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From: JClark on 6 Sep 2009 05:03
Followup:
The computer was fine. The wall outlet was the culprit. After several
hours with electrician, we found which breaker controlled that socket.
Then we had to search all the outlets connected to that circuit. The
problem was an outside light which corroded and made the ground "hot".
Some of the outlets had 240v (120 on both the ground and the hot side)
....yikes! After killing that circuit, all was OK. Why the breaker
didn't trip is another question we couldn't find an answer to, except
the panel may have not been of the best quality. The electrician
recommended Square D, but the contractors who built the house probably
saved a few bucks with the cheapie.

Thanks again to all who posted replies.

Jack
From: kony on 7 Sep 2009 19:58
On Sun, 06 Sep 2009 05:03:19 -0400, JClark
<jclark(a)nomail.invalid> wrote:

>Followup:
>The computer was fine. The wall outlet was the culprit. After several
>hours with electrician, we found which breaker controlled that socket.
>Then we had to search all the outlets connected to that circuit. The
>problem was an outside light which corroded and made the ground "hot".
>Some of the outlets had 240v (120 on both the ground and the hot side)
>...yikes! After killing that circuit, all was OK. Why the breaker
>didn't trip is another question we couldn't find an answer to, except
>the panel may have not been of the best quality. The electrician
>recommended Square D, but the contractors who built the house probably
>saved a few bucks with the cheapie.
>
>Thanks again to all who posted replies.
>
>Jack

Breakers trip from overcurrent, not ground faults. A high
voltage shock through a resistance like you, or a corroded
light, may not be enough current to trip it.

You can get ground fault outlets at the hardware store, I'd
cosider putting one between the breaker box and the outside
lights (the circuit from that point forward after the ground
fault outlet in series, will be protected) that are prone to
corrosion, and/or replace those lights with something more
weather resistant.
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