Strange Popping Over Speakers

*H4r7y* · 09-10-2004, 2:56 PM

i hope one of you DIY'ers can help me out on this.
ill try to explain best i can.
basically, when my fridge decides to turn itself on and start up i get a huge popping sound from the PC speakers. ive lived with it for a while now and thought nothing of it. but today ive tried watching a dvd with my receiver on aswell and whenever the fridge tunrs on now, the amp will lose sound for a split second and then come up and say DD5.1/DTS etc on the screen, like its had the power cut off briefly.
is this bad wiring in the house, or should i expect to be buying a new fridge soon?
ANY help would be great as im worried now about using any power in the whole house!

pjclark1 · 09-10-2004, 3:44 PM

plug fridge into different socket
or plug amp into different socket
or buy UPS for amp (ebuyer.co.uk sell em for about £75)

*H4r7y* · 09-10-2004, 6:32 PM

ive tried that mate, still the same, could it be an old fuse board maybe? the one thats there looks like it was the first ones made!

klr10 · 10-10-2004, 11:58 AM

This is probably an arcing thermostat in the fridge which is sparking every time it switches the compressor on or off and dumping a big spike onto your mains wiring throughout ther house. You could try putting a suppressor like this http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/review_read.asp?ID=2327 on the fridge, or replacing the fridge's thermostat. Hope this helps,

Keith

*H4r7y* · 10-10-2004, 2:23 PM

so would these spikes then, cause major damage to my electric appliances in my home then?
like the tv, amp, dvd player? and my computer?

i hope not

klr10 · 10-10-2004, 5:18 PM

No, they're very unlikely to cause any long term damage because they are extremely short in duration. They are however the cause of the nasty popping noises and can cause PC's to crash, DD5.1 decoders to reset, etc, etc.

*H4r7y* · 10-10-2004, 7:13 PM

thats what ive been having mate,
my reveiver keeps reseting itself, the pc doesnt restart but the speakers do pop.

owain_thomas · 12-10-2004, 12:48 PM

Russ andrews sell a plug in device which is meant to grab these spikes, you can either plug them in next to your amp or (and this may work better) next to the fridge. My flat has this exact same problem although the noise is pretty quiet.

*H4r7y* · 12-10-2004, 1:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by owain_thomas

Russ andrews sell a plug in device which is meant to grab these spikes, you can either plug them in next to your amp or (and this may work better) next to the fridge. My flat has this exact same problem although the noise is pretty quiet.

dont suppose youve got a link have you mate?

owain_thomas · 12-10-2004, 1:47 PM

russ andrews use sessionids so can't give a direct link, have a look at www.russandrews.co.uk and search for "superclamp" they cost about £15.

*H4r7y* · 12-10-2004, 2:57 PM

thanks for that mate.
ill be ordering one of these

owain_thomas · 12-10-2004, 2:59 PM

no bother, let us know how you get on.

*H4r7y* · 12-10-2004, 3:13 PM

will do.
did you have this problem then too?

owain_thomas · 12-10-2004, 5:08 PM

yeah, my fridge is quite close to the lounge and I get a pop through all my speakers when it goes on/off. Nothing too loud, in fact not all that noticeable unless the room is quiet when it happens. The fact that its not very bad has meant I've never bothered fixing it but if this £15 plug does the trick I might as well get one.

*H4r7y* · 12-10-2004, 5:30 PM

cool, ok mate. ill let you know once ive got one here and tested.
so i take it then theres nothing to worry about, like damaging the equipment etc?

owain_thomas · 12-10-2004, 5:33 PM

nothing I've heard of tbh. if it was VERY loud I suppose it might be a risk but I doubt it.