electrical problems, please help

[Hi_Flyer]

I think I fried some of my gear, if I'm lucky its just a blown fuse or two and no serious damage....

Anyway, I don't really have much of a studio, I'm simply recording in my apartment and it apparently has some bad wiring problems.

Here is the situation:
I have my computer and board set up in my "control room" (basically a converted dining room). My kitchen serves as my recording room or isolation booth or whatever you want to call it. Normally I plug the amps into outlets in the kitchen. All the other gear is all plugged in to the same power strip/same outlet in another room, my "control room" as I call it (this includes: my computer tower, computer monitor, M-Audio powered monitors, Mackie Onyx 1220 mixer, Tascam 38 R2R deck, plus maybe a few other odd items that I'm forgetting)

I had some serious electrical problems this weekend:
1- When we fire up a guitar amp in the kitchen and run headphones from the board, you get a nasty shock when you touch the guitar strings and bare metal on the headphone wire.
2- I had amps plugged into an outlet in the kitchen and tried to take a DI line for the bass back to the board, which was plugged into the power strip the "control room"/diniing room. BIG MISTAKE. I got some arc'ing between the cable and board, plus I think I fried something in the amp and I think i fried the DI box.

Any idea what is going on here? I guess I have grounding issues? I don't think the outlets are REALLY grounded although they do have the three prong outlets. Could the polarity on one of these outlets be reversed? I don't think they are both on the same circuit...

What can I do to remedy this? Or at least make it SAFE to track and/or run a DI line for bass? If I plug everything into the same outlet/power strip, will that be OK?

What kind of damage did I likely do to my gear? I opened everything up and it didn't look like anything was fried (with the exception of the output tubes, which I replaced but amp still didn't work), I couldn't find a fuse in the amp (Fender Blues Junior) or DI (GT Brick). Did I likely damage a transformer? Oddly enough, the mixer (Mackie Onyx 1220) seems fine, but everything else in the signal chain seems to be fried somehow...

Any thoughts/suggestions??

[bpape]

I'd say you've got some serious wiring issues in the apartment to the point I'd be worried about even living there. The outlets in the Kitchen should be GFCI's which should be the LAST ones to give you a shock - they should trip.

If it was me, I'd go to home depot and invest in one of the little plugs that you insert in the outlets and it checks the wiring for being correct. Sounds like there's enough wrong though that you need to get an electrician involved before the whole place goes up in smoke. Connecting 2 pieces of equipment with a line level connection that are plugged into 2 different circuits should not cause any sort of issues - much less fry anything.

Bryan

[PhiloBeddoe]

I agree that this sounds like a dangerous situation. There is almost definitely a grounding problem, and a pretty serious one. In fact, it is illegal (an NEC violation) to use 3-prong receptacles at an ungrounded outlet unless they are GFCI. You could probably get your landlord in some trouble if you reported this.

Hope all your equipment isn't dead. Best of luck.

[Hi_Flyer]

what is GFCI?

I'll have to give the landlord a call and see if they'll send an electrician out to take a look. Shortly after I moved in, they did actually do some work on the outlets in the kitchen because running the microwave and the toaster at the same time was blowing a fuse. That doesn't happen any more. At this point, I think its more likely the outlets in the other room is the cause of the problem, and I am less suspcious of the outlets in the kitchen...

Tell me more about the outlet tester you can get at home depot? What kind of problems can it detect?

Think I can get the landlord to take the bill for the gear repair off the rent? nah, probably not too likely...

[PhiloBeddoe]

Here's a very basic outlet tester and description of what it does:

http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/homem...outlettest.php

GFCI = Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter

GFCI protected outlets are required by code in places like kitchens and bathrooms where water is present. They are easily recognizable because they have a 'test' and 'reset' button on them. Their function is to protect people from shocks. They will trip if there is a current imbalance between the hot and neutral wires, the idea is that if the current isn't balanced then it must have gone somewhere it shouldn't be. They are not perfect devices. Sometimes they nuisance trip and ultimately they may not save you from getting shocked, but there's a good chance they will.

They are really not that expensive so there is no good reason not to use them in required locations.