Xbox 360 Self Repair - Electrical Hazards That Are Bad For You and Your Xbox
Electricity can be a dangerous thing to both you and your Xbox 360.
For humans, it's your everyday 110 volt AC that you plug in, to your Xbox into that's potentially lethal.
For your Xbox, the killer is static electricity.
Part 1 - Keep yourself safe.
People often mistakenly believe that it takes thousands of volts to electrocute a person.
As you've probably heard many times, it's not the volts but the amps (the actual flow rate of electricity through your body) that kills.
People have been electrocuted by common appliances powered by 110 volts AC.
How does this happen? If you provide a low resistance pathway through your heart, a 110 volt power supply can kill.
Dry, thick calloused skin provides a greater resistance to electrical current flow than wet skin such as your tongue, wet hands, a bleeding cut, or a scrape that hasn't scabbed over yet.
Skin contact over a large area with a power source has less resistance than skin contact over a small area.
Electrical current flowing into your hand and out your elbow can be painful.
But the same amount of current flowing into one hand and out the other hand can kill.
The reason for this is that your heart lies in the pathway between your left and right hand.
The same is true for current flowing from hand to foot.
Electricians will sometimes work with only one hand while standing on insulation (or wearing insulated boots) to prevent this sort of thing from happening.
So what does this mean to you? Before opening up your Xbox, always, always disconnect the power supply.
Part 2 - Keep your Xbox safe.
Most of us have been sparked by a doorknob on a dry winter day.
We were probably walking across a carpeted room before touching the knob.
This spark is a discharge of static electricity that was built up while walking across the carpet.
Static electricity is absolutely lethal to electrical devices containing micro electronics.
It's not the buildup of static charge that does the damage, it's when this buildup gets discharged.
If you should see, feel, or hear a static discharge after touching the mother board of your Xbox, don't be surprised if it behaves oddly or if it doesn't work at all.
Some conditions conducive to static electricity are low humidity (very dry air), carpeting, polyester clothing, and wool clothing.
When working on your Xbox, wear cotton based clothing.
Work in a small, uncarpeted room with a humidifier running.
The relative humidity of the room should be better than 35%.
For humans, it's your everyday 110 volt AC that you plug in, to your Xbox into that's potentially lethal.
For your Xbox, the killer is static electricity.
Part 1 - Keep yourself safe.
People often mistakenly believe that it takes thousands of volts to electrocute a person.
As you've probably heard many times, it's not the volts but the amps (the actual flow rate of electricity through your body) that kills.
People have been electrocuted by common appliances powered by 110 volts AC.
How does this happen? If you provide a low resistance pathway through your heart, a 110 volt power supply can kill.
Dry, thick calloused skin provides a greater resistance to electrical current flow than wet skin such as your tongue, wet hands, a bleeding cut, or a scrape that hasn't scabbed over yet.
Skin contact over a large area with a power source has less resistance than skin contact over a small area.
Electrical current flowing into your hand and out your elbow can be painful.
But the same amount of current flowing into one hand and out the other hand can kill.
The reason for this is that your heart lies in the pathway between your left and right hand.
The same is true for current flowing from hand to foot.
Electricians will sometimes work with only one hand while standing on insulation (or wearing insulated boots) to prevent this sort of thing from happening.
So what does this mean to you? Before opening up your Xbox, always, always disconnect the power supply.
Part 2 - Keep your Xbox safe.
Most of us have been sparked by a doorknob on a dry winter day.
We were probably walking across a carpeted room before touching the knob.
This spark is a discharge of static electricity that was built up while walking across the carpet.
Static electricity is absolutely lethal to electrical devices containing micro electronics.
It's not the buildup of static charge that does the damage, it's when this buildup gets discharged.
If you should see, feel, or hear a static discharge after touching the mother board of your Xbox, don't be surprised if it behaves oddly or if it doesn't work at all.
Some conditions conducive to static electricity are low humidity (very dry air), carpeting, polyester clothing, and wool clothing.
When working on your Xbox, wear cotton based clothing.
Work in a small, uncarpeted room with a humidifier running.
The relative humidity of the room should be better than 35%.