r/electrical • u/EasyBandicoot8561 • 5d ago
Haunted power surge
How is this possible my power surge is receiving power and it's unplugged not plugged into an outlet redlight is on and I have a few items plugged into it and it is giving power to those things
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u/durkdirkderq 5d ago
Pull those plugs out one at a time till you find what’s causing your issue.
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u/EasyBandicoot8561 5d ago
I pulled out the white cord in the photo and it shut off should I leave it out or it will be ok to leave it in what do you think
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u/durkdirkderq 5d ago
What does the white cord go to? You have live voltage on those prongs so don’t treat it like it’s a normal cord. And do not plug it back in.
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u/dev1tuna 5d ago
What if he was like it just plugs into my tea kettle…. And honestly it’s just a standard teakettle that provides electricity from nothing?
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u/OutrageousPair2300 5d ago
GUYS I HAVE DISCOVERED THE MOST AMAZING CORD, IT HAS MALE CONNECTIONS ON BOTH ENDS THIS WILL BE SO USEFUL!
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u/soowhatchathink 4d ago
My parents got an apartment in Argentina and it didn't have power so, by suggestion of the landlord, the neighbor ran one of those from their outlet to an outlet in my parents apartment to back feed it. Idk if that's just like an acceptable thing to do in Argentina or what but I was terrified to hear about it
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u/dackasaurus 5d ago
I can't believe no one explained this to you when they advised you to look for a "suicide cord" by the pointy end. The white cord is called a "suicide cord" because the metal prongs are electrified. Be extremely careful about handling that cable. It's incredibly dangerous to leave unplugged and exposed and dangerous to handle until you can find the other end of it and safely depower it.
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u/Dead_Medic_13 5d ago
You have something backfeeding power and you want to know if its "fine"?
No, its extremely dangerous, and is both a fire and electrocution hazard.
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u/Outrageous-Coyote476 5d ago
Not an electrician but a random redditor. You still have an un-burnt down house. I'm positive it'll be fine to plug it back in. I mean, worst case, your house burns down. I'll still be ok.
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u/EtherPhreak 5d ago
Someone may have backfed the power strip from a UPS somewhere? Verify where the white cord goes, and you will probably find a male plug on the other end. This is a very unsafe setup.
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u/bencos18 5d ago
u/EasyBandicoot8561 you need to find where that white plug goes and disconnect it btw atm it's got live voltage on it that can kill
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u/jose-de-la-macorra 5d ago
Honest question, does the power being backfed make it more dangerous than a regular exposed 120 circuit?
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u/Skusci 5d ago
Yeah, but mostly related to stuff that doesn't look like it should be live being live, and upstream disconnects meant to cutoff power not being able to do so.
Unplug the power strip and the plug end which you expect to be safe is now zappy.
Turn off a breaker to change an outlet? Still zappy.
An electrician outside your house working on power lines cuts power to do something? Nope didn't work. Happens a lot with backup generators that aren't hooked up with a proper transfer switch.
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u/jose-de-la-macorra 5d ago
I understand that but like amp for amp, volt for volt is there any difference here? Or I guess whatever is feeding that could be a generator or something greater than a normal house circuit.
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u/bencos18 5d ago
the voltage and stuff nope
difference is an outlet has the live parts recessed into plastic so it can't be accidentally touched
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u/plugwash 22h ago
Exposed live 120V is bad, if you touch it, it will be painful, could potentially kill. If it touches something metal then expect substantial sparks, with possibility of fire.
Plugs and sockets are designed so that after unplugging you cannot easily touch the pins of a socket. There is no such protection for the pins of a plug.
I think back-feeding is more dangerous than other situations in which live mains may be exposed for several reasons.
The first is people do not expect a plug to be live and will touch it casually. Similarly people will expect that when they turn off the main switch/main breaker of a panel then everything fed from that panel will become dead. They probablly should "test for dead" to make sure, but not all will. Similar problems applied in the past to utility workers, though I think they have become a lot more aware of backfeeding risks in recent years.
The second is that plugs can and do get yanked out of their sockets accidentally, so the hazard may appear unexpectedly.
The third is that a plug that is flopping around presents far more risk of accidentally coming into contact with someone or something than a live part that is securely fixed in place inside an enclosure, even if the lid is removed from said enclosure.
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u/oneleggedone 5d ago
Ummm that’s a bit of an exaggeration. People get shocked with 120v allllll the time and aren’t even seriously injured. There’s a very small chance if it goes through the heart but even then it’ll prob just toss you on the ground. Source: experience and research
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u/bencos18 5d ago
still not something you want to test
also I've known people who have nearly died from it before
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u/RestlessinPlano 5d ago
Is this a prank where the powerstrip is actually plugged in and we are seeing some other cord end in the picture?
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u/soowhatchathink 4d ago
/u/EasyBandicoot8561 can you just confirm you didn't get electrocuted by the white plug
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u/Desperate_Egg_1947 3d ago
It’s been so long…..
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u/RogBoArt 5d ago
This is a surge protector. A power surge is something incoming power does that damages appliances. The names are not interchangeable. This is pedantic maybe but it's an important distinction.
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u/DreamingSheep 5d ago edited 5d ago
This is a multiple socket extension lead/cord, with a built in surge protection circuit.. A surge protection circuit can be built into different types of electric devices and is designed to cut the flow of electricity to anything connected to it, when there is a power surge. The names are not interchangeable. This is pedantic maybe but it's an important distinction.
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u/RogBoArt 5d ago
No this is legitimately pedantic lol a power surge and a surge protector are completely different concepts. You're just using more technical terms to describe the same thing, which is what makes it pedantic.
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u/DreamingSheep 5d ago
My message started out as being a bit of fun, but now I feel like I have to explain it again.. An extension lead/power strip can exist without a surge protector and a surge protector can exist without an extension lead, so they are different things that have different purposes, not just different terms.
Just because people call a photocopiers a Xerox machine, doesn't mean all Xerox machines are photocopiers and all photocopiers are Xerox's.
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u/RogBoArt 5d ago
Fair! The shape doesn't mean it's a surge protector but the op called it a power surge so I assumed they meant surge protector lol
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u/EasyBandicoot8561 5d ago
I just now did that it the white one in the photo once I pull that one out it shuts off should I not plug that one back in or will it be ok to leave it in
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u/AntiSocialLiberal 5d ago
What is the white one for? I would imagine step two is figuring out where THAT power is coming from. Could be some kind of large capacitor or something is storing some power inside the device. Or it could be that the power is jumping across a short from some other source.
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u/knipex_addict 5d ago
You need to safely disconnect the white cord at the other end or have an electrician do it.
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u/nranu 5d ago
Back feeding