Electronics & Appliances Best Posts in Thread: Electrical grounding

Here are a couple simple examples. The second example is a standard US, 120/240 2 phase system; the Philippines uses 240 phase to neutral with one phase, couldn't find an example for that but the concept for grounding is the same.

Shawn

 

If you can pack up your desktop, you are welcome to test it at my house to verify if that is the problem, I have an electrical ground and a 25 kv transformer. (Disclaimer, I know nothing about electrical problems).

For your right hand problem, I use a touch screen iPad (my touchscreen laptop was stolen). I have a mostly paralyzed right hand.

 

That's is why you need that third wire. to bleed off stray voltage from the chassis. My fix was to attach a wire from the computer chassis to a 3" concrete nail driven into the concrete wall next to the outlet. It worked for my computer which did the same thing you described. I also did the same for my Refrigerator as the new Inverter style Ref's use a controller circuit board to manage the Inverter. As a cautionary note. I learned after I purchased my Ref that Inverter style A/C and Refs are easily damaged by the Power outages we suffer from here. The old style Refs don't seem to mind the power surges and fluctuating voltages as much.

 

It is illegal and very dangerous. You must run a green, grounding conductor and not use the neutral as your ground and it must go back to your ground bus in your panel. The neutral is considered "grounded" as it goes back to the source (transformer) and is purposely grounded at that point. If you used the neutral as a ground any metal device attached to that will carry some current; if your neutral opened between the receptacle and panel for some reason and you touched anything metal that was attached to "ground" you would now be the return, completing that circuit.

Any other "ground" you try may bleed static off but will not work for any fault current as it needs to go to the source (where your grounded and grounding conductors are bonded together). The easiest thing for these residential systems is to drive a ground rod at your panel, put in a ground bus and bond the neutral and ground together at this point, and this point only. Then run another conductor from the panel to your receptacle and put in a grounded receptacle. Most of these houses run either PVC or PVC flex so you should be able to run a grounding conductor in the existing conduit. Worse case you may need to pull out the existing wire (attach a pull string) and pull a new hot, neutral and ground.

Shawn

 

I have done this technique on my appliances and computer, so I am sure it works. I tested it with a multi-meter.
If you live in a concrete house like most houses here are made of. You get a 3 inch galvanized nail either pre drill a hole smaller than the nail or just hammer it into the concrete leaving about 1/2 inch exposed. Connect a wire from the computer or appliance to the nail. a wire zip. tie or small hose clamp will work for securing the wire to the nail. This will work sufficiently enough as a ground. Humming in the audio can also indicate a power supply problem or a loose connection associated with the Audio processor. Algorithm computer repair shop can check it out for you.