[flashnolan]

I recently moved into a new apartment. I noticed a big white bar that would crawl up the screen when I watched cable TV. To make it really odbvious if I leave the cable box in standby the tv screen stays black and the white bar is about 8 inches wide and crawls up the screen continuously.

After 2 hours of troubleshooting I narrowed it down to my PS3's plug. With the PS3 unplugged the picture would return to normal and the black screen would be perfectly black. Next, I realized it was not the PS3 per se, but rather the PS3 was the only device with a three phase plug (plug with a grounding pin).

I left the plug to my PS3 connected to the PS3 but unplugged from power. Then I connect my multimeter between the grounding pin on that plug and the metal case of my Furman power conditioner; I can read a little over 1 volt AC.

If I connect my multimeter to an outlet between Negative and Ground I can read 2.3v AC! (PS3 unplugged) If I connect between negative and positive I get an almost standard 117v AC. Since moving into this apartment my Pioneer amp hums whenever it is powered ON. I do not remember it ever making a hum before. I cannot hear the hum in the speakers - just if I walk near the amp itself. Also, I can distinctly hear the hum from the TV as well when it is powered ON (putting my ear around the back of the TV set).

I have a Furman power conditioner that does not seem to help. I have tried the Video Filtering plug, Filtering plug, regular plug, and bypassing the Furman altogether. I have tried a Transient Voltage Surge Suppressor I got from some old AT&T telephone equipment. I have tried disconnecting my refrigerator (there are no other noisy devices that I can find) to no avail. So far the only thing that helps is a ground terminating plug that bypasses the ground pin altogether.

Any ideas?

 

[KYTGuy]

1: Notify Apartment Management that there is a problem.

2: If they do nothing, MOVE AWAY, as there may be a fire soon.

 

[flashnolan]

I am trying to understand what you are explaining. Do you mean connect a 5-amp fuse in series with the ground pin comming out of the top plug and going into the bottom plug in the outlet under the sink?

I don't have a Insinkerator or dispose-all in the sink, nor is there an outlet under the sink. I do have a regular kitchen outlet in a nearby wall. I could connect ground to ground with that outlet. Why a 5 amp fuse? Why not just use my multimeter? What is this proving/helping doing?

Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by KYTGuy /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1: Notify Apartment Management that there is a problem. 2: Does your Kitchen have a sink Dispose-all? If so, there is an outlet under the sink...get an old (Three-Prong) power cord, cut and insulate the power leads, and connect the non-plug end of the ground conductor to an inlne fuseholder. Put a 5-amp fuse inthe fuseholder. Connect the other end from the fuseholder to the cold water pipe with a hose clamp, and then plug in the cord to the other available socket. Observe/test to see that the fuse hasn't blown. Feel if the cord/plug/fuseholder is getting hot a bit AFTER you have plugged it in. If it is not getting hot, then go and see if it stopped your problem. If it is getting warm, remove it and tell Management that the problem is totally unsafe. If they do nothing, MOVE AWAY, as there will be a fire soon.

 

[KYTGuy]

It is limiting current in your Jumper - if it is unlimited, it will burn, setting a fire.

The connection I was describing was from the ground of the outlet, to a ground on the cold water pipe. This is to provide a low resistance path to ground for the current/voltage present in your "Ground circuit.

 

[jellojoe]

I had a similar problem in my condo when I moved in. White line that would go up slowly on the TV screen, and an associated audible hum. However, there was no white line when I switched to the DVD player. I also tried some line conditioners with no avail. I suspected that I had a ground loop since the cable box power plug only has two prongs. The problem was solved when I got a el-cheapo power strip that would also protect the cable TZ line. I guess when the cable line got plugged into the power strip, the ground level between the TV and cable box was now equivalent, and no more white lines.

 

[redshifter]

did you try sticking a butterknife into the little holes in the wall?