electrical sparks

F

forca1

Geek Trainee
ok, so.. when i try to plug in an usb hub into my motherboard, i see
electrical sparks, like the whole backpanel of my motherboard is electrified

i'd like to know how to fix this, and is it in any way dangerous for the motherboard/pc components and the hub as well?

mb is asus k8v-mx sound and video integrated
 
forca1 said:
ok, so.. when i try to plug in an usb hub into my motherboard, i see
electrical sparks, like the whole backpanel of my motherboard is electrified

i'd like to know how to fix this, and is it in any way dangerous for the motherboard/pc components and the hub as well?

mb is asus k8v-mx sound and video integrated
Click to expand...

it is very dangerous, dont plug anything into the usb port until it has been sorted, to start off with , what power supply are u using, with specs of rails aswell plz
 
im not sure what you mean izzy but i got this info off the
powersupply sticker..

Frontier Tech Inc.

MAX OUTPUT 400W


input output
115VAC +12V 18A MAX
10A +5V 40A MAX

60Hz
230VAC +3.3V 28A MAX
5A MAX -5V 0.5A MAX

50Hz -12V 0.5A MAX

+5V/SB 1.5A MAX

whatever that means, as i said mb is asus k8v-mx sound and video integrated
and cpu is sempron 2600+
 
forca1 said:
im not sure what you mean izzy but i got this info off the
powersupply sticker..

input output
115VAC +12V 18A MAX
10A +5V 40A MAX

60Hz
230VAC +3.3V 28A MAX
5A MAX -5V 0.5A MAX

50Hz -12V 0.5A MAX

+5V/SB 1.5A MAX

whatever that means, as i said mb is asus k8v-mx sound and video integrated
and cpu is sempron 2600+
Click to expand...

wat is the name of ur psu, i e antec, tagan, some generic one i suppose
 
Sparks were coming from the USB port/connector?! Thats very strange, never heard of this happening, as its quite unusual for a 5v current to do that unless there's an electrical fault.
 
Addis said:
Sparks were coming from the USB port/connector?! Thats very strange, never heard of this happening, as its quite unusual for a 5v current to do that unless there's an electrical fault.
Click to expand...

no fromt the back plate of the mobo
 
forca1 said:
Frontier Tech Inc. is the manufacturer izzy007
prolly chinese
Click to expand...

never heard of it, what is ur comp specs and how many watts was ur psu.
i reckon its ur psu.
u shud get a descent one once and for all, which wil depend on ur system specs and if u want to upgrade in the future
 
sempron 2600+ on asus k8v-mx with 512mb DDR400
400W MAX is the psu
and 2 hdds, 80 and 120gb Maxtor
1 dvd nec
1 cdrw lg
thats about it, sound and video integrated

surely not a highend mashine, i use it mostly for emule, so
the pc is on 24/7
 
It could be that something isn't grounded, I know with my PSU you have to connect a grounding wire to the case but with others the SU grounds itself when it's screwed in.

I agree with Addis, it's very strange coming from a USB Connection as they do only use 5V. (And izzy there can be USB Connections on the back of the motherboard you know)

What I'd do is try a multi-meter on various parts of the case to make sure the case isn't shorting something somewhere.
 
i dont have a multi-meter matt555 :(
hmm an extra grounding wire?? never saw such thing

what could be the thing that isnt grounded, i mean, only the psu is connected to a socket, beside the monitor and the speakers?

my psu is connected to a surgearrest, and that into the wall socket
 
I was referring to a small cable that comes form the PSU (inside the case) and screws into an mpty screw hole to ground the PSU's, most PSU's have this built in so when the PSU is screwed in it is grounded but the manufacturers of my PSU must have been smoking some strange substances the day they designed my one as that cable isn't neccessary.
 
it is a 3pin socket/outlet

i tried something new and i realize going over with an usb cable over the
backplate of the pc case (not the backpanel of the mobo) also gives me sparks!!! kinda freaky
 
forca said:
it is a 3pin socket/outlet

i tried something new and i realize going over with an usb cable over the
backplate of the pc case (not the backpanel of the mobo) also gives me sparks!!! kinda freaky
Click to expand...
Can you confirm that no uncovered wire is touching your system.
Open the case and see where is that spark happening. Maybe you will get a clue with the close watch. Also make sure that the motherboard should not touch the case because it will blow up eveything in your system.
 
I've seen sparks off this sorta thing before. The customer brought it in complaining that they saw a spark and flames when they plugged in a usb mp3 player into it. Turns out it happened by someone incorrectly plugging in the USB leads to the mobo.
 
heh, maybe its just normal, when i rub the wire coming from the speakers on the back panel i get little sparks, even with some usb things.
 
forca1 said:
ok, so.. when i try to plug in an usb hub into my motherboard, i see
electrical sparks, like the whole backpanel of my motherboard is electrified

i'd like to know how to fix this, and is it in any way dangerous for the motherboard/pc components and the hub as well?

mb is asus k8v-mx sound and video integrated
Click to expand...


For clarification, is this on the I/O panel cluster or an expansion bracket with USB ports?
If this is one time, I wouldn't be worried, as I've seen odd stuff like this happen. However, if this happens all the time, there's some sort of grounding issue here.
 
Is the motherboard lifted off of the back panel by risers (e.g. aluminum "A" risers or copper female threaded nuts), or is it screwed straight on with nothing in-between?
 
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