Electric shocks from PC case and connected devices

Zakch93 · Sep 19, 2023

Getting mild but hurtful shocks from PC and metalic devices connected to it (Phone and audio interface via USB).
This only happens when it's plugged in with a 2 wired cable and no ground, not 3 wired cable with earth.

Does it mean something's seriously wrong with the PC or PSU? I asked this on Reddit and got this reply but no follow up to my other questions:

It obviously shouldn't happen and you should investigate what's causing it as if it's the PSU it could be deadly next time depending on what's going wrong with it.

It can be any number of things:

a power cable touching the case,

a screw that pierced a wire,

the PSU that's malfunctioning and something came loose inside.

etc

My question is is this not supposed to happen even without ground cable? Wondering as sometimes I move places that don't have a grounded outlet.

Mira568 · Sep 19, 2023

One of the most common sources of static shock is the computer case itself. The metal parts of the case can accumulate static charge from the air or from your clothing and transfer it to your fingers when you touch them. To prevent this, you should always ground yourself before working on your computer.

Salamouna · Sep 19, 2023

Always put your shoes on

sms-esim-proxy · Sep 19, 2023

Not grounded properly.

Zakch93 · Sep 19, 2023

Mira568 said:
One of the most common sources of static shock is the computer case itself. The metal parts of the case can accumulate static charge from the air or from your clothing and transfer it to your fingers when you touch them. To prevent this, you should always ground yourself before working on your computer.

Na fam it's constant shocks and the devices want to kill me.

Salamouna said:
Always put your shoes on

It doesn't matter if I put sandals and a hat, it still shocks the sheet out of me and everything is a taser.

proxyfox said:
Not grounded properly.

It doesn't happen when plugged in with a 3 wired grounded cable, but is it supposed to behave like this even when connected with a 2 wire cable or it's not normal?

sms-esim-proxy · Sep 19, 2023

Zakch93 said:
It doesn't happen when plugged in with a 3 wired grounded cable, but is it supposed to behave like this even when connected with a 2 wire cable or it's not normal?

If you have no ground yes it will shock you. So yes you have to have it plugged into 3 prong grounded cable and outlet.

Zakch93 · Sep 19, 2023

proxyfox said:
If you have no ground yes it will shock you. So yes you have to have it plugged into 3 prong grounded cable and outlet.

Really and this is the case (pun not intended) with every PC not just mine? 3 wired grounded cable obligatory or else any PC becomes the Terminator?

sms-esim-proxy · Sep 19, 2023

Zakch93 said:
Really and this is the case (pun not intended) with every PC not just mine? 3 wired grounded cable obligatory or else any PC becomes the Terminator?

yes it's rules of electricity not the case. That's why our plugs have ground on them. This happens with other things, not just a PC case. Low voltage stuff like laptop chargers don't need ground but a PC with a large power supply will.

Exxtra · Sep 19, 2023

It sounds like you have an electrified ground wire on the mains. This is usually the result of shoddy wiring installation, as the ground and neutral wires are typically linked together and there should be minimal voltage on the ground wire, but in some cases the hot wire is connected to the neutral which would electrify the ground. It could also be your PC or some other thing you have plugged in somewhere (that doesn't have polarized plugs) causing the same issue. When did this problem begin, and what did you do or change right before it began?

Electric shocks from PC case and connected devices

Zakch93

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Mira568

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Salamouna

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sms-esim-proxy

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Zakch93

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sms-esim-proxy

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Zakch93

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sms-esim-proxy

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Exxtra

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