computer case shocking me

[tylerfukuda]

untill recently my computer case (RAIDMAX SMILODON) case has been shocking me when i touch it. its not like a painful shock but you can feel it, like a tingly feeling through my hands..
i noticed that only when my feet touch the floor it shocks me, does anyone know what this could be, can it potentially harm my components in my comp?

i just built it only like 5-6 months ago and have never had this problem till a couple days ago

tyler

 

[TeeJay88]

Well, i dont know that much in this field, but if you drag your feet on carpet, especially in the winter when its dry, you create a static build up, but i think you also have to have some sort of build up in what your touching, so i think you might have a short somewhere(metal contact touching your case) that would shock you when you touch your case.

 

[E.T]

If it's continuous instead of short shock then you have grounding problem: Outlet lacking ground (or ground wire broke) which makes case float at half of the voltage of live wire.
And just sitting on chair without feets touching floor prevents shock by removing grounding of you which opens loop required for current.

Well, i dont know that much in this field, but if you drag your feet on carpet, especially in the winter when its dry, you create a static build up

That causes shock when touching anything conductive. (higher resistance of touched object slows down transfer of charge lessening shock)

 

[Acer_Sheep]

Either you are charged with electro-static energy and you simply ground yourself with computer or you have not correctly grounded electrical network where computer is connected and it is overcharging voltage on the case.

 

[Yonzie]

you have grounding problem: Outlet lacking ground (or ground wire broke) which makes case float at half of the voltage of live wire.
And just sitting on chair without feets touching floor prevents shock by removing grounding of you which opens loop required for current.

This ^^^
If it started a few days ago and you have not touched the computer or power cable, then it may be the PSU going bad.

 

[tylerfukuda]

This ^^^
If it started a few days ago and you have not touched the computer or power cable, then it may be the PSU going bad.

thanks
sounds like more money that i DONT have to be putting into this thing :\

 

[soulman901]

What PSU do you have? I would go over all the cabling in your computer to make sure none of the power connectors are not making contact with bare metal.

 

[E.T]

then it may be the PSU going bad.

PSU can fail, burn and explode but for as long as grounding is working it can''t cause any voltage to its (and PC's) casing.

I would go over all the cabling in your computer to make sure none of the power connectors are not making contact with bare metal.

PSU's output voltages are way too low to be felt in any way except by tongue. (like with 9V battery)
And if PSU's failure rises them to that level you'll have PC full of fried and smoke shooting components long before that.

 

[soulman901]

PSU can fail, burn and explode but for as long as grounding is working it can''t cause any voltage to its (and PC's) casing.

PSU's output voltages are way too low to be felt in any way except by tongue. (like with 9V battery)
And if PSU's failure rises them to that level you'll have PC full of fried and smoke shooting components long before that.

It's not the volts you feel but the Ampere's and PSU's are quite capable of delivering enough to kill a person.

To the OP, I would highly suggest that if you are still getting shocked by your machine that you really need to look at that now.

 

[tylerfukuda]

well its not like a shock (OWW THAT EFFIN HURT!) its like a tingely sensation that i get but actually i killed the power n openend it up n looked around n messed with some cables...
and it seems to have stoped but we will see if it keeps happening...
but like i said the shock doesnt hurt it just feels like tingly

 

[soulman901]

What PSU do you have?

 

[sirmonkey1985]

ive had it happen before when i left one of the plugs hanging in the hard drive cage and it was touching the metal.. some how it was charging the case and use to shock me.. only figured it out after i moved some cables around..

 

[pwrusr]

I have this very same issue with my computer. get a nice little tingling sensation when I run my fingers over the metal parts of the case.

I know for sure that my outlet isn't grounded because my UPS is telling me that there's a "ground fault". I can't fix it because I live in a OLD apartment (built in the 40's soon after WW2) so the electrical wiring isn't that great to begin with

 

[soulman901]

I have this very same issue with my computer. get a nice little tingling sensation when I run my fingers over the metal parts of the case.

I know for sure that my outlet isn't grounded because my UPS is telling me that there's a "ground fault". I can't fix it because I live in a OLD apartment (built in the 40's soon after WW2) so the electrical wiring isn't that great to begin with

I think that violates some building codes however I can't qualify that statement.

 

[Nighted]

I think that violates some building codes however I can't qualify that statement.

Of course it does. Unfortunately, many property owners are slumlords and don't care about tenants unless they are a bit late with rent.

 

[tylerfukuda]

What PSU do you have?

i have the rosewill performance series 600w (included BLUE LED light)

 

[Thor]

try this, take the psu out of the case and hook it up free floating ( make sure the metal casing on the psu is not touching any of the case parts, or other components) touch the case, no sizzle, its the psu... if you still have a sizzle, i would look into the motherboard and make sure you dont have something making ground where it shouldn't (i have seen roach eggs do this).

first things first, rosewill psu's arnt the best (but they are by no means pure crap... ok for basic builds) so you have 3 choices either replace the psu, ground the outlet and hope it dosent pull the circuit breaker, or tear apart the psu and see if you can spot the problem...

If you elect the third option remember to be respectful of the components on the inside (mostly the caps, look like big batteries) there should be an obvious green or green/yellow wire bolted to the case of the psu this is good, what you need to look for is other touch points... a sliver of solder that might be making contact, a failed isolation standoff that might have been over tightened and finally let go or got dislodged. Or a lead wire that has been rubbed the wrong way and has been chaffed to the point it is making contact. (fan vibration can chafe wires), when checking wires check every single wire if it has even the slightest scuffing recover it with electric tape for the time being (if there is multiple wires with issue, wrap each separately and then again as a bundle)

post pics as you go, be very careful, only handle the PCB inside of the psu by the edges and DONT TOUCH ANY of the solder points. if you find one that looks suspect post pics here before doing anything, same goes for standoffs... the tape is only a temp fix, but it will last for quite some time, use the time to save up for a new quality psu.

taking apart the psu will be the cheapest way to get this resolved, $2.00 in parts and it can be fixed, but if there is no obvious issue you may have to get your outlet grounded, because if the psu dose fail and you happen to be touching the case, you will be on unhappy camper. (not to mention the fire risk involved)... you really should get your outlet grounded anyway... but this will help you buy some more time.

 

[Thor]

I think that violates some building codes however I can't qualify that statement.

as long as no upgrades have been made to the building, then it is only required to keep the build codes standards for the time it was built, if ANY electrical work has been done or any additions to the building have been made then all of the new work must be made to the newest standard...

 

[Diablo2K]

Most Surge Supressors have a Ground LED that lets you know if it is properly grounded. If yours dont have one then go to the store and get one that does, or you could get a outlet tester in the hardware section. This is probably the easiet part to check and most likely the cause. Also try swapping out the powercord and see if that helps.

The last house I lived in had 3 prong plugs but none of them was actually grounded. Caused alot of problems with most of the electronics in the home. After doing some searching I found the ground wire was broken off the ground stake. It was probably broken by a Weed Eater and it was easy to fix.

 

[pwrusr]

I think that violates some building codes however I can't qualify that statement.

It sure does! However that really only qualifies if they have to do any electrical work in the buildings. If they replace any wiring they MUST comply with building codes. I do not think they will really lift much of a finger because there are SOOO many buildings. the complex has a good 200 apartments. To pull all new wiring for all the apartments would be very costly. I know this because I've already brought it to their attention a couple times.

as long as no upgrades have been made to the building, then it is only required to keep the build codes standards for the time it was built, if ANY electrical work has been done or any additions to the building have been made then all of the new work must be made to the newest standard...

they did just renovate the kitchen. but they didn't touch any of the other outlets/electrical stuff in the apartment... I wonder if that's across the board as far as new work goes. I'm sure codes are different in different states and counties within those states.

 

[soulman901]

I think his best option would be just to replace it with a different PSU all together. Too much hassle with trying to replace parts on the inside and it would save him some time. Then using that part he can invest that into a new machine at some point.

 

[E.T]

its like a tingely sensation that i get

So somekind grounding problem and basic line filtering components make case float at ~55VAC. (but also limit current)

It's not the volts you feel but the Ampere's and PSU's are quite capable of delivering enough to kill a person

And you could have you PSUs outputs connected to your fingers and toes for whole year and it wouldn't do anything because voltage isn't enough to drive significant current through human...
Sticking iron nails into your heart and connecting PSU to that is way different than "skin contact".

 

[tylerfukuda]

try this, take the psu out of the case and hook it up free floating ( make sure the metal casing on the psu is not touching any of the case parts, or other components) touch the case, no sizzle, its the psu... if you still have a sizzle, i would look into the motherboard and make sure you dont have something making ground where it shouldn't (i have seen roach eggs do this).

first things first, rosewill psu's arnt the best (but they are by no means pure crap... ok for basic builds) so you have 3 choices either replace the psu, ground the outlet and hope it dosent pull the circuit breaker, or tear apart the psu and see if you can spot the problem...

If you elect the third option remember to be respectful of the components on the inside (mostly the caps, look like big batteries) there should be an obvious green or green/yellow wire bolted to the case of the psu this is good, what you need to look for is other touch points... a sliver of solder that might be making contact, a failed isolation standoff that might have been over tightened and finally let go or got dislodged. Or a lead wire that has been rubbed the wrong way and has been chaffed to the point it is making contact. (fan vibration can chafe wires), when checking wires check every single wire if it has even the slightest scuffing recover it with electric tape for the time being (if there is multiple wires with issue, wrap each separately and then again as a bundle)

post pics as you go, be very careful, only handle the PCB inside of the psu by the edges and DONT TOUCH ANY of the solder points. if you find one that looks suspect post pics here before doing anything, same goes for standoffs... the tape is only a temp fix, but it will last for quite some time, use the time to save up for a new quality psu.

taking apart the psu will be the cheapest way to get this resolved, $2.00 in parts and it can be fixed, but if there is no obvious issue you may have to get your outlet grounded, because if the psu dose fail and you happen to be touching the case, you will be on unhappy camper. (not to mention the fire risk involved)... you really should get your outlet grounded anyway... but this will help you buy some more time.

thanks, thats the best answer i got :]
but i fixed the problem... i opend the case and checked every wire in there
n there was some extra PSU wires touching my HD rack.. to i resituated them
and it seemed to have fixed it...
thanks everyone for the replies n the help

tyler

 

[soulman901]

Glad you got it fixed. I think a lot of the PSU makers should start including end cover caps to help prevent problems like this.

 

[Thor]

they did just renovate the kitchen. but they didn't touch any of the other outlets/electrical stuff in the apartment... I wonder if that's across the board as far as new work goes. I'm sure codes are different in different states and counties within those states.

I believe this is a nation wide code that any new construction must be made to the newest code, (for the area, and most areas are pretty quick to adopt the the highest quality code in the nation, usually cali or NY) if they where to retrofit the kitchen for example, to the point that it requires new drywall, even if they have no plans of touching the electrical work, it must still be rewired as if it where new construction...

Now on the plus side, this means that your outlets in the kitchen should be grounded (and GFI I believe) why this is good news is because you know they had to run a ground for at least that renovation. There for, there is a ground circuit you can tie into. depending on where your pc is, it might be as simple as seeing if the outlets line up on the back side of a wall and just running a ground jumper for that outlet..

However, being in an apartment means that running any sort of distanced wire will be more than difficult and most likely impossible without pissing someone off... Though I have heard of people striking deals for reduced rent for preforming their own upgrades (say wood floors/tile carpet paint... ect) might be worth a shot, if you feel up to the task.. be sure to do research on the codes and have the work inspected. Trust me, you dont want that to come back and bite you in the ass. but its not really hard work to do, once you know what your doing. Hell you can probably pay to have someone do it for you if you really want.. (but like i said.. why? its not that hard..)

 

[bigman1]

I believe this is a nation wide code that any new construction must be made to the newest code, (for the area, and most areas are pretty quick to adopt the the highest quality code in the nation, usually cali or NY) if they where to retrofit the kitchen for example, to the point that it requires new drywall, even if they have no plans of touching the electrical work, it must still be rewired as if it where new construction...

Now on the plus side, this means that your outlets in the kitchen should be grounded (and GFI I believe) why this is good news is because you know they had to run a ground for at least that renovation. There for, there is a ground circuit you can tie into. depending on where your pc is, it might be as simple as seeing if the outlets line up on the back side of a wall and just running a ground jumper for that outlet..

However, being in an apartment means that running any sort of distanced wire will be more than difficult and most likely impossible without pissing someone off... Though I have heard of people striking deals for reduced rent for preforming their own upgrades (say wood floors/tile carpet paint... ect) might be worth a shot, if you feel up to the task.. be sure to do research on the codes and have the work inspected. Trust me, you dont want that to come back and bite you in the ass. but its not really hard work to do, once you know what your doing. Hell you can probably pay to have someone do it for you if you really want.. (but like i said.. why? its not that hard..)

It's based on percentages. If they are going to be doing more than a certain percentage of change on the room/home/etc then they have to update that to code. Figuring out the percentages is a huge headache.

 

[Thor]

It's based on percentages. If they are going to be doing more than a certain percentage of change on the room/home/etc then they have to update that to code. Figuring out the percentages is a huge headache.

tis probably why they usually just say fuck it and do it anyway on something like a kitchen renovation.

 

[pwrusr]

I believe this is a nation wide code that any new construction must be made to the newest code, (for the area, and most areas are pretty quick to adopt the the highest quality code in the nation, usually cali or NY) if they where to retrofit the kitchen for example, to the point that it requires new drywall, even if they have no plans of touching the electrical work, it must still be rewired as if it where new construction...

Now on the plus side, this means that your outlets in the kitchen should be grounded (and GFI I believe) why this is good news is because you know they had to run a ground for at least that renovation. There for, there is a ground circuit you can tie into. depending on where your pc is, it might be as simple as seeing if the outlets line up on the back side of a wall and just running a ground jumper for that outlet..

However, being in an apartment means that running any sort of distanced wire will be more than difficult and most likely impossible without pissing someone off... Though I have heard of people striking deals for reduced rent for preforming their own upgrades (say wood floors/tile carpet paint... ect) might be worth a shot, if you feel up to the task.. be sure to do research on the codes and have the work inspected. Trust me, you dont want that to come back and bite you in the ass. but its not really hard work to do, once you know what your doing. Hell you can probably pay to have someone do it for you if you really want.. (but like i said.. why? its not that hard..)

Not worth the headache... If I do anything I'll see what they can do about the electrical work in the apartment.

I do know for sure the sockets on the side of the kitchen that they worked on are nice and grounded. GCFI and everthing as you said.

 

[Format _C:]

Glad you got it fixed. I think a lot of the PSU makers should start including end cover caps to help prevent problems like this.

The old Dells used to have black covers on the unused PSU ports (Basically a cheap piece of plastic that covered the 4 pin molex Connector)