Ground Wire?

[blainedead]

I'm hooking up the power supply cords to my PC boards in a CG-1500 broadband store enclosure. Where is the best place to wire in the ground wires? I have 2 mounting bolts that pass through the back of the enclosure and the heat sinks that I can easily use, but I don't want to fry my new board. Is this acceptable?

[blainedead]

Is this arrangement acceptable?


Attached files

[LightORamaDan]

I would connect the ground wires to the bolts on the heat sink.

Dan

[blainedead]

Thanks, Dan. I will do that.

[blainedead]

Worked like a charm. 3 new controllers assembled and tested. 1 more item that I can cross off the list! :cool:

[LightORamaDan]

Just some additional information on this one.

There are two things that the ground from the input power line should be connected to: Output ground wires and metal chassis/enclosure.

In this case, the output wires did not have grounds so there was nothing there to do. And because there is a plastic case you did not need to ground the case. However you do have metal screws going through the case. Those metal screws should be grounded just in case a hot wire inside the enclosure should touch those scews and make them live. This is to protect someone from shock should they somehow touch the end of that bolt outside the plastic enclosure.

In this example (with the plastic enclosure), if a wire were to somehow touch something metal it most likely would be the heatsinks because the heatsinks are the biggest chunks of metal around. Thus by ground the heatsinks we are really eliminating the chance that the screws that hold them (and are accessible outside the case) will give you a shock.

Those other screws that were holding the wire clamps could be energized by a loose wire, etc... BUT the chances are very slim. Thus connecting to the heatsinks provides the maximum shock protection which is what ground is all about. In a perfect world, any metal that could be touched, with the enclsoure properly closed, would be grounded.

Dan

[bwaldrep]

Thanks Dan for that info, That helps me out as well!

[Max-Paul]

Of course in a perfect world everyone has their Christmas decorations on a GFI and the GFI is working perfectly. Thus if any current going out on a hot wire comes back on the neutral wire. And if there is a short to ground, even a high resistance one would cause the GFI to trip.

But that is a perfect world where everything is done right and everything works as it should.

[blainedead]

Thanks for the addtional info, Dan. I have plenty of experience with DC voltage, but not very much at all with AC. The troubleshooter in me always wants to know the "why", and not just the "how".

[Guest wbottomley]

Max-Paul wrote:

But that is a perfect world where everything is done right and everything works as it should.

LMAO!

When did that happen?

[Max-Paul]

I think we are still waiting for it to happen. I am fairly sure when my father arrives with his son (my brother), then it will happen.