[G4] Firdge Vs. Mac

[Doug McNutt]

At 18:18 -0700 9/30/05, Harry Freeman wrote:
>What you need is a Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) that has a low-voltage detector.

That's a pretty expensive testing device.

Your motor driven devices - refrigerator and freezer - draw quite a bit of current for about 10 seconds  while they are starting up but it shouldn't drop the line voltage more than a few percent. More would cause heating of the motors and premature failure.

Do the lights go dim when the refrigerator compressor comes on? What about a desk lamp connected to the same circuit? If you don't notice it in the lights it's not likely that a voltage drop is affecting the computer.

What about the connections to the electrical outlet? It isn't one of the old two-terminal and no ground devices is it?

What about the wire between the computer and the receptacle? Does it get warm? Have you tried another?

Is the dwelling old enough (1955 to 1975 in the US of A) to have aluminum wiring?  The aluminum flows under the screw connections in the receptacles and can become intermittent. It's a very real fire hazard.

Can you try another receptacle on another circuit?

I have seen residential power get messed up when the common wire to the power transformer on the pole has a loose connection. Instead of two 120 volt circuits you get, say, one 80 volt and the other 160 volts always adding to 240. A momentary load on one side can cause the other side to go up in voltage. It's usually pretty obvious because lights do strange things. If you suspect a bad common the solution may be in the circuit breaker box but probably will involve the power company. A simple voltmeter is available from Harbor Freight for less than $10. It might be a worthwhile investment.

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