Causes of Electrical Shorts in a Computer

An electrical short can be a tricky problem to identify. However, a short can cause quite a few problems. If you are experiencing any type of random reboots or computer blue screens, it is important to check for an electrical short, as this could be the cause.

Loose Screws often cause Electrical Shorts

Electrical shorts are usually caused by stray pieces of metal or loose screws inside the computer case. Inside the computer, screws are used to fasten components to the case of the machine. A loose screw can easily meet the motherboard and that can be quite risky. These metals can easily form destructive connections on a motherboard. Electrical shorts can also make it so a computer does not start and can cause computers to power off without any warning.

To check for stray metal inside your computer, you ALWAYS want to power off your computer. Generally speaking, before you carry out any type of computer repair to fix hardware, you will want to power off your PC and unplug it.

Next, Remove the computer case and shake the computer a bit. Identify the screw and remove it.

Check Wiring For Causes of Electrical Shorts

A major cause of electrical shorts is stray screws but wires can also create electrical shorts. Wires that have lost their protective coating are likely to link with conductors, inside the computer, and create connections that should not be there. An electrical short from a bad wire is a bit tougher to identify. However, if you see a stripped wire, this should give you some cause for concern.

Electrical shorts sometimes happen following repair work by a computer repair professional. The computer repair technician may have to remove and re-add parts to your computer. It is possible the technician may drop a screw or not tighten a screw enough. In addition, in the process of mounting back parts, the protective coating on wires is susceptible to deep scratches by the wires being exposed to the metal inside.

If you enjoyed this post, please Tweet or

-By Dominic

Web site and all contents © Copyright ComputerTooSlow.com 2012, All rights reserved.