Really Weird GX640 Grounding Issue

Hey folks,

Have had this happen to me a few times lately and wondering if anyone has any thoughts if it can be fixed. I'm finding that if I accidentally don't ground myself before touching the laptop and attempt to touch anywhere on or around the touch panel (media keys, etc.) I get shocked and my screen immediately goes black. It doesn't turn off and neither does any other part of the machine but I get a black screen and the only way to recover is to do a reset.

I know it's good practice to ground yourself before touching any electronics but I just started having this issue recently and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts.

 

Someone else posted this before, not sure it was ever solved.

 

Is the plug you're using a 3 pin plug with GND?

Does it happen when you're just on battery power?

 

If I remember correctly, the other person was having issues only while plugging via HDMI to his TV. Otherwise, no issues.

But like Moral's asking, are you using a properly grounded outlet?

 

Yes, I'm using a properly grounded plug, haven't been on battery at all lately to test.

 

This problem is caused by one or both of these problems. The main problem is that there is a problem with your house electrical. this problem isnt going to burn your house down but is causing the problem. First try using a plug far from the one you r using, the problem is usually confined to a single circuit. Second is that your electrical outlet is not grounded, this is not uncommon and can be fixed by making a proper ground to the electrical outlet.

 

For my GX640 - every time I use a non-grounded outlet to charge my notebook - I can feel electricity on the metal parts of the chassis (feels like a soft vibration when touching palmrests, or outer side of the lid). This could help you identify if your outlet is not properly grounded (even though it has 3 pin socket)

 

thanks for the input everyone. I'm familiar with the soft vibration from non-grounded plugs and I wasn't getting that from the plug I was using when I had the screen shut off issue. That's why I was a confused since I'm definitely on a grounded plug.

Thanks for the informative post huckleberry, I'll definitely look into that.

 

Are your floors carpeted or are you sitting on an area rug of some sort?

 

it's happened twice. Once in a carpeted area and once again in a different building with tile floors

 

If the screen is turning off, I believe the culprit may be the inverter powering your screen. Is it an LED sourced screen or a CCFL? If it is a CCFL, the plasma discharge voltage can be as high as 1kV. From my experience with High voltage devices (mainly Piezo Stacks), failure to have proper shielding or some sort of break there can cause a discharge to jump onto the next available grounded object. Ideally, your chassis should route it to ground, but it seems that you provide a lower impedance path to ground.

Does this happen when humidity is high? If it is limited to low humidity environments/cold then you have discharge as a prime candidate.

If not, you would have to tell us more.