Electrcal Testing: 50% Failures

[mrforgetful]

So I've come back from the holidays to find the electrical testers have been round and about half of the PCs have 'Failed' stickers on them.

 

The PCs have just had the plastic grills pulled off the front just exposing the metal skeleton, it seems they're been falied for this but I don't see why as they're not dangerous.

 

Hmmm.

 

Guess I'll ask the Bursar when he comes in tomorrow, or the Site Manager when he returns from his two weeks holiday!

[beast_gts]

Physical damage is an automatic fail in most places.

[TechSupp]

I had a printer failed because 'the little ones could get their fingers into where the print head goes back and forth'. Don't know where he expected the paper to come out though! Didn't know things like that came under 'electrical teasting'. Must inform Epson that they must close off this gap and redesign all their printers.

[mrforgetful]

So how come it's taken this company to fail them all? There's been damaged equipment the previous 5 years tests!

 

Well, guess I have to order som replacement fronts, should be nice at £15 a piece!

[ConTheITGuy]

We have this each year! We got the Technology department to cut some bits of plastic out on their laser cutter. We can screw these ones in place.

 

 

Andy

[enjay]

The PCs have just had the plastic grills pulled off the front just exposing the metal skeleton, it seems they're been falied for this but I don't see why as they're not dangerous.

They might not be dangerous now but they would be if one of the power cables got loose and came into contact with the metal chassis...

[mrforgetful]

The PCs have just had the plastic grills pulled off the front just exposing the metal skeleton, it seems they're been falied for this but I don't see why as they're not dangerous.

They might not be dangerous now but they would be if one of the power cables got loose and came into contact with the metal chassis...

 

Surely only if the chassis had a protruding metal spike that would go into the power cable, as the electrical part is inside.

[localzuk]

My guess would be that any exposed metal casing has been given a fail - regardless of the fact that most PC's are made of metal... That is weird though, as our PAT tester person doesn't test PC's...

[mrforgetful]

Exactly, the metal that's exposed is rivetted to the external casing anyway so it's no more of a risk.

 

In the past I think sometimes they were tested, sometimes not, others just the power cord.

 

Maybe this is where I relent my soon to be expired acting NM and just ignore the issue completely...

[enjay]

Surely only if the chassis had a protruding metal spike that would go into the power cable, as the electrical part is inside.

 

Unless one of the wires became frayed and a stray bit of that caught the case...

[Andrew_C]

They might not be dangerous now but they would be if one of the power cables got loose and came into contact with the metal chassis...

How so? The case is earthed...

 

The external case is part of the test, but that does not mean that a missing grill necessitates a fail in every case. Discuss with your Bursar the risk assessment in your particular case. IE. substantial metal case within the plastic box, enclosed, earthed power supply etc.

[BKGarry]

Well on the last little PATs course i went on i was told the case me sweat FA to the electrical testing of a pc, when electrically testing a PC they are only to do it on the power supply as no other parts of a, modern, PC delivers a dangerious voltage for it to actually fail the test.

[Firefly_Transport]

I would suspect the case is somebody mis-reading or overly interpreting the testing remit.

 

A computer case is pysicaly attached to the metal frame - the ONLY way it can become dangerously live would be for the mains feed to somehow arc to the case - and in that event one would hope the main fuse would go.

 

Since the case is metal a hole in the front would be irrelavent, if the case was entirly enclosed and was supposed to be double insulated that would be a differant case.

 

BKGarry - hits it on the head with his post.

 

We solved the problem by having special logo plates made - they have prevented a great deal of unsightly damage.

 

This year we are going TC & AIO case anyway so the problem largly vanishes.

[mrforgetful]

We stopped buying this make of PC last year for precisely this reason of them damaging easily even through innocently trying to move one.

 

Thanks for the input people will wait and see what the man in charge says.

[ConTheITGuy]

The PAT tester told me ours fail because the little darlings could get their fingers inside.

 

Andy

[BKGarry]

But they can't get inside the PSU which is the bit that is supposed to be tested, all the cable ends withing them are insulated.

 

Using your PAT tester logic they should fail coz there are USB ports on the outside aswell

[mrforgetful]

The PAT tester told me ours fail because the little darlings could get their fingers inside.

 

Andy

 

At best with ours as they are you could get a screwdriver through a hole, some parts you'd poke the HDD and break it, other places it's just nothing.

 

Fingers wouldn't fit.

[Andrew_C]

So? You can get your fingers into a video recorder, you just can't touch anything dangerous (unlike a toaster!)

[mrforgetful]

Right, information is very thin on the ground but so far I've found out:

 

Damage to casing can fail the appliance, but most places don't specify how much damage is needed, only here which says the damage must be a hole over 6mm within 80mm of live internals.

 

As the holes are 7-8mm but at the front so more than 80mm from the PSU I think they should pass.

Also, who's to say that the case is damaged at all? It could just be that the plastic covers have been removed but the case itself isn't damaged at all, just modified to prevent damage?

 

I can find no legal/government legislation online anywhere with any help.