I can feel slight electricity from my pc case screws, what could be the cause?

[AkoSiAdam]

Recently just finished building my pc and I use a surge protector. The wall outlet on my room only has 2 prongs and I used a cheater adapter to plug my surge protector in it. After using the pc I can feel mild electricity through my pc case screws. My power supply is new so I don’t think it’s the problem. Also my surge protector has a light indicator if my ground is ok. And it does not light up. Could it be the problem? If so I’m calling an electrician to get it fixed right away

[WhitetailAni]

3 minutes ago, AkoSiAdam said:

Also my surge protector has a light indicator if my ground is ok. And it does not light up.

2-prong plugs do not have a ground pin.

[AkoSiAdam]

8 minutes ago, ragnarok0273 said:

2-prong plugs do not have a ground pin.

So it’s the cause of the problem? Or are there probably more possible causes?

[WhitetailAni]

It could or could not.
Our house is from the 1940s but it was updated a bunch (has 2 phone line systems just hanging out next to each other...) so I don't know.

2-prongs should be upgraded anyway so swap it and find out.

[johnny5c]

Does your 3-prong to 2-prong adapter have a tab with a hole on the 2-prong end?  If it does it's possible to ground it through the outlet cover plate screw.  In the US most older homes with 2-prong outlets have grounded metal boxes that uses the BX cable's metal conduit to establish a ground back to the breaker/fuse panel.

[BiotechBen]

40 minutes ago, johnny5c said:

Does your 3-prong to 2-prong adapter have a tab with a hole on the 2-prong end?  If it does it's possible to ground it through the outlet cover plate screw.  In the US most older homes with 2-prong outlets have grounded metal boxes that uses the BX cable's metal conduit to establish a ground back to the breaker/fuse panel.

That's how my house is wired, kind of annoying when upgrading, as there isn't a convenient grounding place, but I usually just use the adapter and don't have much trouble. Would you be able to ground a PC through itself? Like metal shell connected to an insulator like plastic?

[johnny5c]

10 minutes ago, BiotechBen said:

That's how my house is wired, kind of annoying when upgrading, as there isn't a convenient grounding place, but I usually just use the adapter and don't have much trouble. Would you be able to ground a PC through itself? Like metal shell connected to an insulator like plastic?

The purpose of a ground is to provide a additional path back to the panel in the event that there's a short or surge, what you're asking is more like shielding.

[Rocketdog2112]

I found this answer that might be helpful. It basically states you need the ground lug or risk shock and/or possibly damaging your computer...

 

"Any device such as a computer that has a mains input with ground pole really should be connected to a mains socket that provides ground. And with a supply cord that connects the grounds. A standard ATX power supply connects mains ground to metal case. If it is not grounded, the EMI filter capacitors from Live to ground and Neutral to ground will act as a capacitive voltage divider and thus PC metal case measures half of mains AC voltage. Not hazardous itself, but connecting other mains powered devices should be made while mains cords are unplugged to prevent discharge currents from destroying devices. The slight shock can also surprise people and their reflexes can cause movements that might hit something."

 

There's also this...

 

"3-prong power supplies such as ones commonly used in desktop computers have a different mechanism. The mains input has Y caps from Live and Neutral to ground for EMI filtering, and the ground is connected to metal chassis. So when such a device is connected to ungrounded outlet, the Y caps form a capacitive voltage divider and makes the chassis live with half mains voltage. This is why 3 prong devices need ground, and the ground connection should never be defeated on purpose."

[AkoSiAdam]

Update: It seems that the electricity i can feel on the case goes away when the PC is running and i can feel current when the PC is shut down. I also had a scenario where my main monitor suddenly loses signal then gets back to normal, i touched the bottom part of my monitor then i also felt it had current. (i know for a fact that it's not my faulty gpu since i also have a 2nd monitor connected to it and it does not lose signal)

[Mark Kaine]

2 hours ago, AkoSiAdam said:

Update: It seems that the electricity i can feel on the case goes away when the PC is running and i can feel current when the PC is shut down. I also had a scenario where my main monitor suddenly loses signal then gets back to normal, i touched the bottom part of my monitor then i also felt it had current. (i know for a fact that it's not my faulty gpu since i also have a 2nd monitor connected to it and it does not lose signal)

read post above yours. 

 

tldr: you need an electrician to check your grounds. 

[LogicalDrm]

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