Even without a ground, there should NEVER be high voltage running through the case. If you don't know what your doing you should hire a pro, 120 volts can kill you.
edit: The tester crispy fried sugested is a great place to start, the thing to remember is that while it will tell you weather or not you have a ground, it WON'T tell you the quality of that ground.
edit: The tester crispy fried sugested is a great place to start, the thing to remember is that while it will tell you weather or not you have a ground, it WON'T tell you the quality of that ground.
someone today told me my motherboard could be touching the case. I used risers, so idk why it would be.
OrganizedChaos
Diamond Member
- Apr 21, 2002
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Definitely sounds like a bad ground. Even if the psu was leaking current, if it was grounded properly, it wouldn't zap you since the path of least resistance isn't through you, but through the grounding wire.
Are you saying that you didn't use any standoffs when you mounted the motherboard? If not that is likely part of the problem..
what do you mean by 'standoffs"? I thought you just needed risers....unless that's what you mean by 'standoffs'.
It's a little more complicated than that.. amperage and voltage are both important when dealing with electrical shocks. Current is more important, all things considered, but a little current at high voltage can still make for enough power to cook your organs.
At any rate, he probably meant wall voltage when he said "120 volts". Besides, when dealing with consumer electronics, "120 volts can kill you" is a fairly safe generalization to make.
There's a lot of sources for this so called "current leakage". But before you go to the pro, you might want to try something first. Like try isolating which particular part of the system is leaking current. You can disconnect the mobo from the psu and manually energize the psu using a jumper wire or paper clip (this involves the green wire and any black wire from the mobo power connector). When the PSU power up, try touching the case and see if you get shock again. If you still get elec shock, then you can almost assure the PSU is the source or the wall outlet. Now try changing the PSU and do the same manual starting of the PSU. Better yet disconnect all power sources to peripherals and try again. If you still get shocks, the outlet is the culprit. If you do not get shock after disconnecting the mobo then the mobo is the culprit. Check the installation.
Lack of ground is only one of your two problems. You would also have to have a short in your case. If you fix your grounding problem the short will still be there, and if you fix the open ground the short will start causing other problems, like system instablility or fire. Grounding protects YOU from getting shocked, it will not protect your components.
before i head of changing the outlet i thought of that your mobo might be touching your case...
after you change outlets and if it still does not work take out your mobo and lay it flat on a table on the anti static bag it came in...then turn it on and see if your case still shocks you
I plugged my surge protector into a different electrical socket and it hasn't shocked me yet. Maybe that was it. And yes, I did use risers.
I would strongly reccomend fixing the electrical outlet that it was plugged into, it could be a major safety hazard. If you don't think you can do it yourself, call an electrician (and watch so that you will be able to do it yourself next time). After wiring enough outlets, you will get to the point where you can wire them without even turning off the power (although it isnt a good idea to leave the power on if you can turn it off, but on is sometimes necesary, just make sure to leave one hand behind your back at all times and to not cross any wires)
Hi, I don't have time to read all the responses, but am sure some of them are right. The only way your problem could occur is if the outlet you are plugged into is miswired with the hot (black) lead to the ground terminal (round hole) instead of the ground lead (green or conduit). Get it fixed before someone gets hurt. Jim
Indeed, and most outlets are on a 15 or 20 amp breaker. 120 volts at 15 amps can kill you. While it's rare to hear about someone being killed by 120V, it can happen.
While it's true that current matters in the damage it can do to you normal skin resistance affords a high amount of protection. Lowering this by standing in water and 120VAC mains is easily lethal.
Dude you are lucky your PC is still working...sounds like you have a major issue with something not being grounded properly.
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