New PC tripping circuit breaker when turning OFF

hatethisbit

hatethisbit

hatethisbit

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I recently purchased a new pre-built system from OC, and it seemed like all was running fine at first, but sometimes when turning off the power at the wall socket after using the pc, it will trip the circuit in the house. I'd say this happens around every 1 in 5 times, and only when turning the power off, so far it hasnt happened when turning anything on.

The kettle lead for the pc is plugged into a surge protector strip, which is then plugged into the wall. I have been using this strip for years previously in my old pc and this has never happened. My work laptop charger is usually plugged into the second wall socket and again, never any issues turning this off.

The PSU is a Kolink Modular Power 700W 80 Plus Bronze - i can supply the rest of the system specs if needed.

Thanks
 
hatethisbit said:
sometimes when turning off the power at the wall socket after using the pc, it will trip the circuit in the house.
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Why are you turning it off at the wall socket? (Not that it should cause an issue, but seems like an unnecessary thing to do)

hatethisbit said:
The kettle lead for the pc is plugged into a surge protector strip, which is then plugged into the wall. I have been using this strip for years previously in my old pc and this has never happened.
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Try it direct into a wall socket, or a different extension lead (e.g. not surge protected)

hatethisbit said:
The PSU is a Kolink Modular Power 700W 80 Plus Bronze - i can supply the rest of the system specs if needed.
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Kolink aren't particularly well regarded, but equally you shouldn't be having issues. If after trying it direct into a wall socket and it still occurs, get in touch with OcUK and see if they can swap it out.
 
Is it actually tripping the RCD and not the circuit breaker (unless you have RCBO’s)?

It would be extremely odd for it to be able to trip a circuit breaker while turned off at the wall, it could however trip the RCD if it is pushing your leakage current over the limit (all PCs have some leakage due to filtering)… neutral stays connected in most sockets as they are usually only single pole.

Could be faulty, or it’s combining with other things in the same RCD to push you over the edge… if it only happens when eg boiler comes on or washing machine starts then it may just be too much leakage on that circuit.
 
Armageus - I always turn the wall sockets off at night, always have done for peace of mind/energy saving. Will try it directly into the wall later and see if that helps, slightly disappointing to hear i didnt recieve one of the better regarded PSU's for my money.

Zeeflyboy - Apologies but i am no electrician and assumed the RCD and circuit breaker were the same thing. It trips what i believe is our RCD panel in the kitchen, i.e the switch for all the sockets in the house turns off. I usually turn the wall socket switch off at the same time every evening when myself and my gf go to bed, so tv/lights etc turned off, boiler set to turn off at the same time, no washing machine.
 
In brief RCD trips when the live and neutral are out of balance, this is mostly to protect you from fatal electric shock. If the current going through live has found another way to leave the circuit other than the neutral (eg through you) then there will be more current flowing through the live than the neutral and the RCD will trip when that reaches a certain threshold (very low usually 30ma so as to stop you being killed).

A circuit breaker trips when too much current flows, such as a short circuit or too many devices pulling too much current at once… that is mostly to prevent against fire.

You can also get combined modules called RCBOs that are basically an RCD and a CB in one.

Out of interest typical RCDs that you’d find in the average consumer box are not fantastic at handing modern electronics, there are other types that are better suited.

I imagine what is happening is that you are at a certain threshold of leakage… when you flick the switch off all of a sudden you cut the live leakage but not the neutral and as the capacitors drain down that imbalance is enough to push the RCD over the edge.

It could be a faulty PSU, or it could just be it has higher filtering and leakage by design than what it replaced… if working correctly though it shouldn’t cause issues on its own, it would have to be adding to existing leakage problems in your circuit.

Do you happen to know if your sockets are divided into upstairs and downstairs, or are they spilt around the house? Do you have two RCDs in the consumer box? Maybe take a picture of it if unsure.
 
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Ah so it is actually tripping the breaker itself, that’s very odd!

Have you tried the PSU in a different socket?

The RCDs are the units directly above the green labels saying “RCD protected”, the MCBs are the individual breakers above eg “Sockets”.
 
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The RCD will only protect earth faults and not live to neutral faults. With the fact that the MCB tripped before the RCD suggests that there might be a fault with the socket switch, especially if you are switching the socket on a very regular basis, it may have damaged/worn it out. Try not using that particular socket.
 
I see, so in this case as its one of the indiviual MCB's tripping its at least not as serious as if one of the two(?) RCD's were going? I will try it in the adjacent socket see if that makes a difference.

Could it still be a faulty PSU or does that seem unlikely given whats going on?

Thank you all for your help btw
 
hatethisbit said:
https://i.imgur.com/p6QXFUD.jpg

Link to a photo of the RCD, we live in a bungalow which was rewired in 2015 so its not an old unit. Switch that trips is the one labelled Sockets (2)
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That's 32A rated circuit breaker.
B means it also has instant magnetic tripping from 3x or 3-5x the nominal current.

If it happens instantly the moment you turn switch that means something should be drawing current surge at that moment.
And it shouldn't be the load after that switch.
Though not sure if sudden drop current could cause some kind interference in that magnetic tripping.



hatethisbit said:
slightly disappointing to hear i didnt recieve one of the better regarded PSU's for my money.
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Cheap PSU is common in prebuilts and market PCs.
 
@hatethisbit

Are you sure it's not the socket on the wall that is the issue ? Maybe when you turn it off it is causing a short and tripping the circuit breaker. I would test with another device plugged into that socket and see if it does the same a device that can draw a decent amount of power. If it trips then the socket or the circuit breaker or the wiring to that socket has a fault. Do you have a socket tester that tells you if it is wired right and not seeing a fault ?

Socket testers here so you can see what I mean :-

https://metertestlab.co.uk/best-socket-tester-reviews/
 
Morning!

The breaker tripped again yesterday, the suspicious socket and the purge strip were being used for my monitor (which i also use for my work laptop) but my pc was NOT being used. The rocker switch on the pc was on but that surely wouldnt be pulling much power alone?

Purgatory - I am not sure no, i do not have a socket tester but today i will be using my laptop charger plug in the suspicious socket to see if i can replicate the results.
 
This is starting to point towards a house wiring issue if the PC wasn't even being used. Breakers don't just trip for no reason and a monitor draws significantly less power than a PC. Do you know what other sockets are on that ring main?

Socket testers aren't expensive and will tell you if there is something funky with your wiring like an earth fault. You can also identify what sockets are on which breaker:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/kewtech-kewcheck-103-13a-socket-tester-230v-ac/45558

Got one of these myself and it works well. Only thing it won't detect is a neutral-earth reverse.
 
To be fair, save yourself a few quid and dont bother with the socket tester, it'll only tell you polarity at the socket and even if it is reverse polarity ( if he had a neutral - earth reverse, i'd be expecting the RCD to trip instantly), that wouldn't trip the MCB. It's looking more and more likely you'll have to get a sparky in to see what's the issue to cause the MCB to trip over the RCD. Could be the RCD is buggered and the only protection is the MCB. Also be aware if the MCB is tripping under fault conditions it will start to degrade and has a chance of not tripping at all eventually, which is a far, far more serious issue
 
The simple steps you can take is to plug the things you are using into a other socket and see if it still does it (have nothing plugged into the potentially dodgy socket).

You can start eliminating equipment by unplugging things one at a time and try to replicate the issue.

It could be a dodgy socket or a dodgy MCB, the former you could swap yourself for a few £. The latter would need a sparky to look at more closely.

That said, don’t attempt to swap the socket unless you are confident you know what you are doing.
 
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