Xbox 360 (Falcon) Gives Electrical Shocks

[sevanig]

Hello all

A friend bought a new Hdmi (Falcon) Arcade model 360 the other day...

So I decided to check it out and brought over mine...

I tried my HDD on it (one with chrome side highlight), and the bloody thing gave me a little electric shock (where the chrome on the HDD is).

So I tried touching (scratching?) the back AV port surrounds with the metal AV plug, and you can see tiny little sparks :O (this is while the 360 is off, but power supply is plugged in)

The machine works fine, it turns on and everything...
I'm just afraid my friends house will burn down from this

But I have noticed the MS has removed the chrome highlight from their latest pro model HDD's, could this be why??

Asking an electrical engineer (my brother ) he says it could just be a faulty power supply (earth buggered) or faulty console, or is just ment to be like this (thus why MS removed chrome highlight)

Can anyone try their Falcon model 360 with an original Pro HDD, or just try touching the back metal AV connector (as described) to see if it sparks?

Also I find that arm hair and your ears (don't ask) get zapped the best, so perhaps just run your arm along the back AV port of the 360 (not while ON, but just plugged in (or sleeping some would call it))

Thanks for reading and any help would be appreciated.

 

[AlNom]

Maybe you just have a dynamically magnetic personality.

I'm fairly sure the HDD casing does not have any electrical path to the HDD inside... would be silly if they did that. But I don't recall exactly what the inside looked like.

It's conceivable to get sparks on the back AV port, but there would have to be enough built-up charge. You might want to try using a different power supply, such as yours.

 

[paawl]

Hello all
Asking an electrical engineer (my brother ) he says it could just be a faulty power supply (earth buggered) . . .

Your brother is most likely correct. I've seen this before (though not on a 360)---the power supply or console (could be either) is most likely delivering voltage (+5 or +12 Volts) to one or more of the ground wires, rather than (or in addition to) the usual "hot" wires. You aren't likely to die by being shocked, nor is your friends house likely to immediately burn down, but this is a very serious problem, and should be rectified at once. I wouldn't recommend using the console until MS gets it fixed (which they should be willing to do quickly, given how rightfully afraid all consumer electronics companies are of lawsuits stemming from faulty wiring).

The console itself probably won't run properly (for long) in this condition, either, so it's wise to get it fixed before playing with it.

 

[Mize]

If it's not static but true A/C (or even regulated DC) then the thing is buggered and unsafe (and nowhere close to CE unless it's less than 24 volts. Take it back fast.

 

[Zaphod]

If it's hooked up to cable TV (via other equipment) it could be a grounding fault on that end spilling over to the Xbox. Try unhooking the cable from the signal outlet and see if that helps. If this is the problem buy a galvanic isolator for the coax outlet and call the cable company.

 

[sevanig]

I'm fairly sure the HDD casing does not have any electrical path to the HDD inside... would be silly if they did that. But I don't recall exactly what the inside looked like.

Nah we pulled out the multi-meter, the side of the HDD casing is conductive, same earth as the back AV port... Yer the thing is not plugged in now, but its going back to the store...

Still this is very dodgy...

 

[AlNom]

Nah we pulled out the multi-meter, the side of the HDD casing is conductive, same earth as the back AV port... Yer the thing is not plugged in now, but its going back to the store...

So there's a path from the chrome exterior to the inside? That's ... incredibly daft of them!

 

[D3B]

Nothing about shocks but still.
http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/684760/Xbox_360_Causes_House_To_Burn.html

 

[Rainbow Man]

I never liked that chrome. It looks tacky and the glue from the protective tape that shipped with my unit stuck to it and was damned impossible to remove.

So I've had tape glue on my 360's HDD ever sicne launch.

Btw. Isn't ground sparking fairly common with AV equipment anyay? Is it really indicative of an electrical problem because I seem to see people talking about it every noe and then.
Peace.

 

[vazel]

rofl this is awesome. It's alive!

I never liked that chrome. It looks tacky and the glue from the protective tape that shipped with my unit stuck to it and was damned impossible to remove.

So I've had tape glue on my 360's HDD ever sicne launch.

Btw. Isn't ground sparking fairly common with AV equipment anyay? Is it really indicative of an electrical problem because I seem to see people talking about it every noe and then.
Peace.

I hate stickers in packaging when it's on the actual product because sometimes they fuse to the product then when you try to peel it off bits of the sticker remain or they take bits of the product's surface off with the sticker. I know this is rare but still.

 

[Scott_Arm]

Btw. Isn't ground sparking fairly common with AV equipment anyay? Is it really indicative of an electrical problem because I seem to see people talking about it every noe and then.
Peace.

Ground loops? If I ever had a piece of equipment that was sparking, I wouldn't be using it. Are they talking about ESD? Like, they walked across the room and touched their receiver and they got a shock?

 

[Mize]

Btw. Isn't ground sparking fairly common with AV equipment anyay? Is it really indicative of an electrical problem because I seem to see people talking about it every noe and then.
Peace.

What? If you're talking about static electricity (ESD) when you touch a case then, yes, that's normal because the cases are grounded and you can generate a lot of static electricity on your body. If you're saying AV equipment should shock you in any other way the answer is hell no.

 

[Scott_Arm]

What? If you're talking about static electricity (ESD) when you touch a case then, yes, that's normal because the cases are grounded and you can generate a lot of static electricity on your body. If you're saying AV equipment should shock you in any other way the answer is hell no.

Agreed.

I've heard of this happening because of ground loops, but not to any severe degree, but it's something that should be corrected and is not acceptable.

 

[Mize]

Of course there *is* the possibility that the house wiring or outlet is borked.
Back in my rockstar days (well, almost, my guitarist went on to play with Perry Ferrel when I went to college ) many hollywood clubs had suck mucked up electrical systems that you'd regularly fry a lip on a microphone thanks to floating grounds between guitar strings and mics. If this is the case you should be able to measure an AC offset between the grounds on the two outlets. Do you have a voltmeter?

 

[orangpelupa]

Resurrecting old thread.

Basically everywhere in Indonesia is like this. In cities AND villages.

Easiest to test if you have electronic device with metal exterior like MacBook.

Plug it to electric outlet, it's charging, stand barefooted on a ceramic floor, and wipe hands on the MacBook body.

You'll feel the electricity.