Question Sparking/static noise from PSU with voltage drop problem. How cautious would you be when running PC ?

[mking8992]

In all levels of the house the lights will flicker sporadically. sometimes the flickering will be very brief, other times it will go on for minutes. The circuit in my room seems to act up more often. Attempting to artificially produce this behavior via adding/removing electrical appliances does not work in producing the behavior. It appears to be erratic.



Multimeter :

https://imgur.com/a/hsJ0U5F

More recently I am now noticing buzzing/static sound from my PSU. Please enable sound

https://imgur.com/a/sFpWp8X

I only notice it when the lights are flickering! Am I about to fry my pc if I keep running it in these conditions. I think its clear that this house needs an electrician badly. I am trying to encourage my parents to call one but they are reluctant. Any possible inferences you can make about what is wrong with the electrical wiring?

 

[hotaru.hino]

The only thing that would fry a PC is excessive voltage. And if there's excessive voltage, well, that would be a huge problem with the infrastructure.

The only danger here is losing any data you didn't save and wasn't completely committed to storage. But if I were you, I'd get a UPS.

 

[mking8992]

The only thing that would fry a PC is excessive voltage. And if there's excessive voltage, well, that would be a huge problem with the infrastructure.

The only danger here is losing any data you didn't save and wasn't completely committed to storage. But if I were you, I'd get a UPS.

Would you say the sparking sound from my PSU is not a big deal? To reiterate: the sound in the second vid only occurs if the circuit is undergoing voltage dips

 

[Zerk2012]

In all levels of the house the lights will flicker sporadically. sometimes the flickering will be very brief, other times it will go on for minutes. The circuit in my room seems to act up more often. Attempting to artificially produce this behavior via adding/removing electrical appliances does not work in producing the behavior. It appears to be erratic.



Multimeter when the lights start flickering and stay flickering:

https://imgur.com/a/u8NHh6y

More recently I am now noticing buzzing/static sound from my PSU. Please enable sound

https://imgur.com/a/sFpWp8X

I only notice it when the lights are flickering! Am I about to fry my pc if I keep running it in these conditions. I think its clear that this house needs an electrician badly. I am trying to encourage my parents to call one but they are reluctant. Any possible inferences you can make about what is wrong with the electrical wiring?

Is the first pick with the lights flickering? it has less than a 2 volt drop.

 

[mking8992]

Is the first pick with the lights flickering? it has less than a 2 volt drop.

Vid is slightly misleading im thinking . Without lights flickering it reads 120 volts as is the standard in the US I believe. Updated to a better video that more clearly shows the situation @Zerk2012

 

[mking8992]

The sparking noise only occurs if the circuit is undergoing voltage sag which I find a little concerning

 

[hotaru.hino]

The crackling sound is definitely a reaction from the voltage sag, but whether or not this will cause damage I can't say.

In any case, I would stop using the computer until the wiring in the house gets looked at. And if you cannot do that, get a UPS.

 

[CelicaGT]

Voltage dropping far enough to make the lights flicker? I'd be calling your power company. Low voltage has the potential to cause far more damage than high voltage. Stop using the PC, and any high wattage appliances you own and have the issue fixed.

 

[Ralston18]

There are a number of potential culprits but speculating further may very well end badly.

Get a qualified electrician as soon as possible to check the entire electrical system.

There is more, much more, than the PC at risk.

And the problem and associated risks likely to get worse.

 

[drivinfast247]

Get an electrician out there immediately!!

 

[Misgar]

I was staying in a small village recently where the mains supply comes from a small (60kVA) Hydel scheme, powered by the local river. The Voltage rises and falls, depending on load and flickering lights occur, when the supply voltage "bounces" up and down for a few seconds.

The mains Voltage can be anywhere between 60V and 210V, but typically lies in the range 90V to 180V. Surprisingly, very few switched mode power supplies for laptops and phone chargers seem to die, but anything outside the range 100V to 250V is highly undesirable.

Perhaps we should ask where the OP lives and if mains voltage fluctuations are "normal". It might be a case of overhead wires touching in high winds, as happened at my mother's home. I saw a bright flash and watched as a bare overhead wired melted and dropped to the ground after a storm,

The engineers replaced the 630A fuse associated with the 11kV to 230V AC transformer in a nearby field, but the fuse blew again. The fault was traced to a fallen tree, shorting out the Line and Neutral overhead lines.

 

[mking8992]

I have very little understanding of electrical systems but the city came out and did something to the main connection of the house and upstream. Thankfully this stopped all low voltage problems.

 

[Misgar]

Good to hear they sorted things out.