Shocking stuff - laptop charger abroad

What, the mains socket? Hmm. It has an earth hole, but I'm not sure I want to start messing around - especially as I'm renting this flat. I see no reason why the socket wouldn't be earthed.

Another weird thing which might help people help me (wish I could describe it all in one post) is that it's quite humid here (by the Med), and I /think/ it's worse when I'm sweating (not profusely, but enough to just notice it.

Er, by the way, does it sound I'm at risk of a proper belt from whatever's causing this?

Reply to
TD
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Even testing it with a torch bulb and battery and a known good earth (metal water pipe) would give a useful indication.

If the earth is bad you could end up with all the earth sockets in the system going up to a high AC voltage if someone plugged in an appliance (such as a heater) with bad insulation, and safety could not be guaranteed.

Not unless another seperate failure develops.

Derek

Reply to
Derek Geldard

Indeed, which is where plugging in USB did upset some chipsets (Intel reference design on 965 era boards copied by many manufacturers was slightly different from their version which could result in toasted chips).

Addtionally some USB devices (despite external power brick to DC plug) are quite lax in their management of "ground". I recall a few Canon CFL scanners would spark the USB connection due to leakage from the HV side to USB ground. Sometimes it caused a visible flash, sometimes also resetting the PC with "your CPU exceeded its maximum temperature" message displayed on reboot.

Many SMPS come with poorly designed plugs where high retentive force sockets are used. The plugs have poor side-mouldings such that it can be easier to unplug with thumb-on-top & two-fingers-underneath either side of the cord grip. Unfortunately as the plug comes away from the socket it is very easy for the fingers to slip further around the plug onto L+N pins. Whilst SMPS do discharge their 300V primary-side capacitors through resistors on power off, the discharge takes a finite amount of time - longer in fact than it takes for your fingers to perform the *piggin painful* process.

Just a note when playing with the origami power adaptors & SMPS out there :-)

Reply to
js.b1

At the risk of looking like a complete numpty, what would I connect to what to perform this test?

Reply to
TD

As the above is over my head, are you suggesting that I try anything specific to help resolve the problem?

Reply to
TD

Simply connect a wire from the earth (make sure !) terminal on the 13 amp socket to a battery , thence from the battery to the bulb and finally from the other terminal on the bulb a piece of wire to a known good earth such as a metal water pipe or an earth terminal in /near your fusebox.

If the bulb can be made to light then you have a good earth at the 13A socket. If it can't something needs to be investigated. But anyway as a first check the setup is fail safe, get a light ? got a good earth.

What it can't discover is if all the conductors in a multi strand earth cable are broken -except one.

All this sort of thing was easier when you could buy "Flashlamp" batteries which had contacts brought out to flat phosphor bronze spring contacts on the top.

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Derek

Reply to
Derek Geldard

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