Was I silly to expect my PC to run on shore power?

[Callum]

Apologies to the 'old lags' who no doubt have seen similar queries before but I couldn't immediately find any such previous threads.

 

Our boat is currently in a marina and plugged in to shore power. We have a 2.5KW Victron Phoenix charger/invertor currently set to 'charge only' My understanding is that this means the 240V shore power is being passed straight through (the 240V washing machine certainly works OK!).

 

Have just fetched a desktop PC onto the boat and it won't boot up. The power lights come on and the fan runs a bit but it won't actually boot. I've tried said PC at my work office and it boots fine, so it seems that the 240V being provided to the boat isn't up to snuff.

 

Can anyone explain what is likely to be going on and if there is any work around?

 

Much appreciated.

[Hawkmoth]

Sounds crazy. Have you tried switching the inverter to invert just in case?

[Chewbacka]

Apologies to the 'old lags' who no doubt have seen similar queries before but I couldn't immediately find any such previous threads.

 

Our boat is currently in a marina and plugged in to shore power. We have a 2.5KW Victron Phoenix charger/invertor currently set to 'charge only' My understanding is that this means the 240V shore power is being passed straight through (the 240V washing machine certainly works OK!).

 

Have just fetched a desktop PC onto the boat and it won't boot up. The power lights come on and the fan runs a bit but it won't actually boot. I've tried said PC at my work office and it boots fine, so it seems that the 240V being provided to the boat isn't up to snuff.

 

Can anyone explain what is likely to be going on and if there is any work around?

 

Much appreciated.

Does the monitor power up ok?

If you press esc or F1 it should go to the BIOS set up screen where you can turn on the option to show the POST checks taking place. May give you some clues.

You can also check it is set to boot from the HDD.

Failing that possibly something came loose/disconnected when moving it and needs fixing.

[nicknorman]

It does sound odd. Have you tried it in the office since it wouldn't work on the boat? Some marinas have shore power voltages which are close to or outside normal limits, perhaps that is the issue.

 

Anyway to answer the question in the thread title, no you weren't silly!

Edited February 22, 2016 by nicknorman

[valrene9600]

Not sure but does charge mean just charging batteries. Is wash machine running off batteries making you think 240 is working. Are you 240 sockets working. Put inverterto invert or invert and charge.

Would think if sockets are live then it must be computer.

[Paul C]

The obvious conclusion is there's something not quite right with the shoreline - the fact that the washing machine works on it isn't necessarily 100% proof that its okay. I suspect its a low voltage issue. You can buy and fit an AC voltmeter to check.

 

A good check might be to relocate to another mooring with shoreline (a different shoreline, the opposite end of the marina for example) and try again.

[StephenA]

Most computer supplies are 120-240v auto sensing so it shoudn't be a voltage problem - could it be a phase issue which the cheap and nasty power supply in the desktop PC isn't handling too well?

[cuthound]

Most computer supplies are 120-240v auto sensing so it shoudn't be a voltage problem - could it be a phase issue which the cheap and nasty power supply in the desktop PC isn't handling too well?

Doubt it, 240 volts single phase is derived from one of the three phases and the common neutral.

 

If the marina has a three phase supply, then it is likely that each pontoon will be fed from a separate phase, to avoid the possibility of 415 volts appearing on the pontoon.

[Robbo]

It maybe that your getting low voltage? Check the voltage at the PC plug.

 

The combo is more that a inverter/charger, it's also a very good UPS (if left on the on mode) If it's one of the later models it should have two outlets, one for high power items like water heaters which will only be enabled when on shore or generator power.

Edited February 22, 2016 by Robbo

[WotEver]

My bet is on the PC being faulty. If the WM works then it's not the mains.

 

Tony

[Steilsteven]

.

Post removed after realising I was talking b*ll*cks.

Sorry about that.

 

Keith

Edited February 23, 2016 by Steilsteven

[NB Lola]

Same as above, charge only sounds like just that

[nicknorman]

On a Combi I would expect that, in charger only, the incoming shore mains is still passed through the Combi. That is certainly how it works for our Mastervolt anyway. Charger only just means "no inverting".

 

The main point of "charger only" switch is to allow you to use mains appliance without any risk that you might suddenly start draining the batteries without realising it. I would be surprised if Victron wasn't like this too.

[MtB]

Have you tried plugging the PC directly into the shore line?

[Justme]

My money is on the pc having got damage while you moved it.

 

I used to make & sell PC's.

 

The biggest cause of fail to work on arrival was the video card having slightly come out of its slot during delivery.

[Robbo]

On a Combi I would expect that, in charger only, the incoming shore mains is still passed through the Combi. That is certainly how it works for our Mastervolt anyway. Charger only just means "no inverting".

 

The main point of "charger only" switch is to allow you to use mains appliance without any risk that you might suddenly start draining the batteries without realising it. I would be surprised if Victron wasn't like this too.

Confirmed the Victron combi passes shore mains through when in charge only mode.

[Witchword]

Could it be the socket? But computers are temperamental things and often strop when moved.

[billh]

Doubt it, 240 volts single phase is derived from one of the three phases and the common neutral.

 

If the marina has a three phase supply, then it is likely that each pontoon will be fed from a separate phase, to avoid the possibility of 415 volts appearing on the pontoon.

I have twice experienced a serious problem with 3 phase supplies;

The first instance was at my work place, a neutral cable became disconnected in a distribution cupboard, this caused damage to around 150 computers and printers, the phase voltage had risen to over 300v at times.

More recently I was puzzled by random tripping of RCDs at our moorings- checking phase voltages showed variation between 180 and 320v at various times. The problem was similar to above mentioned, it turned out to be a neutral break in the supply in the street. The supply company was there in double quick time when I reported it, to repair what can be a very dangerous condition. Although no equipment actually failed, it must have put electrical stress on many appliances.

[Robbo]

I have twice experienced a serious problem with 3 phase supplies;

The first instance was at my work place, a neutral cable became disconnected in a distribution cupboard, this caused damage to around 150 computers and printers, the phase voltage had risen to over 300v at times.

More recently I was puzzled by random tripping of RCDs at our moorings- checking phase voltages showed variation between 180 and 320v at various times. The problem was similar to above mentioned, it turned out to be a neutral break in the supply in the street. The supply company was there in double quick time when I reported it, to repair what can be a very dangerous condition. Although no equipment actually failed, it must have put electrical stress on many appliances.

I think the Victron cuts the supply if its out of its voltage range. However I'm not sure if it does this in charging only mode.

[pete.i]

It's almost certainly the ram modules have become unseated. Unplug the computer from the mains and take the side off the computer. Unclip the RAM modules and then push them back firmy so that the side clips click. That should sort it out. You do not know where the Ram is or you are not comfortable taking the side off the machine then you will have to go and see your local computer chappie.

[MtB]

It's almost certainly the ram modules have become unseated. Unplug the computer from the mains and take the side off the computer. Unclip the RAM modules and then push them back firmy so that the side clips click. That should sort it out. You do not know where the Ram is or you are not comfortable taking the side off the machine then you will have to go and see your local computer chappie.

 

 

So how come the PC works fine when plugged into the office ring main?

 

Do we think the OP has not taken it back to the office to double check? The OP is ambiguous on this.

[bizzard]

Booting it!!!! no wonder it won't work, try something more gentle like a carpet slipper or a trainer.

[MankySteve]

Need to a get volt meter on the mains. Also check polarity.

[pete.i]

 

 

So how come the PC works fine when plugged into the office ring main?

 

Do we think the OP has not taken it back to the office to double check? The OP is ambiguous on this.

I read it that he hadn't checked it anywhere else and the fault that I have described is a very common fault with desktops that have sat for a long time in one place and then moved somewhere else. I repair computers and I worked in a computer shop and this was an extremely common fault after the customer had taken the computer home from the shop. But you could be right if he has taken it back to the office and it worked there. I am not going to advise him about checking his mains supply. I'm still going with the RAM theory unless he comes back and says he has checked it somewhere else.

[Callum]

Thanks for all the comments.

 

To try & clarify, when on 'charge only' the Victron does also pass through the 240v shore power. I know this to be the case because all the 240v sockets are live - the tele works, phone chargers work etc.

 

The sequence of events with PC was; i) set up in house & working fine, ii) moved to boat & won't power up, iii) subsequently moved to office and it works OK.

 

I tend to agree that this implies that the marina's 240v supply is weak/dirty and the PC doesn't like it. I did try switching the inverter to 'on' when the PC was on the boat but it made no difference. However what I did not try was putting the inverter on AND disconnecting the shore power to force the 240v to be from the inverter only. This may make a difference if the inverter produces a 'cleaner' supply signal. I will try this & report back, although it may be day or two.

 

But thanks again for the comments.

 

Callum