My Engl Fireball 60Watt amp and I are living in Spain . When I touched the front panel , I got a very very small shock on a finger which had recently been cut . Nothing was detectable with any of my other dry fingers .I voltage tested between ground at the wall socket and the amp , ac and dc . Nothing at all . Then , set on AC , I happened to be holding one of the probes , with the other attached to the wall point ground . 2 volts ac registered . I'm stumped . I don't appear to be attached to anything else ! Where is this small voltage coming from ? Do I need to worry about the earthing in this humble Spanish cottage ? Are little 'changes' like this normal , and quite safe ?
fffcj Tiny little 'shock' and earth question .
Mar 11, 2011
1 Replies
You form a capacitive divider. There is say .2 picofarad between you and an isolated wire carrying 240 volts. Your capacity is about 20 picofarad, referred to ground.. that means you carry about 1/100 th of the mains voltage, or about 2 volts. At virtually no current. Everything is as it should be. This is also the reason you hear hum from the speaker, when you touch an audio iinput.
Join the Discussion
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Didn't find your answer?
Ask the community — no account required