Solve : buzzing from my power adaptor?

1.	Solve : buzzing from my power adaptor?
Answer» i have an ancient windows xp machine,a desktop. the weird thing is that when i turn on the power at the socket(uk type socket 240 volts) there is a strange buzzing(which sounds suspiciously like very small electrical arcs) and also, from the adaptor(a transformer device between my surge protector and my screen's power input) a very high pitched whine at the limit of my hearing(like a high voltage camera capacitor CHARGING up but higher in frequency). this has been so for several years now, the computer still works fine and i have never had any outages on it. can anyone suggest what may be going on, lose connections, or is it normal for transformers to buzz, high pitched whine whenever it is plugged in. note that for these sounds to occur i merely have to turn on the plug, i still hear them even when i have not pressed the power switch on either the tower or monitor. could this be a sign of impending hardware failure, huge surges, etc. thanksReplace the PSU with a unit of the same or greater wattage. Quote from: yyy on November 09, 2013, 09:43:22 AM when i turn on the power at the socket(uk type socket 240 volts) there is a strange buzzing(which sounds suspiciously like very small electrical arcs) and also, from the adaptor(a transformer device between my surge protector and my screen's power input) a very high pitched whine at the limit of my hearing I am in the UK too. Regarding the desktop computer I would try a different socket or an adapter as an experiment. My girlfriend first noticed a "fizzing" sound coming from a socket which had a network "powerplug" inserted (these are for extending a home network over the mains wiring). After she mentioned it I realised I could just about hear it too. They take a tiny amount of power. We moved it to another socket and it doesn't do it any more. It did sound like electrical arcing but there was no sign of overheating such as feeling warm and discoloured plastic around the PINS like you would get from an badly fitting plug feeding a heavy load like a heater. In those cases if the discolouration was mainly round the live pin I would SUSPECT an loose fuse inside the plug. As for the monitor power adapter, these can definitely whine at the edge of hearing (people over about 30 usually can't hear it) and usually it is nothing to worry about. My tablet has a 5 volt power "wall wart" and when I took it to work a younger colleague demanded that I turn it off as it sounded like crickets continuously chirping. Also some examples of "Superhub" cable modem/routers that VirginMedia supply have whining power adapters, so much so that quite a few customers ask for replacements. So I would try moving the plug for the computer and/or changing the fuse and/or checking for signs of overheating and if you can, living with the monitor power supply whining. [EDIT]My sister says her phone charger makes a high pitched whine. People with a hearing condition called hyperacusis can often hear noises from plugs that others cannot. Also I might try another power lead, they are usually standard types. Ones meant for kettles usually work. Swapping Power Supply should solve this... also high pitched noises can also be caused by leaky electrolytic capacitors that sound like a faint high pitched hole in a balloon type sound. They also can make a hissing sound as well as can eventually either dry out and cause ripple and other power problems that can make the computer act up or these capacitors violently fail in which they explode and you end up with a nasty stench that sometimes spells like rotten fish. This site is great at identifying troubled products with bad caps when searching the forum against a product you have that you suspect may have faulty capacitors or already found bad capacitors in: http://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=2 Quote The bad capacitor issue really began to blossom into the mainstream as a 'real world' problem around 1999, and continues on to the present day. It now being 2010, I am STILL seeing later model boards with this problem. The TALE behind why the capacitor problem exists in the first place is because of a large-scale industrial espionage foul-up. Some component manufacturers decided to steal an electrolyte formula from another competitor. Little be known to them, the stolen formula was incomplete and flawed. They didn't discover this until it was too late and they had manufactured and distributed literally MILLIONS of these flawed capacitors. However, it's been going on way too long to simply blame on an industrial espionage boo-boo in my humble opinion, as this problem is still extremely common, and hasn't slowed down. Personally, I think it all boils down to shoddy components that are manufactured by shoddy component makers. So: buzzing plug and normal switching wall wart behaviour, or failing power supply... take your PICK. I thought OP clearly identified the sounds as coming from the plug that goes in the power outlet (pc) and power brick (monitor)... Quote So: buzzing plug and normal switching wall wart behaviour, or failing power supply... take your pick. I thought OP clearly identified the sounds as coming from the plug that goes in the power outlet (pc) and power brick (monitor)... my bad on assuming it was the computer PSU. On cold medicine and head is cloudy = missed important details. Surely an arc noise in an outlet is not a good thing and can lead to fire. I'd replace the cord if its a 2 part to the external power supply. Or have an electrician replace the outlet if its an old outlet with weak/worn connection. Quote from: DaveLembke on November 09, 2013, 05:15:09 PM Surely an arc noise in an outlet is not a good thing and can lead to fire. I keep returning to this thought myself. Quote I'd replace the cord if its a 2 part to the external power supply. Or have an electrician replace the outlet if its an old outlet with weak/worn connection. Absolutely. Better safe than sorry. Hope your cold gets better! Quote from: DaveLembke on November 09, 2013, 05:15:09 PM my bad on assuming it was the computer PSU. On cold medicine and head is cloudy = missed important details. Surely an arc noise in an outlet is not a good thing and can lead to fire. I'd replace the cord if its a 2 part to the external power supply. Or have an electrician replace the outlet if its an old outlet with weak/worn connection. arc noise is not in socket itself but rather in the cable from the socket into a plastic box marked "DVE switching adaptor" between screen and plug socket. noise is very quiet and changes when you wiggle the wires. Quote from: yyy on November 29, 2013, 02:27:33 PM arc noise is not in socket itself but rather in the cable from the socket into a plastic box marked "DVE switching adaptor" between screen and plug socket. noise is very quiet and changes when you wiggle the wires. You need to change the cable; if it is part of the equipment and cannot be replaced separately it is time to consider replacement.

Answer»

i have an ancient windows xp machine,a desktop. the weird thing is that when i turn on the power at the socket(uk type socket 240 volts) there is a strange buzzing(which sounds suspiciously like very small electrical arcs) and also, from the adaptor(a transformer device between my surge protector and my screen's power input) a very high pitched whine at the limit of my hearing(like a high voltage camera capacitor CHARGING up but higher in frequency). this has been so for several years now, the computer still works fine and i have never had any outages on it. can anyone suggest what may be going on, lose connections, or is it normal for transformers to buzz, high pitched whine whenever it is plugged in. note that for these sounds to occur i merely have to turn on the plug, i still hear them even when i have not pressed the power switch on either the tower or monitor.

could this be a sign of impending hardware failure, huge surges, etc.
thanksReplace the PSU with a unit of the same or greater wattage. Quote from: yyy on November 09, 2013, 09:43:22 AM

when i turn on the power at the socket(uk type socket 240 volts) there is a strange buzzing(which sounds suspiciously like very small electrical arcs) and also, from the adaptor(a transformer device between my surge protector and my screen's power input) a very high pitched whine at the limit of my hearing

I am in the UK too. Regarding the desktop computer I would try a different socket or an adapter as an experiment. My girlfriend first noticed a "fizzing" sound coming from a socket which had a network "powerplug" inserted (these are for extending a home network over the mains wiring). After she mentioned it I realised I could just about hear it too. They take a tiny amount of power. We moved it to another socket and it doesn't do it any more. It did sound like electrical arcing but there was no sign of overheating such as feeling warm and discoloured plastic around the PINS like you would get from an badly fitting plug feeding a heavy load like a heater. In those cases if the discolouration was mainly round the live pin I would SUSPECT an loose fuse inside the plug. As for the monitor power adapter, these can definitely whine at the edge of hearing (people over about 30 usually can't hear it) and usually it is nothing to worry about. My tablet has a 5 volt power "wall wart" and when I took it to work a younger colleague demanded that I turn it off as it sounded like crickets continuously chirping. Also some examples of "Superhub" cable modem/routers that VirginMedia supply have whining power adapters, so much so that quite a few customers ask for replacements. So I would try moving the plug for the computer and/or changing the fuse and/or checking for signs of overheating and if you can, living with the monitor power supply whining.

[EDIT]My sister says her phone charger makes a high pitched whine. People with a hearing condition called hyperacusis can often hear noises from plugs that others cannot. Also I might try another power lead, they are usually standard types. Ones meant for kettles usually work.

Swapping Power Supply should solve this... also high pitched noises can also be caused by leaky electrolytic capacitors that sound like a faint high pitched hole in a balloon type sound. They also can make a hissing sound as well as can eventually either dry out and cause ripple and other power problems that can make the computer act up or these capacitors violently fail in which they explode and you end up with a nasty stench that sometimes spells like rotten fish.

This site is great at identifying troubled products with bad caps when searching the forum against a product you have that you suspect may have faulty capacitors or already found bad capacitors in: http://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=2

Quote

The bad capacitor issue really began to blossom into the mainstream as a 'real world' problem around 1999, and continues on to the present day. It now being 2010, I am STILL seeing later model boards with this problem. The TALE behind why the capacitor problem exists in the first place is because of a large-scale industrial espionage foul-up. Some component manufacturers decided to steal an electrolyte formula from another competitor. Little be known to them, the stolen formula was incomplete and flawed. They didn't discover this until it was too late and they had manufactured and distributed literally MILLIONS of these flawed capacitors. However, it's been going on way too long to simply blame on an industrial espionage boo-boo in my humble opinion, as this problem is still extremely common, and hasn't slowed down. Personally, I think it all boils down to shoddy components that are manufactured by shoddy component makers.

So: buzzing plug and normal switching wall wart behaviour, or failing power supply... take your PICK. I thought OP clearly identified the sounds as coming from the plug that goes in the power outlet (pc) and power brick (monitor)...

Quote

So: buzzing plug and normal switching wall wart behaviour, or failing power supply... take your pick. I thought OP clearly identified the sounds as coming from the plug that goes in the power outlet (pc) and power brick (monitor)...

my bad on assuming it was the computer PSU. On cold medicine and head is cloudy = missed important details.

Surely an arc noise in an outlet is not a good thing and can lead to fire. I'd replace the cord if its a 2 part to the external power supply. Or have an electrician replace the outlet if its an old outlet with weak/worn connection.
Quote from: DaveLembke on November 09, 2013, 05:15:09 PM

Surely an arc noise in an outlet is not a good thing and can lead to fire.

I keep returning to this thought myself.

Quote

I'd replace the cord if its a 2 part to the external power supply. Or have an electrician replace the outlet if its an old outlet with weak/worn connection.

Absolutely. Better safe than sorry.

Hope your cold gets better!

Quote from: DaveLembke on November 09, 2013, 05:15:09 PM

my bad on assuming it was the computer PSU. On cold medicine and head is cloudy = missed important details.

Surely an arc noise in an outlet is not a good thing and can lead to fire. I'd replace the cord if its a 2 part to the external power supply. Or have an electrician replace the outlet if its an old outlet with weak/worn connection.

arc noise is not in socket itself but rather in the cable from the socket into a plastic box marked "DVE switching adaptor" between screen and plug socket. noise is very quiet and changes when you wiggle the wires. Quote from: yyy on November 29, 2013, 02:27:33 PM

arc noise is not in socket itself but rather in the cable from the socket into a plastic box marked "DVE switching adaptor" between screen and plug socket. noise is very quiet and changes when you wiggle the wires.

You need to change the cable; if it is part of the equipment and cannot be replaced separately it is time to consider replacement.

Solve : buzzing from my power adaptor?

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