Feeling Electricity on the Back of PSU

[Dosage]

Good day everyone!

I am troubled by a shocking problem with my PSU! No pun intended, my PSU really shocked me the last time I touched its back with my bare hand. To be exact, when I touched my PSU, I felt a strong unpleasant continuous current running on its back. The house I live in was built 28 years ago and its ground wires aren't wired to the outlets. Is it normal for a PSU to leak this much current on its back, considering there's no grounds in the outlets/sockets of the house? Or is it a faulty PSU?

I appreciate your help. Thank you for reading!

 

[Hlsgsz]

What's teh PSu model and what other devices plugged it do you have connected to the PC?

 

[KeelinTy]

If the house was built 28 years ago it should have ground wires. Currently the psu is grounding itself into the case which is why you got shocked. You should get an electrician there asap as grounding wires are important.

 

[Paperdoc]

We bought this house 45 years ago and I re-wired it to code. In our area, the code had REQUIRED 3-wire cables (two current conductors plus Ground) for all circuits for years before that.

 

[Dosage]

What's teh PSu model and what other devices plugged it do you have connected to the PC?

Thank you for your quick reply. I really appreciate it!

It's a Cooler Master V1000. A BenQ XL2730Z monitor.

 

[Dosage]

If the house was built 28 years ago it should have ground wires. Currently the psu is grounding itself into the case which is why you got shocked. You should get an electrician there asap as grounding wires are important.

The house does have ground but only in the main panel. The ground wires aren't wired to the sockets. I can't ground the outlets at least for the next 3 years. I am relieved to know that the PSU isn't broken.

 

[Dosage]

We bought this house 45 years ago and I re-wired it to code. In our area, the code had REQUIRED 3-wire cables (two current conductors plus Ground) for all circuits for years before that.

The electrician we made a contract with passed away 2 years ago may he rest in peace. He was too old and to be honest wasn't well informed in the subject so he didn't wire the house properly. He did mix some neutral wires with some live wires too but luckily no one got hurt, so far.

 

[Paperdoc]

Two alarm bells ringing!!

First, although one normally expects the cables from breaker panel to outlet boxes to contain a bare Ground lead that is connected at both ends, there are other options IF certain types of cable are used. Since you don't appear to be a fully experienced electrician, I really suggest you get one to inspect all the system. That tradesman certainly can tell you is there are proper Grounds at all locations.

Secondly, you already KNOW that some of the wiring was faulty! So you really have no idea whether other flaws of the same type (or different) are present and undiscovered. The shock you are experiencing certainly could be the result of mixed Hot and Neutral connections somewhere in the system. Another really good reason to hire a competent tradesman to inspect and fix it!

 

[Andreas Mellis]

Use another wall socket and if this doesn't work get an extension and either put it in the same hole or another one in a different room.

 

[Hlsgsz]

What's teh PSu model and what other devices plugged it do you have connected to the PC?

Thank you for your quick reply. I really appreciate it!

It's a Cooler Master V1000. A BenQ XL2730Z monitor.

Connect them both to an extender that supports grounding, even if the wall socket does not.

 

[Dosage]

Two alarm bells ringing!!

First, although one normally expects the cables from breaker panel to outlet boxes to contain a bare Ground lead that is connected at both ends, there are other options IF certain types of cable are used. Since you don't appear to be a fully experienced electrician, I really suggest you get one to inspect all the system. That tradesman certainly can tell you is there are proper Grounds at all locations.

Secondly, you already KNOW that some of the wiring was faulty! So you really have no idea whether other flaws of the same type (or different) are present and undiscovered. The shock you are experiencing certainly could be the result of mixed Hot and Neutral connections somewhere in the system. Another really good reason to hire a competent tradesman to inspect and fix it!

Thank you so much for your concern and reply. I really appreciate it. I can't thank you enough.

I did consult an electrician. The electrician I ran into wasn't a genius either. Good qualified electricians are either extremely hard to find here or just really expensive. The qualified electricians I know about tend to handle really big projects and work for very huge companies.

I will definitely try my best to find and hire a good electrician to check everything.

 

[Dosage]

Use another wall socket and if this doesn't work get an extension and either put it in the same hole or another one in a different room.

Thank you for your reply!

That's exactly what I did, and what I will try to do with a newly bought high quality extension. I'll keep you updated.

 

[Dosage]

What's teh PSu model and what other devices plugged it do you have connected to the PC?

Thank you for your quick reply. I really appreciate it!

It's a Cooler Master V1000. A BenQ XL2730Z monitor.

Connect them both to an extender that supports grounding, even if the wall socket does not.

Great minds think alike! I bought an extender just to try that. I'll keep you updated. I'll probably get a voltmeter before to test the current just to be safe.

 

[mjslakeridge]

If the house was built 28 years ago it should have ground wires. Currently the psu is grounding itself into the case which is why you got shocked. You should get an electrician there asap as grounding wires are important.

The house does have ground but only in the main panel. The ground wires aren't wired to the sockets. I can't ground the outlets at least for the next 3 years. I am relieved to know that the PSU isn't broken.

Where do you live (if I may ask)? Why can't you have the ground wires connected to the outlets for 3 years? As Paperdoc said above, you may be living in a dangerous house.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

You have a potentially lethal situation there. Hire a licensed electrician IMMEDIATELY to do an inspection and repair of all issues before someone dies. It's not a matter of if, it's only a matter of when it will happen. Cost is of no importance in these cases. Electrical safety is not something to take lightly.