PC-Case conducts energy

[f4k3]

Hello there!

I just built a brand new system with all new components but i have the problem that my pc case conducts energy. This means as soon as i touch the case i can feel the energy floating through my body which leads to an unpleasant pain(even when i just touch the USB-Ports). First thing i did was to buy an outlet tester. I checked all the outlets for errors but all of them are all right.

Now i am already out of ideas because this is really not my area of expertise. I do have a multimeter but i am an absolute noob when it comes to using it

If anyone has an idea what the cause could be or show me how to find the error i would absolutely appreciate it!

Thanks!

 

[bigtallanddopey]

If you really can feel something going through the case it means somewhere you have a short.

TURN OFF THE PC IMMEDIATELY

If it is a short you have been lucky so far not to lose all your components or at least the motherboard. And lucky not to hurt yourself.

When you built the pc did you use the motherboard standoff’s that go in the case?

I would suggest disassembling your pc and starting again making sure all standoff’s have been used and you haven’t dropped a screw in the case somewhere.

Failing that it could be a cheap case and one of the USB ports or something is live to your case.

 

[f4k3]

Thank you very much for your reply! The case i am using is a "Be quiet silent base 600". The thing is that there were no motherboard stand offs! And even if there would have been some, if i would install them the motherboard would not fit anymore in the case because of the height! I think the standoffs are already integrated in the case, right??? Have a look here:

 

[bigtallanddopey]

Thank you very much for your reply! The case i am using is a "Be quiet silent base 600". The thing is that there were no motherboard stand offs! And even if there would have been some, if i would install them the motherboard would not fit anymore in the case because of the height! I think the standoffs are already integrated in the case, right??? Have a look here:

View attachment 199568

I think you are right. I’m not that familiar with the be quiet cases but it does look like they are integrated into the case. Normally they would be a little thinner than those and maybe that is causing an issue with your motherboard but be quiet is a decent brand and I would think they would have looked into that.

The next thing is a faulty component somewhere that is bridging your case. Time to learn how to use the multimeter I would say.

 

[f4k3]

Okay thank you very much for your help. I will search good tutorials on hot to use the multimeter Thank you!

 

[f4k3]

okay after i took the pc a part and put it back together i minimized the problem. Now i only feel energy flowing on the black screws from the cse itself and on the usb ports. Is that normal or still something i should be concered about??

 

[mackerel]

You shouldn't feel that at all. The motherboard is a low voltage component so even if it shorts it shouldn't do that. I would suspect either the PSU or power cable. If you have a multimeter, set it to AC voltage mode and measure from case to a known good earth point. If there is any significant voltage there, this is a safety risk.

 

[Alaric]

Page 6 of your manual. Unplug it and install the motherboard correctly.




Pg. 33
8.4

8.4 INSTALLATION OF THE MOTHERBOARD
Install the motherboard’s I/O shield first, aligning the motherboard with the standoff in the center of the
motherboard tray, secure with the #6-32 flat head screws supplied.

 

[peanutbudder]

 

[sjfehr]

You shouldn't feel that at all. The motherboard is a low voltage component so even if it shorts it shouldn't do that. I would suspect either the PSU or power cable. If you have a multimeter, set it to AC voltage mode and measure from case to a known good earth point. If there is any significant voltage there, this is a safety risk.

There's also a chance the electrical outlet was miswired or shorted out. A lot of older houses don't have grounds; it's code-legal to retrofit GFCI outlets on ungrounded circuits, but the lack of a ground can create other issues for things like computers which rely on a solid chassis ground for safety.

f4k3, do you have a multimeter to test the outlet? And yes, those dimples are integrated standoffs. The case I'm using right now is similar.

 

[sjfehr]

To clarify, I know you tested the outlet, but I mean test against ground. If there is a wiring problem and the computer case is energized instead of grounded, you should still not get shocked unless you were also touching something that is grounded. You can use your multimeter to measure the voltage between your case and whatever is grounded if the leads are long enough.

Have you ever had this problem in other PCs plugged into the same outlet? The miswiring could also be in the power supply.

 

[f4k3]

First of all thank you all very much for your answers.

@Alaric:
The Stand-Offs are just for other motherboardtypes. Why do you think there are only 2 Screws??
Take a look at the picture above from the case and then you will see that there are 2 holes where you can put in the screws. This is only the case if you have a motherboard that needs a scres there, but my motherboard does not

@sjfehr
I checked with an outlesttester if the outlet is grounded correctly and it is. But i i figured out is that when i am sitting on my char with my feet above the ground that i dont get a shock. I really just get a shock when i touch the ground with my feet.

 

[Alaric]

Having no idea what motherboard you have it seemed a reasonable precaution. And if you're getting shocked something is very wrong. Can you try sitting the PSU outside the case with the components plugged in?

 

[f4k3]

I have a rog strix x470-f. I will put the PSU outside and then see if i am still getting shocked and inform you. Will inform again in about 1 hour Thanks for your help!

 

[Alaric]

 

[sjfehr]

Are you in the US or Europe? Assuming US, the outlet tester is just a couple lights and looks to see if there is 120V between hot and ground, 120V between hot and neutral, and 0V from neutral to ground. It could give the same reading if the outlet were grossly miswired and someone wired the hot wire to the ground and neutral by mistake. Your computer would work in either case, but you'd get an electric shock in the latter case.

Regardless, you do NOT want to keep testing this by touching it!!! Especially if the current path is from your hand to your feed, as just a few milliamps through your heart can kill you. What you can do is use your multimeter. Touch one end to your computer and use the other end to find something grounded to test to, and go from there. Wearing non-conductive gloves while you're troubleshooting will help reduce risk of shock. It's odd that your floor is conductive; the other possibility is that your computer is fine but there's a short circuit there.

You can use the continuity tester on your multimeter to test your PSU and see if that's your problem. Unplug the computer power cable from the wall and put your multimeter in continuity test mode (the one where it beeps if you touch the probes together.) Touch one probe to the circular ground pin and the other to the case. If the PSU is wired correctly, it should beep. Then test the two flat pins- neither should beep. If either of the flat pins has continuity to the case, there is a short circuit in your computer somewhere.

 

[Mr.Scott]

99% of the time when this happens it means the outlet is using the neutral as a ground.
Outlet needs a real ground to fix it.

 

[maxfly]

visually check all of your cables for nicks or bare spots. i would start with the usb/power/reset etc and all of your fan cables. then do the same with the psu cables. ideally running your rig outside of the case is a good starting point for narrowing down shorts.

i built a c2d rig that had bare spots on the fan wires and would cause the hdds to stop responding every couple of days. it took forever to track them down

 

[f4k3]

First of all thank you all for your help and your responses. What a great forum this is, i am new here. I asked for help on three other forums and i got almost no help at all but here it is really different. Thanks so much for that and sorry @Alaric that i did not reply but i am so busy with work. I need this PC for my work and this is why its alwas difficult to spent time disecting it, but i will do it. I will post a bunch of Photos soon that should help nail the problem down. I hope we will get further then because i just can not work like this and i am scared for my new built. Thanks guys

 

[f4k3]

Here two photos of my power outlet when i plug the outlettester in. In the first image you see that i plugged the outlet tester in correctly, in the second picture i plugged it in upside down:





Our outlets are european!

I tested now many external USB-Devices. When i plug any Device into my usb port and i put my feet on the ground i directly get an electric shock. If my feet are up in the air i do not get a shock. I even plugged in an external sound card and into this sound card i plugged in a electric guitar. All the strings of the electric guitar gave me a shock. What is this????

Thank you all so much!