I can feel current on the other side of the board if it is electrically connected to the point I am soldering. I tested voltage between the soldering pen and the earth and it's 60VAC. That I don't get - if there is a transformer in the iron, doesn't that isolate it and make the potential to the ground 0V? Anyway, what do you think is going wrong? I have the iron plugged into an Tripplite Isobar three-prong outlet, and that is plugged into a three-prong wall outlet. Is the iron screwed, my electric screwed, or is it a bad idea to plug an iron into a surge protector it doesn't need? How can I troubleshoot this? Thanks!
Sounds like you have an earth discontinuity. Check with a meter that there is a connection from your iron tip to ground. With everything switched off but still plugged in.
Since you are soldering solid state components that can be easily damaged (or yourself for that matter), get a new iron.
It has a replaceable pencil/cord so I would think if there is a problem then I could just replace that, it's the wear item.. And a funny thing, nothing fried so far. Have't seen an LED light up due to current. Weird.
Grumpy_Mike:
Sounds like you have an earth discontinuity. Check with a meter that there is a connection from your iron tip to ground. With everything switched off but still plugged in.
Anyway you can't feel current only voltage.
OK, this is weird. I turned off the iron and that voltage is still there. I unplug the iron (or the pencil from the iron) and it goes away - at least I am not going insane. So I can't do a resistance measurement between the iron and earth ground. Any ideas?
It still sounds like an earth disconuity but on your mains feed rather than your iron. Try plugging it in direct to a wall outlet. If you still get it try a different socket or call an engineere.
really? it's the current that causes muscles to contract / expand ?
I knew as it wrote that that some pendent would pick on that phrase.
Yes you do but you do not say that. It is not correct use if English to say you feel current, it is correct to say you feel voltage. Go figure.
really? it's the current that causes muscles to contract / expand ?
I knew as it wrote that that some pendent would pick on that phrase.
Yes you do but you do not say that. It is not correct use if English to say you feel current, it is correct to say you feel voltage. Go figure.
We have to choose between being technically correct and grammatically correct? Ugh, cognitive dissonance...
Look. This is an Arduino forum. Everything here is an approximation, even the the species of some of the visitors here
But back to the topic - yes, it sounds to me like something else in your mains system is injecting some voltage into the earth connection and that earth connection isn't linked to ground as well as it should be. It's anyone's guess what it might be that's injecting that voltage. As you still get the voltage with the iron off it is unlikely to be that causing it - that's just the point where you have access to the earth connection, so it's where you notice it.
I would recommend getting someone in to check out your earth connections properly.
It sounds to me like he does have the iron connected properly (waiting for the answer to the question about measuring the ground continuity) and something else, likely a line operated switcher is showing some leakage current. Likely there's no real fault or the voltage would be greater than the measured 60? volts.
It's a common thing and one of the conditions that make using test equipment difficult at times, O['scopes in particular... and one of the reasons that All of my line operated test equipment operates from an isolation transformer. One, To break up ground loops and Two, To eliminate the effects of the 'leakage current' which is usually caused by line bypass capacitors... and is quite normal although most disconcerting when first discovered.
OK, a few more data points. I actually have a second Hakko FX-888 and on the same outlet it is doing the same thing. So it isn't the Hakko. On another outlet in the basement it shows no potential between the soldering iron and earth ground. On the Tripplite Isobar, there is the same potential of 60V between its ground sockets and the earth ground. So something is injecting 60V back into my power strip? Thanks for the troubleshooting.
Yep, either or. There is a button that can be pushed to test GFIs.
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Got it. The non-GFI one was $4.50. Bargain.
On the socket downstairs which the Hakko exhibits no problems on, it reports, CORRECT. All my basement sockets seem fine.
On the socket upstairs which the Hakko exhibits the 60V potential to ground, it reports, OPEN GROUND. Many of my sockets upstairs have this problem.
I guess that is the problem, then, right? Is an easy fix to just ground my equipment by grounding this one socket that I am running it out of? Or is that going to burn down the house?
Edit: Oh, and kudos to Grumpy Mike for spotting that immediately. Now, how to fix?
On the socket downstairs which the Hakko exhibits no problems on, it reports, CORRECT. All my basement sockets seem fine.
On the socket upstairs which the Hakko exhibits the 60V potential to ground, it reports, OPEN GROUND. Many of my sockets upstairs have this problem.
I guess that is the problem, then, right? Is an easy fix to just ground my equipment by grounding this one socket that I am running it out of? Or is that going to burn down the house?
Sounds like that might be the problem. How comfortable are you working on mains power, circuit breakers, replacing outlets and switches, that sort of thing?
I think, in America, Neutral (AC-/white) and Earth (green) are supposed to be joined at the service box. So, you may have a bad earth on the upstairs circuit/s.
As far as "isolation transformers" go, I've seen a few that had "isolated" neutral and chassis electrically joined to the primary.
I think that it doesn't accomplish much to "isolate" the hot/line end because when you raise the "isolated" scope's probe ground above AC ground -- Bang-O!
