| Home electrical problem Hi everyone. I have a high end onkyo entertainment audio/video receiver. The issue I have is when I'm watching tv and my wife turns on either the washing machine, dishwasher, or AC it shorts out and turns off and resets (it has eventually killed 2 units which have been replaced. I had an electrician friend over and we checked that this outlet is on a separate circuit from the major amp appliances. We also ran an extension cord with the receiver on it to other outlets in the house and it still happens. I contacted an engineer at onkyo and he said it was a grounding issue with the homes AC power. So we just installed 2 grounding rods 6' apart with 6 gauge copper and tied that to the ground bar on the service panel. (there is another ground going to the water meter pipe also) well this has not solved the issue. I also had a meter in this outlet while the appliances were turned on and the voltage goes from 123 to 120 them right back to 123. I was told this is normal.
I'm not sure where else to look or how to figure this out. Any help you may have is appreciated. |
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 DataDocMy avatar looks like me, if I was 2D.Premium
join:2000-05-14
Greenville, NC | I'd put it on a UPS. All of my gear is on them. |
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 jack bGone FishingPremium,MVM
join:2000-09-08
Cape Cod
kudos:1 | reply to Bailey
It sounds like you may have a faulty utility service neutral connection. All the grounding rods in the world won' fix that.
Call the utility/power company to investigate.
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 alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC
kudos:1 | said by jack b:It sounds like you may have a faulty utility service neutral connection.
Loose neutral may very well be in the panel.
When I was rearranging stuff in my panel, I had to replace the old aluminum wiring that went from the main disconnect to the copper bus. Turns out the main neutral was as loose as a drunk college girl. |
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garys_2kPremium
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI Reviews:
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| reply to Bailey
+2 on the bad neutral, either in your panel, the meter pan or in the drop to the house. First thing to check is whether the bolt connecting the panel's incoming neutral conductor to the neutral bus is tight. If it is I'd call the poco to have them check inside the meter pan and the drop.
By all means, if you don't fully understand the dangers of working inside your panel there's no shame in calling a pro to help out. Checking, and tightening the connection if its loose, won't cost much. |
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| reply to Bailey
Don't be fooled by the meter. Even though it is only dipping by 3 volts as shown on the meter, the real dip would be much bigger. The display readout is probably dampened and takes a second or two to settle down and register the actual voltage. By the time the display catches up, the event is over and the power voltage has recovered.
The only way to really measure is with a o'scope.
BTW what model Onkyo do you have? It will be one to avoid if it is so temperamental.
Tim
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 Jack_in_VAPremium
join:2007-11-26
Mathews, VA
kudos:1 | said by pende_tim:BTW what model Onkyo do you have? It will be one to avoid if it is so temperamental.
Tim
+1 |
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| It's a onkyo ht-rc360
We had a different model before but it also happened to that one. So it seems it is all onkyo in general |
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KearnstdElf WizardPremium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ | reply to Bailey
I would certainly get the wiring checked out.
I have run a computer on the same circuit as a window AC unit and without a UPS and it never blew a PSU and I imagine a PC PSU is more sensitive than home theater equipment.
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TheMGPremium
join:2007-09-04
Canada
kudos:1
2 edits | reply to Bailey
said by Bailey :I also had a meter in this outlet while the appliances were turned on and the voltage goes from 123 to 120 them right back to 123. I was told this is normal.
As someone else said, the multimeter has a limited response time and averages out voltage peaks.
With a bad neutral it is possible that the voltage will rise quite significantly while inrush current is being drawn on the other leg, but this would be too quick for most multimeters to read correctly. You'd need a meter like a Fluke 87/189 in the "fast min/max" mode. An oscilloscope would also do the trick.
said by Kearnstd:I imagine a PC PSU is more sensitive than home theater equipment.
That entirely depends on the design and quality of the power supply in question. Well designed PC power supplies are actually quite robust and can take quite a beating. In fact, most of them these days will operate happily with any voltage from slightly less than 100V to slightly more than 250V, due to the PFC pre-regulator. This means that any voltage peaks within that range would not pose a problem. |
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