the rage of pimpybra

It's Electric! (storytime, not boogie woogie woogie): Mon, Nov 20, 2006 - 10:05pm

So, quick/fun story. I've been looking at light timers that replace a light switch to control the outside lights so it's lit up when we come home.

So, I bought a few supplies, including a current tester. A little screwdriver that glows a light when it touches a live wire. Good to be safe I figure, plus it was $2.

So, Saturday morning, I open up a wall plate I'm interested in replacing. I use the current tester to check the screws on the side of one switch. Ok, the light glows with one of them, not the other. Oh look, they both glow with the switch ON. SCIENCE!

So I poke at the other switch, and i try to get the screwdriver in closer, and angle it in.
However, the screwdriver is at an angle that the tip is touching the wire screw, and the side touches the front metal plate of the switch unit. Yeah. POP A SHOWER of sparks explodes in front of my face and fills the hallway. "JESUS CHRIST!"

Of course I jumped back. The screwdriver remained in place. It welded itself to the switch. Before I fuck with anymore, I go out to the circuit breaker box, ok, it's tripped, good.

I then tug on the screwdriver until it finally separates from the switch. There's a chunk missing from the side, and a chunk missing from the tip.

I wish I had it on video, the sparks were pretty friggin cool.

Mood: Embarassed

Post a comment

From: turnbuckle: Tue, Nov 21, 2006 - 05:56am

No
Avatar

and you didn't have to change your pants after that....

From: pimpybra: Tue, Nov 21, 2006 - 11:14pm

It was close, my heart was pounding.

From: turnbuckle: Wed, Nov 22, 2006 - 12:02am

No
Avatar

110V AC is no joke. i got a pretty good hit from 220V three phase AC once when i was in the Navy, but that wasn't as bad as the 50,000V jolt of low current DC that got my during a physics lab gone bad when i was in high schoo. i haven't been the same since :)

From: pimpybra: Wed, Nov 22, 2006 - 10:36pm

So that explains it! ;)

Doesn't 220V run at a lower amperage than 110V? Either way, I'll pass on any shock, I don't even put a 9v to my tongue like we used to in elem/middle school.

From: turnbuckle: Thu, Nov 23, 2006 - 07:46pm

No
Avatar

i don't know the current ratings for either 110v or 220v. it was ship board 3 phase AC so the normal rules may not apply anyway. all i know is that it wasn't fun.

From: Shawn: Sat, Nov 25, 2006 - 08:46am

AHAHHA that's great, I love how it welded itself to the outlet box. what exactly were you trying to figure out anyway? how the switch worked (which wire was pos/neg and ground)?

Last time i got shocked was at my job at The Hartford doing desktop support. I was unplugging a 3 prong plug from a power strip and my finger slipped and touched one of the prongs while it was 1/2way plugged in. Sent a nice shock up my arm and made it tingle for a good 20 minutes!

From: pimpybra: Sat, Nov 25, 2006 - 09:23am

I haven't gotten a full shock. When I was moving my computer's UPS around, apparently it sends a charge out the reverse way if you unplug it from the wall, and it's running things. I grazed the plug, and it gave me a nice bzzzzzz against my arm. Scared the shit out of me.

I was really just poking around in the box to test the current tester. I was trying to get the light on the tester to glow brighter by maybe getting a better hot metal-on-metal connection (VIDZPLZKTHX?). I got one alright.

I installed the light timer last night without an electrical issue. While I was in the (disabled) box, my cell phone started vibrating on my hip. Scared the shit out of me. I get off the phone, dig back in, 10 seconds later Bzz again GAH! Damn cell phone!

Leave a comment...
You are not logged in! Register here
Non member posts are not allowed, because spammers keep ruining it for everyone.