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Macbook Pro gave me a big shock???

EvryDayImShufln

EvryDayImShufln

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 18, 2006
1,094
1
Hi

Yesterday my C2D MBP, after I shut the screen and left it to sleep, gave me a huge shock. All I did was walk away from it, then go back to it 10 seconds later to put something in front of the light so I could sleep.

It had given me small shocks in the past before once in awhile, but this one was BIG. Easily the most painful shock I've had in my life, and scared me alot. What if next time I get a bigger shock? It's really weird and I can't figure out why this would happen.

Any ideas? thanks
 
treat her right or she'll bite back. in all honesty, static electricity is quite common, and i wouldn't worry too much about it. if you're really concerned, however, you might want to consider an antistatic coating spray for your floors, chair, etc. to avoid the shock. also, maybe leather-soled shoes or increasing the humidity in the room might work.
 
Um... let me think what would i do if my laptop shocked me... would i call apple, say it to them and get a replacement or complain about it on a forum...

Hard choice...
 
I got a small shock from a screw on the case on the bottom of my MacBook but it was just a small static one. If I got a proper shock I'd be venting down the phone at apple
 
Hi,
have you been using the 2 pin power cord?
something happened to me on an iBook. It's because Apple's power adapter are not too good and shielding electricity when they are not grounded. You have to use the 3 pin power cord.
 
I'm sorry, but some one has to say this:

You guys are wussies. Once you have real current going through you, then you will appreciate the very little static shocks.
 
f1400 said:
Yesterday my C2D MBP, after I shut the screen and left it to sleep, gave me a huge shock. All I did was walk away from it, then go back to it 10 seconds later to put something in front of the light so I could sleep.
Click to expand...
Over the last few weeks, it's been mega-cold in my part of the US, so the heat-pump's been running almost non-stop.

The heat-pump has a neat way of taking humidity out of the air.

Soooo, if I walk across the carpet and touch my MBP (or my dog or cat), I can get a pretty huge shock too. At least my MBP doesn't growl at me when it happens. :)
 
Im the type of person that gets shocked touching everything. Like getting out of the car and closing the door, I get it, touching door knobs, I get it, etc. Ever since I first got my MBP, if I get up and walk around, and then come back to it, I get shocked. Sometimes its small, but sometimes its big. It doesnt seem to matter if I use the 2 prong or 3 prong adapter.
 
Sdashiki said:
youd be dead, most likely.
Click to expand...

Nah, I've gotten 120V shocks from improperly grounded outlets and light switch boxes while doing some electrical wiring...it stings and can make your arm go numb, but it sure doesn't kill you. But yeah, its winter time, it's dry, I get shocked on my MPB everyday, especially right when I come home from work. Nothing to worry about really. If it was a dangerous amount of current it'd fry the circuitboards in your machine (we have had that happen at work with imacs with bad power supplies).
 
ekenny said:
Im the type of person that gets shocked touching everything. Like getting out of the car and closing the door, I get it, touching door knobs, I get it, etc. Ever since I first got my MBP, if I get up and walk around, and then come back to it, I get shocked. Sometimes its small, but sometimes its big. It doesnt seem to matter if I use the 2 prong or 3 prong adapter.
Click to expand...

Stop wearing polyester!

Plus you can stop getting shocked by a car by either:
open the door and put your hand out touching the roof before you put your foot outside

or

put your foot outside on the ground then put your hand on the roof.

I think the former is the correct one.
 
0_o

What's a static shock?

You mean like up north if you drag your feet on the carpet then touch metal? :p


I've never felt that where I live.... Why the difference in static electricity?
 
nitynate said:
0_o

What's a static shock?

You mean like up north if you drag your feet on the carpet then touch metal? :p


I've never felt that where I live.... Why the difference in static electricity?
Click to expand...

Humidity. The moisture in the air conducts the static electricity away from your body. The lower the humidity, the less of this conduction and the more of a whack you get when you touch a grounded surface.
 
My MBP has been giving away quite a few shocks to me lately. I've thought nothing of it really (its cold here, dry air, it happens). However, yesterday, I got the fortune of hearing what sounded like an electrical discharge yesterday when attempting to restart my computer (I had to remove the battery to get it to reset). This is one of many small problems I'm having with my machine, and I've just ordered AppleCare (box should arrive today), so AppleCare will be hearing from me tonight.
 
sycho said:
Right. Because I am posting from the grave right now.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

like that Twilight Zone episode where the old lady gets phonecalls from her dead lover, only later to find a downed telephone wire at his grave....

120V CAN kill you.

we've all had a quick numbing from an improperly grounded wire, light fixture or switch.

but dont think that the wall outlet cant kill you.
 
Sdashiki said:
120V CAN kill you.
Click to expand...
So can 12V if the current is high enough. It's the current that kills, not the voltage. That's why you usually get a mild buzz when you touch a loose wire, you're not fully shorted to ground so you aren't the best path for current to flow so you only get a buzz.
 
Sdashiki said:
like that Twilight Zone episode where the old lady gets phonecalls from her dead lover, only later to find a downed telephone wire at his grave....

120V CAN kill you.

we've all had a quick numbing from an improperly grounded wire, light fixture or switch.

but dont think that the wall outlet cant kill you.
Click to expand...

I have not said that household current can't kill you. :rolleyes:

I have had a number shocks during my life, from both AC and DC sources. When you say stuff like "you'd most likely be dead" that shows me that you are uneducated on this topic. Yes, I know 120V AC is dangerous, I have dealt with it on many occasions, I have dealt hands on with 208V 3phase AC as well. A little tiny static discharge onto your MacBook Pro is nothing to cry over, there are plenty of other worse shock, hell, a camera flash circuit is 100x worse, I would know.
 
On my way through Airport security last Thursday, my MacBook Pro gave one of the guards quite a shock when she touched it while it was in one of those plastic trays!!! That'll teach 'em to touch my Mac!!! :D
 
Anyway, as cocky as anybody wants to be, this is not a manliness contest. Yes I am quite certain that sticking 2 prongs of a fork in an outlet will hurt more than the shock I received from my macbook, but NOBODY can deny that it is not pleasant to get shocked.

I actually have mine plugged in with the 3 prong extension cable, to a power bar.

And to TBi, if everybody called apple before posting in forums, these forums would right away be alot less useful. I don't want to bug apple with something that is common.
 
f1400 said:
Hi

Yesterday my C2D MBP, after I shut the screen and left it to sleep, gave me a huge shock. All I did was walk away from it, then go back to it 10 seconds later to put something in front of the light so I could sleep.

It had given me small shocks in the past before once in awhile, but this one was BIG. Easily the most painful shock I've had in my life, and scared me alot. What if next time I get a bigger shock? It's really weird and I can't figure out why this would happen.

Any ideas? thanks
Click to expand...

Alright check it out. Got my new MBP C2D. Laying on the couch on top of my old ibook ac adapter that is plugged in. MBP is on my stomach. Feel a burning sensation and I cant figure out what it is. Come to find out if my MBP is pluged in and my ibook adapter it plugged in without being connected to my comp, I can touch the ibook adapter and it will glow green! Guess that means my eternal battery is full...:cool:
 
I will be using mine on the floor but it will be on a book, is that ok? My floor is a carpet. The macbook by the way.
 
Hi all!

Correct me if i'm wrong.. It's the current (amp) that kills not the voltage.

btw, i'm going out to get my first mac today and it's gonna be a macbook pro! :D too exciting!
 
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