My safety switch tripped. Turned all appliances off. Reset switch. Plugged everything back in. All fine for a few days. Tripped again. Turned all appliances off. Plugged everything back in one by one. Fine for a few more days.
Got an electrician out who put all new safety switches in so that things are on different circuits so when it trips again we can narrow it down.
Turned computer on, all goes well. Plug printer in. Print things. Turn printer off. Turn computer off. A little while later the safety trips again.
Reset switch. Plug everything back in. Nothing trips it.
Yesterday go to use computer, on it for half hour. All fine. Go to use printer. Safety trips.
Is it printer or computer! Not sure. So today I set the computer up on one circuit, use it for a while. All good. Plug printer in in another circuit. Print something. Wait awhile. All appears ok. Then it trips again.
The circuit that tripped is the one that has the computer plugged in, not the printer. (Computer and printer are connected by USB)
So, is it my computer? Why does it only trip only after using the printer?
I know people will say try google, I did. That is how I got to this point.
I don’t want to keep tripping the safety switch but I also don’t want to have to keep having the electrician here.
Please and thanks for any advice.
Safety switch trips
Last edited 17/09/2019 - 17:16
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It is just weird because the computer by itself never trips it. It is only after i have used the printer. But the printer circuit didn’t trip.only the one they computer is on.
Neither trip the circuit breaker on power boards
Power board breakers usually only trip when too much power is being pulled from them. Safety switches trip when power is going where it isn't meant to, like the outside case of a device.
A power board might actually be the problem, if you haven't tried different ones.
Use the computer but not the printer for a few days.
If I just use the computer it never trips. But, when I had the computer in one circuit, the printer in another, the circuit that tripped was the one with the computer.
Completely and utterly not an electrician, but sounds like you're overloading the house circuit itself (with too much plugged in), and it's not an appliance but the wiring itself that might be the issue.
I would understand that, except that it is two different circuits. The one it tripped today is not the one it was on before.
Not an electrician either but have been "diagnosing" a tripping safety switch in my apartment complex. (Trying to understand the issue as the strata manager's recommended sparky doesn't inspire confidence and doesn't use any diagnostic equipment. He just keeps firing the parts cannon @$120/hr until the problem goes away.)
My understanding is:
If the circuit breaker trips then it's either an overload or a short circuit.
If the safety switch trips it's an earthing problem.
I know it's more complicated than this but that's as far as I've got in The Idiots Guide to Electrical Circuits
@brad1-8tsi: I know very little and only what google and the good people here tell me.
It is definitely the safety switch. And it is definitely the PC that is causing the issue as without it plugged in or running, the safety switch stays on.
I now have a week to wait for the new brick thing and am really hoping that fixes the issue because I hate this stuff.
Try a different USB cable with the printer or even better, wireless printing if you can.
Perhaps the USB port is the issue? Is that what you are thinking?
Darn. Just put computer back on, five minutes later it tripped the switch so I guess it is the computer, I would have preferred it to be the printer because that would have been a cheaper thing to replace.
Swap power cables for an easy test. Standard plug
Then would be a power supply swap. Or maybe it's new PC time :)
Thank you for your help. The power cable has a big black box thing on it (transformer?) don’t think I have another one of those anywhere in the house
If I spend all my money on a new PC, I won’t have any left for ice cream :(
The power cable has a big black box thing on it (transformer?) don’t think I have another one of those anywhere in the house
A standard desktop is just a cable, like the one you'd have in an old kettle.
AIO, laptops etc, have the brick, and generally cant easily be swapped without the plug, voltage and amps being correct.
Now put the PC on a different circuit as it still could be the GPO you are plugged into.
Did. It tripped again.
Tripping safety switches can be really hard fixes. Sounds like you may have a neutral/earth fault in either the printer or the computer. These can be really hard to find. The current may be leaking from the neutral wiring to the earth( the frame) in one of these devices, then running back through the shield in the usb, then going to earth at the other appliance as well. This imbalance could cause either safety switch to trip. Remember it only takes 30 milliamps to trip a safety switch, so without a nice flash bang to work with, this may drive you mad.
Motherboard or PSU might be faulty any lose wires or exposed wires?
You could be getting 240v on either USB port which is why its tripping the mains? (I highly doubt it)
Your PC case is grounded so if the printer for what ever reason has a higher voltage running through it, It may trip the breaker.
Try plugging some else into that exact USB port and see what happens? If nothing goes wrong you know its the printer.
It is an all in one computer but now it is also tripping the switch all by itself without the printer
Have removed the power cord thing, taken it apart. Hubby will take a better look tomorrow and I will report back if that fixes the issue. Thanks for everyone’s help.
Does that power the monitor as well?
Yes it is an all in one computer.
Most likely the power brick and cable assuming a 3 pin plug, it’s 240v AC in and low voltage DC out to the AIO so any imbalance will be in that brick area to trip the breaker. Probably a component slowly breaking down till it exceeds the imbalance or even short circuit threshold possibly as it warms up.
Is it likely that replacing the power brick and cable would resolve the issue do you think? Or do you mean a component in the AIO? Thank you
The power brick or cable could be the likely culprit, given that's the main power supply of the computer
Fingers crossed it is given that won’t be an overly expensive thing to replace.
No guarantees but it is where I would start. You’ve eliminated the power circuit by changing to one on a different breaker.
I’d be trying the power brick next, maybe you could borrow one possibly from a laptop if it’s the same voltage, current rating and connection first before buying a replacement.
Couldn’t get one in store today. It is 120w, 19v, 6.3a. Have ordered a replacement one online that should arrive early next week. Fingers crossed it does the trick.
Have you tried turning it off and back on again? :)
I'd take it to a different house or work to eliminate your household wiring and test it there.
I had something similar and turned out to be wiring.
Everything would run fine for hours then just trip.Yep. Many times. It is fine for a bit and then trips again regardless of which circuit. I will try a new cord with power brick.
Is the power brick hot to the touch? If it's really hot as if, barely touchable it's stuffed. You might also find that there might have been a recall on that power brick, check the manufacturer's website.
Strangely there was a recall around that time for similar but not the same. It was warm but I wouldn’t say too hot to touch, A new one has been ordered and we will see how it goes.
in case anyone is staying awake at night wondering…. i got the new power cord today. Have been using the computer with it for over an hour and the safety switch has stayed put. Not game to use the printer just in case.
Go onnnnn, plug the printer in
So you are the bad devil on one shoulder….
Do it!
Each appliance that is plugged into your circuit leaks back some current( in mA ).
There is a 30mA threshold and if all your appliances on that circuits exceeds that 30mA together, the switch or RCD will trip.From my understanding, there are 2 possible scenarios here.
Either your switch is faulty(but that has been replaced so it does not seem like the case) or one of your appliances is leaking too much current.
The limit of this current is 5mA for it to be considered to be a pass as per the Australian Standard.
Any appliance that leaks more than 5mA has to be replaced as it is not deemed safe.The quickest route to take is to use a Portable appliance tester to perform a leakage test on your appliances.
A test should be carried out on your PC(4 tests - Monitor, CPU, Power supply adaptor for monitor, Power supply adaptor for CPU) and printer( 2 tests - printer and Power Supply adaptor) and the leakage recorded. If any of come back with a fail, that is what needs to be replaced.
You may engage the services of a test and tag provider(the cheaper ones tend to do it for $4 - $5 per tag but sometimes have a minimum quantity)In the end it was the power brick thing for the all in one computer. I replaced that and everything is now fine.
Process of elimination to work out if it's the computer or printer. Also try 1 on a powerboard with a safety switch to make your life easier diagnosing the device