My Case is Electrified!

[Trackr]

It works just fine, but now, in the post-built stage, I have noticed that when I touch the case, I complete an electrical circuit and I get a slight sting when I do.

I unplugged all the modular cables and have taken the SSD out (just in case), but I can't seem to fix it.

If I go about with a tester, a screwdriver that detects electricity, it detects power from the PSU enclosure, the case itself, the metal fins of the heatsink, even the Blu-ray player.

But if I put on a rubber glove.. nothing. And if I leave the tester standing by itself on a spot that was electrified when I was holding it, it goes back to nothing or practically nothing.

Also, when I lift my feet up from the wooden floors and into the air or onto the metal chair I was sitting on, there is again almost no charge. Somehow the wood in completing the circuit and the floor is electrified.. the case doesn't seem to mind the laws of physics.

Anyone have an idea? Is the only possibility that there is a +12v touching some part of the case? Or could it be that the PSU is somehow not grounded?

I thought metal was supposed to ground, but when the studs holding up the motherboard show up as much charge as inside the PSU itself, I am getting seriously worried..

Any help is very appreciated!

 

[/dev/null]

It works just fine, but now, in the post-built stage, I have noticed that when I touch the case, I complete an electrical circuit and I get a slight sting when I do.

I unplugged all the modular cables and have taken the SSD out (just in case), but I can't seem to fix it.

If I go about with a tester, a screwdriver that detects electricity, it detects power from the PSU enclosure, the case itself, the metal fins of the heatsink, even the Blu-ray player.

But if I put on a rubber glove.. nothing. And if I leave the tester standing by itself on a spot that was electrified when I was holding it, it goes back to nothing or practically nothing.

Also, when I lift my feet up from the wooden floors and into the air or onto the metal chair I was sitting on, there is again almost no charge. Somehow the wood in completing the circuit and the floor is electrified.. the case doesn't seem to mind the laws of physics.

Anyone have an idea? Is the only possibility that there is a +12v touching some part of the case? Or could it be that the PSU is somehow not grounded?

I thought metal was supposed to ground, but when the studs holding up the motherboard show up as much charge as inside the PSU itself, I am getting seriously worried..

Any help is very appreciated!

Where do you live? Is your house properly grounded?

 

[asyork]

I would get an outlet tester. Something like http://www.amazon.com/ELECTRICAL-RECEPTACLE-TESTER-OUTLET-PRONG/dp/B002Q3R7HI, which was the first amazon result I found.

You could also test other devices in your home, and try the computer when plugged into other outlets.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Sounds like very bad ground + some charge being applied to the case. The highest potential you can get out of a computer (to ground) is 12v so you are most likely getting 120v. A computer psu can produce 24v which you can slightly feel but when you are just touching the case you are getting a charge to ground most likely.

Is there a dialup modem in it by chance? That opens the possibility that you are getting 54v on the case from the modem. That would indicate bad ground AND bad modem though... Seems the issue is most likely at the power supply.

First, test your outlet for proper ground and polarity. If you don't have a plug tester an easy way to do this is to test voltage between the prongs.

The long slot is neutral, the shorter one is hot and the big one at the bottom is ground obviously. So test from hot to neutral, you'll get 120. Test from hot to ground, you need to get 120 as well. Test from ground to neutral, you should get zero. If any of these readings are wrong then post the result.

Assuming the plug is fine then it's time to test the power supply. Remove it from the computer and plug it in to an outlet. Test from ground to the psu chassis. (make sure you get a metal part and not painted part) Then turn the psu on (short green wire to any black one). Then do the test again.

Actually do this test with the PC BEFORE you remove anything, that way you can get a baseline.

Let us know of the results. You can also check to see if you get a shock with just the psu but testing it this way is safer .

 

[larrymoencurly]

There's no earth ground because of a faulty power cord or an AC outlet that isn't grounded, so the AC line filter in the power supply is feeding 60VAC to the chassis ground, through the filter's two identical filter capacitors:

That's why those capacitors are low value (0.005uF or less) and specially certified for safety, to prevent dangerously high currents to flow through them.

Even though there's probably no real danger from the computer, I'd get the bad earth ground fixed because you could damage peripherals or the computer chips by plugging them into a computer with 60 volts riding on it. And you don't want to risk using a faulty 3-wire electrical device with an ungrounded outlet.