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Remember to unplug your machine
DaOld Man:
120 volts can kill you. Ive been an electrician most of my long life, and I have been shocked by a door bell circuit (around 16-20 VAC). But I was in the attic and covered in sweat.
I have also been shocked by a telephone wire (10 VDC to 90 VAC), while laying on the moist ground under the house.
Thankfully, none of my shocks have been serious enough to hurt or burn me. (Although I did get the end of my thumb blistered once by pulling a 200 VDC motor field wire off a terminal. I didnt know the field was still on, and DC will arc like crazy.)
I have heard numerous tales of people working in the hot attic and getting into an open 120 volt circuit and not living.
It all has to do with the current flowing through your body, and if you are sweating, your resistance to the current goes very low.
Also, you can get shocked using only one hand, if another part of your body is touching ground.
Please dont assume that any voltage will not seriously burn you or kill you. (Many people have lost fingers working on 12 VDC car circuits while wearing their gold rings.)
Im sorry to hear about your short circuit, that really sucks.
But a good rule of thumb is "when in doubt, lock it out". (Or in our case, pull the plug).
paigeoliver:
I have taken 277 volt before and was no fun. I also got shocked really bad adjusting a Vectorbeam monitor (it was quite a bit worse than the 277 volt was, pain wise).
lilshawn:
This is a case where being right handed is an asset. If you are left handed and get shocked, the voltage phases right past your heart causing cardiac arrest. You have a better chance being right handed because the volts pass on the other side.
Unless You happen to be bracing yourself with your left hand, in which case it goes right across you (and your heart.)
Pro tip for the day: you you are doing something electrical and have to potential to get shocked, put your left hand in your pocket.
yaksplat:
The damage found so far:
1 power supply
1 motherboard
(cpu and memory status are unknown)
2 led-wiz boards. Neither are recognized by the system. One has bleed between ports if terminals are shorted to ground. At least all of the leds on the system survived though.
doh...
:banghead:
lilshawn:
120 volts into the 12 volt. yeah thats bad.
i imagine anything on the 12 volt rail is toast.
harddrive (if not a laptop drive)
cd rom
you might luck out with the ram and CPU since they have to run through a few regulators before it reaches them.
well, now's a better time than any to upgrade.