Why do my lamps flick/blink intermittently as I play certain games?

[OneMoar]

proby the batteries in the UPS are bad
ups's use the battery's as a shunt to regulate the power
if the battery's are old they are probably swollen and junk
so its switching the current from the wall to compensate thus causing a surge in the already poor and substandard wiring and who knows what that voltage regulator is doing to the equation

 

[erocker]

that's a work around, not a fuel proof solution. The guy should have had an electrician to look over everything a long time ago

Not really a "work around" but it's good for trying to isolate the issue. With all the wires connected to the outlet, it's definitely possible that the issue isn't inside the walls.. I'm doubtful, but it is possible.

 

[Bill_Bright]

no shit, but it seems like he's got more of an issue then just moving stuff around.

Seems? You mean you are assuming his house wiring is faulty? I can't do that without more information.

proby the batteries in the UPS are bad
ups's use the battery's as a shunt to regulate the power
if the battery's are old they are probably swollen and junk
so its switching the current from the wall to compensate thus causing a surge in the already poor and substandard wiring and who knows what that voltage regulator is doing to the equation

If you would follow this thread, you would see he took the UPS out of the circuit. So the condition of the batteries is a moot point.

 

[Athlonite]

Maybe, maybe not. It is common, for example, for several bedrooms in the same home to be on the same circuit. We can only see one outlet. If the other outlets are being used to run high wattage appliances, you don't need an electrician to come in and tell you to move stuff around.

Er No maybe about it the wall sockets and the lights should be on separate circuits so no way should the lights be dimming or flickering when a game is played unless it's a desk lamp plugged into the same circuit as his PC

 

[Mindweaver]

Maybe, maybe not. It is common, for example, for several bedrooms in the same home to be on the same circuit. We can only see one outlet. If the other outlets are being used to run high wattage appliances, you don't need an electrician to come in and tell you to move stuff around.

One thing you have to take into consideration is that it is 220v and not 110v which makes it at least a 20amp circuit. He needs to connect his pc to the line conditioner and the ups. That should supply the correct power requirements for his pc as long as he is not overloading the ups. Just using a surge protector will not help. Plus, if he uses the UPS then every time when the right amount of power isn't supplied he'll hear the UPS kick on to compensate for the lack of power.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Again, he has bypassed the UPS and the problem was still there. So not part of the equation.

Er No maybe about it the wall sockets and the lights should be on separate circuits so no way should the lights be dimming or flickering when a game is played unless it's a desk lamp plugged into the same circuit as his PC

Not No - yet! Again, more assumptions we cannot make at this point. We have no clue how old this house is, or to what standards/code it was built to.

It make absolutely no sense, at this point to call in the EXPENSIVE services of an electrician when it could just be a bad ground in the outlet, too many appliances on the same circuit, or something that can be eliminated first.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

Sounds like breaker chatter...
When circuit breakers get old and the springs wear they tend to chatter when voltages fluctuate a lot...

If that's not it it could be a lose pigtail in the wiring or the outlet could be bad...

I fix stuff like that myself...but I'm trained on how to do it and I'm not a dumbness...

Don't know your situation so I'd suggest a call to an electrician is needed...

Sorry if that's been suggested...I'm to lazy to read the other replied.

 

[m4gicfour]

I stand by my opinion that the best thing to do at this point, having already eliminated the OP's equipment as a possible issue, is to do as Bill says and check the outlet. Assuming that's wired correctly, find out whether you're having issues with a single bad circuit or the whole service, as I suggested before.

Breaker chatter is definitely a possibility I hadn't thought of, assuming that it's a single branch circuit that has the issue and not the entire electrical service...

Sorry if that's been suggested...I'm to lazy to read the other replied.

JMC in a nutshell right there. Good times.

...I feel so out of place without you mentioning weed, feces, or plowing the wife. Welp. Back to GN I go.

 

[johnspack]

If the ups is fully functional, and the battery is fully charged, there should never be any flickering ect or whatever the op was mentioning. You are running from a battery all the time, it's just being charged when there is ac available.
I would look to other issues.

 

[vziera]

Thank you guys for swinging by and looking into this problem, who knows this thread might be of help to others in similar situation too right?
Okay I'm adding some more info in response to some of your comments here,

I get zapped a little when touching the uncoated steel part of my case and I can even sometimes see a little fire spark from a usb port/DVI port of my case when connecting a device to them although I have already put an extra grounding cable on my case that extends all the way through my window to a 6" long nail it's knotted to underground in a garden.

I'm not sure if I did it right though, but the paint coating under the screw is pretty much eroded already so I guess it's pretty conductive for it? /:

And as I remember, this pc is not the only thing that causes the electricity to dim/flicker in this house but I'm pretty sure the other big appliances are on the other circuit breakers as there are 6(six) circuit breakers inside the distribution board in the garage. And I also remember that the outlet this pc is connected to is not the only one that makes the metal part of an electronic device to zap. sad aye?

I've had my UPS serviced and the batteries replaced last month so I guess my UPS should be fairly healthy at the moment? but the flicker is still there no matter with or without the ups, even just plugging the pc straight into the wall

Also, I can't be sure of how old this house is but I can definitely tell that his house is old enough, around 19 years old if I remember correctly.

Does the device below can be an alternative to kill a watt(since there's no kill a watt over here):

Now I'm off to a house improvement store and will get back here with an update, see you again and take care, my friends.

 

[m4gicfour]

Thank you guys for swinging by and looking into this problem, who knows this thread might be of help to others in similar situation too right?
Okay I'm adding some more info in response to some of your comments here,

I get zapped a little when touching the uncoated steel part of my case and I can even sometimes see a little fire spark from a usb port/DVI port of my case when connecting a device to them although I have already put an extra grounding cable on my case that extends all the way through my window to a 6" long nail it's knotted to underground in a garden.
View attachment 64484

I'm not sure if I did it right though, but the paint coating under the screw is pretty much eroded already so I guess it's pretty conductive for it? /:

And as I remember, this pc is not the only thing that causes the electricity to dim/flicker in this house but I'm pretty sure the other big appliances are on the other circuit breakers as there are 6(six) circuit breakers inside the distribution board in the garage. And I also remember that the outlet this pc is connected to is not the only one that makes the metal part of an electronic device to zap. sad aye?

I've had my UPS serviced and the batteries replaced last month so I guess my UPS should be fairly healthy at the moment? but the flicker is still there no matter with or without the ups, even just plugging the pc straight into the wall

Also, I can't be sure of how old this house is but I can definitely tell that his house is old enough, around 19 years old if I remember correctly.

Now I'm off to a house improvement store and will get back here with an update, see you again and take care, my friends.

Sounds like you've got an ungrounded circuit and the reference ground in the PSU is floating.

Did your home-made grounding cable solve your sparks and zaps? A six inch long nail is probably an insufficient ground.


EDIT - I don't know if that meter will work. Looks like it just displays watts.

aaand I take that back. The LCD is reading amps in that picture. Check on the packaging whether it can display Volts. It should be able to.

http://www.lazada.co.id/wanf-energy-meter-d02a-461637.html
That one says it shows Watts (instantaneous power), Volts and KWh (power over time)

Volts is what you need, in this case.

But... I'm using google translate so I can't be sure of the product description.

Oh, and those won't tell you if a socket is wired correctly; they just measure the volts and amps (and compute watts). So you'd still need the AC outlet checker to be sure it's wired right (and from your statement above, chances are you have a bad or nonexistent ground. Possibly other wiring faults as well)

LAST EDIT, I PROMISE

If the ups is fully functional, and the battery is fully charged, there should never be any flickering ect or whatever the op was mentioning. You are running from a battery all the time, it's just being charged when there is ac available.
I would look to other issues.

That's... what? No.

Line-interactive UPS. The batteries/inverter are disconnected unless needed. Besides, I don't believe that the lamps which are flickering are connected to the UPS at all - even if it *was* an on-line UPS where the batteries and inverter are always connected, it's irrelevant.

 

[xvi]

Getting shocked by the case despite having extra grounding is worrying. Should try to get a larger spike for your grounding, although you shouldn't need it.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

Could the receptacle in question happen to be wired in series on a parallel branch?

 

[Mindweaver]

Again, he has bypassed the UPS and the problem was still there. So not part of the equation.

Not No - yet! Again, more assumptions we cannot make at this point. We have no clue how old this house is, or to what standards/code it was built to.

It make absolutely no sense, at this point to call in the EXPENSIVE services of an electrician when it could just be a bad ground in the outlet, too many appliances on the same circuit, or something that can be eliminated first.

And once again he NEEDS to use the UPS to ensure his pc is supplied with the correct amount of power. UPS's are not just for complete power outages. What he doesn't need to do is use the UPS with surge protectors like he was doing in the first picture.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Move to LED lamps if it is a matter of anemic current, or rewire the whole electricity at home, it seems an imbecile was doing the wiring and math. Either the fuse or a wire at some place gets glowing hot, thus resistance rises and sags the whole line. Maybe the neutral is connected to ground, have seen such pranks.

The sparks...
Don't ground your PC to anything, do you even know you have a proper ground, you have metallic poles dug in the ground somewhere near the house? If not you will kill your tech. Get to the drawing board and draw your in house electricity route. Check each lead with multimeter. Turn off every device from outlets, and pull off the fuse, and measure for faulty device also (like bad (death) cap).

 

[Bill_Bright]

The sparks...
Don't ground your PC to anything

I disagree completely! The zaps indicate a lack of grounding so you MUST ground your PC to Earth. Otherwise, this voltage is going to attempt to reach ground any way it can - including through your body as it does now when you touch the case. Since you cannot avoid touching the case forever, you MUST ground this PC! BUT it must be done properly. And the correct way to do that is through the house wiring by a certified and qualified electrician.

NO WATER ANY WHERE NEAR YOUR COMPUTER!

Note if you have a small pet, small child, or someone with a pacemaker, and if they have damp feet and touch your computer case, it could be horribly disastrous.

I get zapped a little when touching the uncoated steel part of my case and I can even sometimes see a little fire spark from a usb port/DVI port of my case when connecting a device to them although I have already put an extra grounding cable on my case that extends all the way through my window to a 6" long nail it's knotted to underground in a garden.

A nail is no good. The proper item is a real "Earthing" ground rod from an electrical supply store. Amateur Radio supply stores will have them. 6" is not near big enough and nails are typically made of iron or steel - not the best conductors. A typical Earthing spike or rod is made of pure copper or copper alloy (for strength so you can pound it in to the ground) and is ~1/2 or larger in diameter and at least 2 feet in length so it can get into solid Earth. With sandy soil, 6 foot or even 8 foot 5/8" rods are required.

But note this a Band-Aid patch as your home wiring should be providing good earth ground (typically through one of those grounding rods) near your service panel where the your house connects to "the grid".

Is your entire computer system going through that same outlet? If not, this could also be the source of your zaps. Even in new homes with new wiring, because the distances to Earth ground from each socket is different, your entire computer system (PC, monitor, speakers, attached devices, etc.) should be powered from the same outlet, or you will need to strap all device grounds together.

 

[Ferrum Master]

I disagree completely!

Improper fake ground loop attached in air cause danger if some device has a Y cap towards earth, and that's causing the arc exactly if there is no earth and the charge dissipates somewhere where it conducts more. So taking off ground is a solution for a device like a PC where in house grounding is absent as such.

or you will need to strap all device grounds together.

Are you bonkers? You suggest making ground loops? Tie them together and hang in the air? That nail is actually the problem. As the whole house charges up one loop, and the nail is the other, thus lightening show occurs, as the whole damn house want's to discharge through the PC case lol. I guess you have never seen such thing as central heating, but with the water supply pipes should be the same, try measuring voltage to ground and the pipe in between them. For the ground distance does not matter, it is THICK ground, it just must not be looped only daisy chain like wiring, no loops. The rods must be few meters deep actually, otherwise it will not work. A nail is like a plaster for a dead body.

But still it does not explain the dimming show.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

Hmmm...
Could be a newer 3 conductor branch was added to an older 2 conductor branch and tied the ground into the neutral....that would explain the lights dimming and getting shocked from the chasis...

 

[dorsetknob]

common consensus seems to be

If your electricity still has issues then, you will probably want to hire an electrician

And I recommend you test your wall outlet with a AC Outlet Tester to ensure your outlet is properly wired and grounded. I recommend one with a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupt) indicator as it can be used to test bathroom and kitchen outlets too. These testers can be found for your type and voltage outlet, foreign or domestic, at most home improvement stores, or even the electrical department at Walmart. And if a fault is shown, have it fixed by a qualified electrician.

If the voltage dips on both circuits by a similar amount, then the issue is with the fusebox/breaker box, mains breaker, wiring supplying your home/apartment, or the power transmission lines themselves, and is something the power company would have to deal with (unless its just a loose or otherwise bad connection to mains in the breaker box, in which case, an electrician could fix that.)

If a circuit breaker is not tripping, you are not being protected which could lead to a fire. I recommend an electrician ASAP.

Get an electrician, building owner or whatever to look at the outlet you are connected to and the main box (with all of your fuses). Obviously you are overloading the line.

that's a work around, not a fuel proof solution. The guy should have had an electrician to look over everything a long time ago

Don't know your situation so I'd suggest a call to an electrician is needed...

CONTACT AN ELECTRICIAN try and get a free survey/ quote

 

[Bill_Bright]

Are you bonkers? You suggest making ground loops?

That's not a grounding loop, that's putting them all at the same ground potential. A grounding loop occurs when, for example the only ground is supplied via the audio or data cables and not chassis to chassis.

And who said anything about hanging them in the air? Not me. I also said to get rid of the nail and use a real grounding rod until a certified electrician can fix it properly.

Please note via the link in my sig that I have a bit of experience with electronics too. Not only is it common, but when sitting down at a test bench to work on different equipment, it is a safety requirement to use grounding straps to strap everything together, and to Earth ground Why? To put them all at the same ground potential. Now, can they all be in the air? Sure - ever heard of avionics? But because the OP is not airborne, we don't want any "floating" grounds so I NEVER suggested it.

Improper fake ground loop attached in air cause danger if some device has a Y cap towards earth

IF? You're talking hypotheticals that you don't know if they apply here or not.

 

[redeye]

I have a silverstone sfx 450 watt PSU (st45sf) that will flicker the lights, when the power draw is around 400 watts. (The ott light fluorescent lamp is plugged into the same powerbar)
When i swapped in a seasonic x-750 the flickering stopped.

that sfx-450 was supposed to be a high quality SFX gold PSU...

(The system is a 4690k 4.4G oc'd, gtx 970)

 

[thebluebumblebee]

I stand by my last post. The only other suggestion that I would have is to perform a thorough inspection of all electrical items and outlets in the house. Is anything non-standard? Find the ground and make sure that it goes to ground. (sometimes the water system was used for ground, but if the metal pipes were replaced by plastic, the ground was no longer good. I did some work to my house and I had to replace the "water" ground with an 8' copper rod driven into the ground) The other thing that comes to mind is if someone shorted a circuit with a nail into a wall that hit a wire - which would require an electrician.

I get zapped a little when touching the uncoated steel part of my case and I can even sometimes see a little fire spark from a usb port/DVI port of my case when connecting a device to them

Are you talking about static discharge? That would be a short zap and then it's gone.

I would think that the electrical codes in Japan 20 years ago should have been just fine, but I just don't know.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I stand by my last post. The only other suggestion that I would have is to perform a thorough inspection of all electrical items and outlets in the house. Is anything non-standard? Find the ground and make sure that it goes to ground. (sometimes the water system was used for ground, but if the metal pipes were replaced by plastic, the ground was no longer good. I did some work to my house and I had to replace the "water" ground with an 8' copper rod driven into the ground) The other thing that comes to mind is if someone shorted a circuit with a nail into a wall that hit a wire - which would require an electrician.

Are you talking about static discharge? That would be a short zap and then it's gone.

I would think that the electrical codes in Japan 20 years ago should have been just fine, but I just don't know.

All good advice. And for sure, the codes in Japan 20 years ago were excellent. But, we don't know how old the facility is. Or if there has been any damage since or repairs (earthquakes???) or modifications done since by someone who didn't know what they were doing.

But for sure, something is not right and needs to be inspected, and corrected. And for sure a good ground must be established. Leaving it ungrounded, as previously suggested leaves the potential for someone to get shocked, or damage to some other component.

I don't see it being static unless there is a carpet or rug we don't see.

 

[thebluebumblebee]

But, we don't know how old the facility is.

Also, I can't be sure of how old this house is but I can definitely tell that his house is old enough, around 19 years old if I remember correctly.

 

[Caring1]

That nail is actually the problem. As the whole house charges up one loop, and the nail is the other, thus lightening show occurs, as the whole damn house want's to discharge through the PC case lol.

This part I agree with, if that is the only ground point in the home.
Ideally the circuit box should be grounded or at least the power points where devices connect to.
As Bill Bright said, something is not right and it needs looked at.