PSU clicking and leaking electricity

[david.kollanyi]

I just build a PC one week ago. Specs:

Motherboard: MSI B350 Bazooka
CPU: Ryzen 5 1600x
CPU cooler: Hyper 212 EVO
RAM: KINGSTON DDR4 16GB 2133MHz CL15
GPU: Gtx 760 3Gb (waiting for price drops to replace it lol)
PSU: Antec NeoECO 620C 620W ATX 2.32

So I built this PC, used it alltogether around 4 hours and it worked flawlessly, then left for the weekend so I didn't touch it for 3 days.

Adter I turned it on again, I started to hear a clicking noise. I opened the case and figured out it's coming from the PSU.
Took the PSU out from the case to check if something is touching the fan but no, then I even stopped the fan and it was still clicking. Fast, constant but not quite rythmic clicks. I tried to look inside of it with a flashlight but didn't see anything odd. Also doesn't smell burnt.
I used it that way for about 2 hours as I thought it's just a case fan and "meh I'll check tomorrow". It worked normally without any problem.

Furthermore after I put it back to the case, I noticed that it's leaking electricity as I felt the little "shocks" when I touched metal parts of the case. I started touching it all over (I like to live dangerously) and figured out it's coming from one small spot on the side of the PSU, as the electricity was much stronger there than at other parts of the case.
THIS leaking only happens when the PSU is turned off. If I turn the PSU back on (even without turning on the PC) the electricity disappears in a few second.
I also tried to remove the GPU / coolers / RAM / HDD to check it without them but it was the same.

Should I return the PSU?
Could it be caused by the ungrounded outlet?
Should I wait till I move to another flat (possibly in max 1 month) and check in a proper outlet, or that shouldn't be the issue?

Side notes:
-I bought the PSU as exhibition item with opened box and with a small, hardly visible scratch near the fan. It indeed looks like new, and the plastic covering foil was still on it (can be replaced, I know). It has 1 year of warranty.
-My old PC, an APU A8 7600 with the same GPU and some unknown branded cheap 500W PSU worked, and still works fine.
-I think the wirings of the flat are not properly grounded, there is also no ground pin in wall outlet. Once the washing machine leaked, the whole floor was under water and I felt electricity from the floor.

 

[RARRAF]

I would return it as soon as possible does not sound at all right they will check it out and send you a new one probably.

 

[mbarnes86]

Hi

Do you have any grounded sockets in your house?

Power supplies for desktop pc's should always have a ground or earth connection
For safety and reliable operation

I dont know if fixing the missing ground connection will cure the clicking relay

Regards
Mike Barnes

 

[Eximo]

Relay is probably clicking on, then instantly off when the supply fails its POST. I agree a ground loop is likely the problem. It could be any device on the circuit that is wired backwards or has leakage between hot and neutral.

If the house has water logged walls/floors you may need to try something like a de-humidifier to dry everything out. If you have a land lord, you might want them to bring in a circuit fault checker and plug it into every outlet (not a bad idea for you to get one either, they are fairly cheap, if he won't do it)

Really don't want to live with unsafe electricity.

I've had similar issues trying to run a DC bench power supply and a two-prong appliance at the same time. There was enough leakage in the older appliance to trip up the POST on the supply, soon as it was unplugged it fired right up.

 

[david.kollanyi]

Relay is probably clicking on, then instantly off when the supply fails its POST. I agree a ground loop is likely the problem. It could be any device on the circuit that is wired backwards or has leakage between hot and neutral.

If the house has water logged walls/floors you may need to try something like a de-humidifier to dry everything out. If you have a land lord, you might want them to bring in a circuit fault checker and plug it into every outlet (not a bad idea for you to get one either, they are fairly cheap, if he won't do it)

Really don't want to live with unsafe electricity.

I've had similar issues trying to run a DC bench power supply and a two-prong appliance at the same time. There was enough leakage in the older appliance to trip up the POST on the supply, soon as it was unplugged it fired right up.

I managed to find grounded outlets in bathroom, so I tried it there but it was still clicking.
So I'll return the PSU, as the 14 days free return is still present. Then I rather spend a little more on a new one from a trusted local store chain with 5 years warranty.

About the flat, my contract ends and I'm leaving that one in one month. Should I just wait till that time and not use the PC? If it was messed up by the bad electricity, it might just messes up the new one as well.

 

[Karadjgne]

DC has 2 poles. Hot and Not. So everything inside a pc is either a hot lead or a ground. That includes the case metal parts. All of which leads back to the psu. Here the voltage changes from AC to DC. Any DC voltage present on the ground side gets absorbed by the ground of the plug. If your outlet is not grounded, it's going to rely on the psu having ground and neutral bonded together, which isn't always the case. This means there's always potential voltage present, including static electricity, which also has no place to go, until you provide it when touching something.

Swap out the psu. Peace of mind is worth the price difference.

Make sure the outlet at the wall does actually have a ground, not just a hole for the plug.

 

[tribie2]

Thanks for all the answers, all were very helpful and made me learn something which will (well, hopefully not) be useful for the future .

In the meanwhile I was still searching and found that it can be caused by a short or motherboard badly plugged, so I disconnected everything and reorganized cables.

Looks like the fault was mine indeed.
I tried again after reconnecting everything (literally everything, not just main parts like yesterday), both the clicking and the leaking electricity disappeared.