Electric shock from outdoor security cameras

[Dave Sid]

Hi there. I just bought this outdoor security camera kit from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00WLJ38DO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

When wiring it up, I noticed that I got a small sharp shock when touching the small screws on the metal casing around the cameras. I was wondering if this should be considered dangerous, or is this perhaps just static electricity?

The cameras are powered by a standard looking 12V power adapter.

I've added a photograph of the rating on the adapter here:

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/sifjskdjfkasdjflsda/camera_power_adapter.jpeg

Could something else be causing the shock. I fed the cables through an existing hold in the wall so they sit along side an existing power supply for outside lights. I wonder if this could be causing an issue.

Thanks!

Dave.

 

[buzzlightyear]

did you have wet boots on at the time ,it might be a rouge 12v charger . send amazon a email. but there again static charge .

 

[Deleted member 105166]

it might be a rouge 12v charger

It looks like a noir 12V charger to me

 

[littlespark]

I fed the cables through an existing hold in the wall so they sit along side an existing power supply for outside lights.

Did you drill through this existing cable when you screwed the camera to the wall?

As suggested, its probably static. If its just a short crack, and no lasting effects.

Is the outside light on all the time(to feed a PIR), or only when a switch is pressed? It may be an induced current, but unlikely.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

You can prove it's not static (which is generated by you moving around and then discharged to a metal object) by discharging yourself to something else e.g. a radiator. Installed equipment does not normally generate static. I suspect it is leakage current:

The power supply unit (PSU) is double-insulated, i.e. does not have an earth connection. In normal operation there is often a small amount of leakage current from the electronics inside the PSU, typically a few tenths of a milliamp, that finds its way to the 12V output side as it cannot otherwise be discharged to earth. Although the leakage current is tiny, it originates from the mains input side and can reach a high enough voltage to be felt.

Cheap PSUs and ones that do not fully meet EU safety specifications can have unpredictable leakage levels, but even good quality units still produce some leakage that can be felt as a 'vibration' when a flat metal part of the connected equipment is stroked with the back of the hand.

If there is a PSU for each camera, and all cameras are connected together via the video cables to the DVR, any point you touch will discharge the total leakage of all the PSUs, which you will probably feel.

If this is the cause, it is harmless and safe, but without an actual measurement using a PAT tester or similar, it's impossible to say whether the PSU is faulty or not.

 

[Pete999]

did you have wet boots on at the time ,it might be a rouge 12v charger . send amazon a email. but there again static charge .

The charger is Black Buzz not rouge, sorry Mate couldn't resist, there haven't been that many of your classics lately.

 

[Squid]

The charger is Black Buzz not rouge, sorry Mate couldn't resist, there haven't been that many of your classics lately.

Tony already said it was "Noir" bit late to the game Pete...... ;o))))