Helo friends.

Well, i suffered this nonsense long enough. Need some answers.
So, my PC has been having problems for some years in form of disconnecting/reconnecting stuff when switches are pulled in the house.
It takes form of ding-dong windows sound when unplugging and plugging in USB devices when my wife goes to the loo and pulls the switch, heating comin on, me switching my desk worklight (CFL mag light). If i'm under my bluetooth headphones (bluetooth adapter plugged into powered usb hub) they disconnect and i have to powercycle them to restore sound... Cant run my 3D printer during the day because of all the light switches going on and off all the time, which interrupts prints via wired USB connection (i hate printing from DS cards), printer plugged straight into PC (no hub)... Etc, etc, etc.

For some time i blamed my PSU in the PC - didnt turn out to be it because i just recently changed it to different brand/wattage (from Corsair 750W which gave up the ghost to EVGA 650W). Then i suspected my 7 port USB hub which i power separately from a 5v 2A wallwart. Changed wallwart and then isolated it completely and it didnt chage a thing stil dingdonging.

Any help and advice is appreciated. This is doing my head in...

P.S. Central heating and light are on different circuit breakers. My sockets are not overloaded, only PC and loads of wallwarts present.

 

Are you sure that all the earth connections are in fact earthed?
You don't say where you are in the world and that may matter because the arrangements for mains supply differ.

 

What exactly is EPM'ing?

 

What exactly is EPM'ing?

Couldnt change the title after i noticed this typo. It was supposed to be EMP'ing (electro magnetic pulse).

 

Couldnt change the title after i noticed this typo. It was supposed to be EMP'ing (electro magnetic pulse).

You can ask a moderator to change the title. In the absence of nuclear detonations in your vicinity, I think the EMP can safely be eliminated as a cause of your problem. Of course governments do secret things all the time so maybe you are onto something.

 

You can ask a moderator to change the title. In the absence of nuclear detonations in your vicinity, I think the EMP can safely be eliminated as a cause of your problem. Of course governments do secret things all the time so maybe you are onto something.

Well, i guess i need to include "sarcasm" tag next time. All tin-foil-hattery aside, this whole thing bugs me. What might be causing this ?

 

Have you checked whether everything is correctly earthed?

 

Have you checked whether everything is correctly earthed?

Well, place had been re-certified by council couple of years ago, but i wouldnt trust it as far as i can throw it (long story). How to test for things like this ? Proper earthing i mean ? Can it be DIY or do i absolutely need specialist tools and an electrician ?

 

Call in a Sparks and get your household wiring checked. There have been forum posts about weird effects of poor neutral connections.

 

There are socket testers available cheaply. Something like this but obviously with the appropriate plug for your mains supply.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/13A-UK-M...at=0&_nkw=mains+socket+tester&_from=R40&rt=nc

 

Take it from an "electrician": unless you're scared of wiring, calling in an "electrician" would (most likely) be simply throwing money at the problem.
#1- report the problem to your utility (power company) and request that they test your power at your meter or point of service. See what those results are.

If that doesn't fix your problems I'd recommend:
-planning a day for the job
-shutting off all the circuit breakers
-removing the main electrical panelboard (aka loadcenter) cover.
- using a tester to see what wires and connection points are still "live": this is for your own education, so YOU realize clearly what those points are and you are careful not to touch them OR LET ANY OTHER WIRES, TOOLS, OR CONDUCTIVE PARTS OR PIECES COME IN CONTACT WITH THEM.
-using a screwdriver with the proper blade (typically a straight blade works well on "multi" style screwheads) loosen, re-seat, and re-tighten every wire and connection in that panel, EXCEPT THE LIVE POINTS.
- if the panel has BRANCH circuit breakers which press onto the bus, pull each one loose and then re-seat it.
- the largest conductor connected to the "neutral bus" should be closely examined and also loosened, removed, re-seat, and properly tightened again also. This is a very important step!
- if any conductors are aluminum they should have been coated with an anti-oxidant compound made for that purpose.
- carefully examine all wires and parts for any signs of overheating.
- IF damage is discovered (from overheating, corrosion, fatigue, etc, you may wish to have a professional electrician replace the damaged items, OR you may choose to do that work yourself.
- go through every single receptacle and wallswitch in the house, removing the receptacle (for example), re-tightening every connection, AND verify that any separate wire connectors located in any of the device boxes is firm and tight, and that no wires will (or have) pull loose from such connections. This is the most important part of the job, and may well turn up multiple poor connections. It is also the most time consuming, and the part which a "professional electrician" will try to rush through.
-It is likely that the wiring for your receptacles passes through the wiring junction boxes which overhead lighting fixtures are mounted to. If your house has such light fixtures in most spaces, and you have discovered other loose, corroded, overheated or damaged wiring or connections, you may be prompted to remove those fixtures and access those wires and connections to tighten them and verify their condition.
-After all these steps are completed, replace the cover on the main electrical panelboard, and turn on the main breaker, then all branch circuit breakers.
-Try to replicate the "ghost" conditions and see if they re-appear.

One additional item is that you should verify that there is a fairly large copper wire that is terminated on the panelboards neutral bar, and is connected to a copper rod driven into the earth near the point that the power leads enter your house. It MAY be clamped to water pipe instead, but if it is ONLY clamped to a metal water pipe, you may well need to have a driven ground rod added, as more and more water piping is being changed to non-metallic piping, and there are electrical consequences.

If you feel incapable of performing what I have just prescribed, have a "professional electrician" do it, BUT AGREE TO PAY BY THE HOUR, AND VERIFY THAT ALL THE LISTED STEPS ARE TAKEN.

 

Well, as per AlbertHalls post, i got a socket tester and it shows all green, no faults.

 

Well, as per AlbertHalls post, i got a socket tester and it shows all green, no faults.

That means nothing concerning the problems you describe or refer to.

 

The problem you are experiencing is almost certainly "intermittent power" or intermittent voltage drops in your occupancy. Such (comparatively short) voltage drops are typically caused by intermittent connections, whether in "splices", "taps", "devices", "terminations", or "conductors". While RF or other induced waveforms CAN produce an equivalent effect, you'd most likely be having other failures and unusual behavior of other appliances and loads like ballasted lighting. Your utility (electrical power provider) will probably NOT do any testing on the load side of the meter.

Having nearly any intermittent connection can, and ultimately will, have far greater consequences and cause more damage than that which you describe. Intermittent connections generate heat and often arcing. It could simply be a defective or failing circuit breaker. It could be a damaged wire in contact with a relatively combustible surface such as wooden structure. I suspect it's something between those extremes, but it's worth finding fairly soon.

Additionally, having a poor ground for your system can also allow variations in the voltage at the load in a "split phase" type system, and that of course has components above the branch circuit level. Phase to earth circuits on a system with a poor or floating neutral ground will have voltage variations which would compound the effects of other poor connections.