3 ms·

That isn’t what is happening, the connectors you’re talking about absolutely can not cause an arc to ground from live. They have gigantic clearances to make sur

That isn’t what is happening, the connectors you’re talking about absolutely can not cause an arc to ground from live. They have gigantic clearances to make sure that there’s nothing tracking or arcing unless you are at the bottom of the ocean or something. If the inrush from a very small switching power supply is causing your GFCI to trip you have some other fault in your electrical setup.

deleted 4y ago
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sdflhasjd 4y ago
I haven't sufficient electrical engineering knowledge to know why this happens, but: - It only happens with the Mac Studio, I've never seen another device do this. - It happens whether I use the original supplied cable or not - A 30mA GFCI doesn't take much to trip, so I can imagine a little arc flash from the phase pins can create enough plasma sputter to then arc to ground - It's certainly a ground fault as it only happens on GFCI protected circuits - It's not a fault in my electrical installation, that has been checked recently now. - It can be reproduced if plugged into any GFCI protected circuit, at home, in the office, a friends house Some random ideas of mine: - Perhaps Apple haven't adhered to the specs around the "gigantic clearances" - The pins on the socket-side have this same matt-like finish the rest of the Aluminium body does, perhaps this has something to do with it.
- Dardania 4y ago
  Maybe the Mac is the straw that breaks the camels back. You might have other leakages elsewhere (water heating is always a good one) that just fall below the threshold…and the Mac tips it over the GFCI? Way to check would be to disconnect / isolate earthing downstream of GFCI and try with Mac then.. also to measure the GFCI leakage current (electricians usually have the instrumentation to do so)
  - sdflhasjd 4y ago
    The fault only happens the instant the connector mates with the back of the mac. If I connect the cable into back first then plug it into the wall socket, there's no issue.
joecool1029 4y ago
It's very likely an AFCI not a GFCI which are known to trip super easy. Stuff as simple as the arcing on a brushed motor (in vacuum cleaners) are known to cause them to trip. Any houses built within past 10 years or so are going to have this kind of circuit breaker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc-fault_circuit_interrupter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc-fault_circuit_interrupter

deleted 4y ago

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sdflhasjd 4y ago

I haven't sufficient electrical engineering knowledge to know why this happens, but: - It only happens with the Mac Studio, I've never seen another device do this. - It happens whether I use the original supplied cable or not - A 30mA GFCI doesn't take much to trip, so I can imagine a little arc flash from the phase pins can create enough plasma sputter to then arc to ground - It's certainly a ground fault as it only happens on GFCI protected circuits - It's not a fault in my electrical installation, that has been checked recently now. - It can be reproduced if plugged into any GFCI protected circuit, at home, in the office, a friends house Some random ideas of mine: - Perhaps Apple haven't adhered to the specs around the "gigantic clearances" - The pins on the socket-side have this same matt-like finish the rest of the Aluminium body does, perhaps this has something to do with it.

Dardania 4y ago
Maybe the Mac is the straw that breaks the camels back. You might have other leakages elsewhere (water heating is always a good one) that just fall below the threshold…and the Mac tips it over the GFCI? Way to check would be to disconnect / isolate earthing downstream of GFCI and try with Mac then.. also to measure the GFCI leakage current (electricians usually have the instrumentation to do so)
- sdflhasjd 4y ago
  The fault only happens the instant the connector mates with the back of the mac. If I connect the cable into back first then plug it into the wall socket, there's no issue.

joecool1029 4y ago

It's very likely an AFCI not a GFCI which are known to trip super easy. Stuff as simple as the arcing on a brushed motor (in vacuum cleaners) are known to cause them to trip. Any houses built within past 10 years or so are going to have this kind of circuit breaker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc-fault_circuit_interrupter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc-fault_circuit_interrupter