PC case conducts electricity

[alejandroAT]

Hi all,

I have decided to start this thread because i ve been having the same problem with all of my builds and i cant seem to find any answers either on forums or on google.

MY CASE ZAPS ME!!!!

All 3 PCs i had in my house are zapping me! It all started with an old PC stuffed in a generic case with a generic power supply. I thought it was either the crappy case or the PSU not grounding.

When i built my current PC i used an AKASA Eclipse case with an Enermax Liberty 500W PSU. Same thing. I would get zapped anywhere i touched the case. And i m not refering to the USB ports (i know they have current ).

So i decided to change the case and went for the Antec P180 (excellent case) which is sound proof and has plastic around the side panels. I also powered it through an MGE Nova 600AVR UPS. NOTHING!!! the bloody thing stills zaps me!!

Anyone out there knows whats going on?

thnx

 

[jackschmittusa]

Not sure if a ground fault in your house wiring could do it, but I would suspect the house wiring if it does it with 3 different rigs. Take one to a friend's house and try it. If it still does it, you are doing something strange when you build. If it does not, call an eletrician to look at your house wiring.

 

[alejandroAT]

i think you are right...i have noticed that both the fridge and the wash9ing machine are zapping me..


i ll call the electrician

cheers

 

[Thraxen]

Wow... that sounds pretty serious. Make sure you get an electrician out there today if at all possible. I'd be worried about losing major appliances at best and my house burning down at worst.

 

[PsYcHoCoW]

are they big shocks or just static discharges, and will it happen twice in a row? (I doubt it's static electricity since it seems to happen so often, but it's not out of the question either)

 

[alejandroAT]

its not static as it happens continuasly...as long as i have my skin touching metal the current goes through....its not much cause otherwise i woudlnt be able to touch it for long but i know it has to be fixed...i m calling an electrician to check the house wiring

thnx everyone

 

[lenjack]

Let us know how it turns out.

 

[alejandroAT]

Well....a week has passed and the electrician hasnt shown up...dont worry my house didnt burn down.

will let you know what the problem was so you know what to do if you encounter the same problem.

 

[Atheus]

I would be a lot more worried than you. Get it fixed.

 

[oynaz]

Defenitely a wiring problem in your electrical installations. This kills people.

 

[nova2]

man, that is one cool/weird (and concerning) electrical problem you have there

i've had bad experiences with lightning and electricity, but nothing similar to this.

 

[imported_jon1003]

Originally posted by: alejandroAT
Well....a week has passed and the electrician hasnt shown up...

Who did you call...usually I call and they set up an appointment and show up...you might want to take another look in the yellow pages

 

[alejandroAT]

well....its not like killing zapping.....its a tingle.....ucan definately keep contact without problembut itsannoying that it happens.

only thing i can sayis that always wear shoes now as it only happenswhen i m bearfoot or touching a grounded object.

electrician is very busy....i want this one in particular cause he is very good so i ll waitsome more.

if im not back soon call 911....

 

[wwswimming]

i would be very careful about standing water and little physical details like, if you are at the sink touching a handle, which may be close to electrical ground, and touching any electric appliance.

Oh, yeah, NICE RAM !!! you got there, i keep wanting to buy some of that. you got 4 x 512 in an Asus A8N32 ?!

if you DO get electrocuted - can i have your computer ? just kidding, just kidding.

 

[alejandroAT]

haha,,,,it is indeed some hot ram i've got there! i did my homework before getting it.

i do have 4x512 unfortunately because the Rev2 version didnt come in 1024 modules at time of purchase.

as for the electrician.....i m still waiting...thats greece for you!!!!

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

If your in Athens, PM sokos. He's setting up a LAN Cafe and can put you in touch with
real help in smokey Greece


...Galvanized

 

[justinm]

I'd start unplugging stuff...

 

[avi85]

so are there any updates?

 

[alejandroAT]

no....bloody greek electricains....always say they will come and they never come

 

[Jeff7]

Grounding problem.

It can especially be a major problem if the hot and neutral wires are accidentally switched. Touch the hot wire while you're grounded, and you'll get a lot worse than a slight tingle.

 

[alejandroAT]

Interesting point of view this James Madison is putting forward......so what does this anarchist suggest? that every time a decision needs to be taken or a criminal judged the whole population of any given country has to gather in a square and start shouting what they think should be done???

 

[debonair23]

i have the same problem with my car! everything was fine... had to jumpstart a friend one day (took quite a while to do it) and now i get shocked whenever i try to close my door as i get out after driving. it only shocks me once, but its a fairly big burst sometimes... you can actually hear the pop fairly loud. i've decided to start closing the door with the bottom of my shoe now

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: alejandroAT
Interesting point of view this James Madison is putting forward......so what does this anarchist suggest? that every time a decision needs to be taken or a criminal judged the whole population of any given country has to gather in a square and start shouting what they think should be done???

"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."
Interesting comprehension skills
He's saying that if you put all governmental powers into the hands of one person or small group, that person/group will invariably become tyrranical
Any further discussion - post a thread in Politics and News.

Originally posted by: debonair23
i have the same problem with my car! everything was fine... had to jumpstart a friend one day (took quite a while to do it) and now i get shocked whenever i try to close my door as i get out after driving. it only shocks me once, but its a fairly big burst sometimes... you can actually hear the pop fairly loud. i've decided to start closing the door with the bottom of my shoe now

That is static. As you get out of the car, you build a huge static charge. Hold your key by the metal, and bring the metal close to the car frame. Enjoy the spark, but without the pain of the shock. Just don't nuke the alarm fob if you happen to have one on your keychain.

What the original poster describes is a sustained source of power, caused by an open ground connection.

 

[debonair23]

I figured it was static electricity based on the fact that I only get shocked once... but what I don't understand is why it only started happening after jump-starting a car? As for the key thing, I suppose I have to be holding the metal part of the key to do that or will it work if i hold the rubber top half? I'm not sure if you're saying its the car building up the static electricity or me.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: debonair23
I figured it was static electricity based on the fact that I only get shocked once... but what I don't understand is why it only started happening after jump-starting a car? As for the key thing, I suppose I have to be holding the metal part of the key to do that or will it work if i hold the rubber top half? I'm not sure if you're saying its the car building up the static electricity or me.

Coincidence, I'd say.

For the key thing to work, you need to hold the metal part of the key, and bring the other end (still metal) toward the car frame, sort of using the key as an extension of your finger. As I understand it, the spark hurts because the charge and heat are concentrated in a tiny spot on your finger. With the key, the charge is dispersed over a wide area of skin, and so you will feel far less of a shock, if anything at all.

Concerning which is building the charge - it doesn't really matter which of you's got the electron buildup. What's important in this case is the difference in potential. A lot of electrons got deposited on one of you (you or the car), and this creates a potential between you - voltage. When your finger (or the key) gets close enough, the voltage is able to ionize the air. A tiny amount of current then flows through the ionized air, at high voltage. That is the spark you see. It's many thousand of volts at perhaps a few millionths of an amp.