what to do next??

[tizbad]

hi all, i need some help please. i foolishly agreed to help a mate wire a circuit for the new counter in his shop, a few years back. Recently he put a pc on this circuit and when his laminator reaches temperature and switches off, the pc locks up. this sometimes happens when the three striplights in the rear office are turned on/off.

ther electrics are as follows, main fuse into wylex 4 way, 30a 3036 feeds a 10mm t&e into a hager 4 way, 63/30 main switch. from the hager - 1 light circuit to rear office inc. 3 strip lights; 1 ring to rear office and the 4mm radial to the counter on a B16 60898. a radial was fitted so one 45a dp switch could be used to turn all five counter sockets off.

Since the problem started i have added a 10mm earth between the two boards and 4mm cpc on top of the 4mm radial. surge protectors on the pc and laminator, but problem still exists. this is the second pc to be used, the first became unusable as each lock up puts a bad sector on the drive eventually resulting in a bad drive.

the ze of the hager db is 0.24, zs at last socket on radial is 0.74

any thoughts, positive or otherwise, are welcome

thanks

 

[Deleted member 9648]

I can only think that there is a blip on the supply when there is a sudden change in the load....check all connections are secure as far back to the head as you can....check voltages under load as well,could be a high resistance contact somewhere causing a drop in voltage.

 

[Guest123]

Volt drop does spring to mind as does a possible poor connection somewhere as wp said.

Maybe excessive earth leakage also....

 

[pennywise]

How old is his PC and laminator? I would be looking more into a fault with what he's plugging into the electrics personally not your install but hey you never know just read your original post and that you already changed out the equipment sorry. If it is a voltage fluctuation you could rent one of these.

http://www.peml.co.uk/pdf/1750.pdf

 

[lamb]

Plug the PC into a UPS

 

[Marvo]

I agree with Lamb. You can buy a cheapy minature UPS for a single pc application. It won't give you much back-up time if the power goes down because the batteries on cheap UPS's are invariably rubbish but it should offer good protection against spikes and voltage dips etc.

 

[alarm man]

sounds like interference from equipment in the shop..you could try one of these for the pc as a cheaper option..

MK 13A 2G DP Spike Filter Socket K1816WHI [K1816WHI]

 

[alarm man]

How old is his PC and laminator? I would be looking more into a fault with what he's plugging into the electrics personally not your install but hey you never know just read your original post and that you already changed out the equipment sorry. If it is a voltage fluctuation you could rent one of these.

http://www.peml.co.uk/pdf/1750.pdf

now thats what i call a cool bit of test equipment..

 

[Kamikaze]

sounds like interference from equipment in the shop..you could try one of these for the pc as a cheaper option..

MK 13A 2G DP Spike Filter Socket K1816WHI [K1816WHI]

Go for it! We use them in nuclear bunkers. So a laminator and three strip lights won’t scare them.

 

[rocker]

How old is his PC and laminator? I would be looking more into a fault with what he's plugging into the electrics personally not your install but hey you never know just read your original post and that you already changed out the equipment sorry. If it is a voltage fluctuation you could rent one of these.

http://www.peml.co.uk/pdf/1750.pdf

Does anyone know if you can use just a normal oscillioscope with a data recorder for measuring over time for peaks and troughs?

 

[Deleted member 9648]

This is just a counter in a shop with a few sockets......you shouldnt need a UPS or spike filters to ensure a constant supply.

 

[Kamikaze]

tizbad, can you please specify if your mate has used two completely different computers or has he just replaced the damaged hard drive and reinstalled the software. My feeling would be that the computer power supply unit is suspect. But if he has used two completely different computers then this would not be the problem.

 

[alarm man]

Does anyone know if you can use just a normal oscillioscope with a data recorder for measuring over time for peaks and troughs?

this is a great meter for everyday use,its quite bulky but its solid,you can get them for around£300 new,can record all sorts for up to 8 days,just hook it up and leave it..

Fluke 287 True-rms Electronics Logging Multimeter with TrendCapture

 

[tizbad]

hi all, thanks for the replies. hopefully i can get this sorted before the second pc (complete unit, not replacement drive) gives up. i'll let you know the outcome.

cheers