It Was Fine Before You Came Here!

[Phoenix]

This is inspired by the recent thread about the fridge freezer which stopped working when the socket was swapped.

What have you had fail to start up after turning it off for electrical work when it was was fine before (things which you are actually responsible for breaking - such as insulation tested electronics, are excluded)!

My list includes:

Pay-point machines in two different post offices - Just didn't start back up, investigation revealed that the laptop style power supply was not giving any output.

Label printer in a doctors / dispensary - failed as above.

CCTV PSU in a grocery store - Loud pop as plugged back in as one of the capacitors let go

Common theme is that they have all had switch mode power supplies, that never really get turned off normally!

 

[ProDave]

Office file server, shut down for PA testing, nobody in the office knew the password to log in and get it started again.  I left a whole office unable to work and franticly trying to contact head office for help.

There's the usual old chestnut after a CU change "can you come and fit one non rcd protected socket, as every time the wife plugs the iron in, the rcd trips"

And you are never best popular when you fail the office kettle or microwave when PA testing.

 

[bluetobits]

I initially thought when reading the title, that this thread was referring to a particular member who may have ruffled a few feathers.

 

[Essex1]

Haha. So did I. Haha.

 

[kerching]

Total destruction of 2x49u comms racks full of IBM blades

Working on system, engineer put n+3 UPS system into by pass, software fault, UPS 1 shut down due to suspect low battery pack and in process told its mates to shutdown as well. All hell let loose, UPS eng panicked as BFO genny did not kick in....switched to manual.

A secondary fault put 415 across 230 blades and the smoke made itself visible!....apparently it was "my fault" as i was working on the mains!....my reply was less than Christian

Just saying

 

[bluetobits]

How on earth did you know it was you I was thinking of?

 

[steptoe]

Working in a bank one Saturday night through to Sunday morning,

DB changeover, 

No neutrals connected in new 3phase board, 

Pratt know it all bank worker comes in Sunday morning and decides he is powering up his work station even though it has all been cordoned off, and barriered and notices placed on each desk, 

We came back from breakfast at about 9:30

To lots if escaped smoke and rancid burning smells,

My how we laughed,

He denied everything and we were all in deep smelly stuff,

The cctv was checked,

He got fired,!!!! 

 

[Essex1]

How on earth did you know it was you I was thinking of?

Well!

 

[Lurch]

Seen plenty of power supplies not start back up again after being powered down, not too bad when it is just a 12V 1A CCTV PSU, more of a PITA when it is part of a DVR and non-standard. Also had a few Wylex MCB's go floppy once I've turned a circuit off. Had some strange results recently after using a SMPSU to power a wheatstone bridge, tried 4 power supplies before discovering it would only work with a linear power supply, which happened to be what I tested it with on the bench before fitting it to the panel.

Office file server, shut down for PA testing, nobody in the office knew the password to log in and get it started again.  I left a whole office unable to work and franticly trying to contact head office for help.

I would never shut down a server for a PAT for this reason and the fact that when we were doing office moves we would take spare servers and make sure there were full backups taken on the day of the move as it would be highly likely that the PSU would fail on powering back up, and often did. We used to test some logistics offices and there was no way could we ever shut anything down as it would have brought a very large fleet of vehicles to a grinding halt.

 

[NozSpark]

The only thing that I've had recently was the complete opposite

I replaced a network switch and was told that they would expect to have to call their IT department as it never works if the power is removed... Came back on straight away with someone's print job even though they were all told to not access the network and to save all their work while I was doing the job

 

[Andy™]

if it hadnt worked, you could have blamed the idiot who printed something when told not to

 

[kerching]

Those Blade servers are not cheap, hope they had backup :slap

Wrote off about twenty of them...maybe more!

Continuous backups running constantly.

It affected clients in Japan, USA germany etc

Considering the industry standard for UPSs is n+ 1. And they were n+3!!!!!!!

Ups Company is gone now.....went bust a couple,of years later. Software was shite....UPSs were not much better. Problem was the genny never came on as it did not see a mains failure....

Ah well, could have been worse

Could have been my fault!

 

[OnOff]

I was on site when there was a pipe burst under the raised floor in a blade server room. A crimped pipe fitting came off. The problem was the pipes were for the AC system for the servers. Usually the room was so cold the IT lads would chill their beer in there for the night shift!  :lol:

Lifting the floor tiles and the manual shut off valve couldn't be operated as the support steelwork for the raised floor had gone in afterwards. The client was doing his pieces refusing to shut anything off so as not to affect trading. At the same time they were trying to vet everyone going in and out for security reasons. It was hilarious. In the end there were red lights and alarms everywhere and the whole room was filled with fog like that scene in Independence Day!

 

[kerching]

Ever seen a Smoke Cloak go off?

Neither had the Alarm bloke!

He had by the time he went home!

 

[Richard-the-Ninth]

Ever seen a Smoke Cloak go off?

Yes, I have. No, it wasn't my fault.

For those who have not seen one, here is a fog bandit (similar thing)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/qX-130jedbo?feature=oembed

 

[kerching]

What is the chemic in them?

Didn't half knacker a couple of Gigabit switches!

 

[Lurch]

What is the chemic in them?

Didn't half knacker a couple of Gigabit switches!

I've not worked with security smoke for a while but different brands had different smokes. Not all of them were any good, some left residues on everything, some weren't guaranteed to not kill electronics etc. Concept Smoke Screen used to be the best around, not looked at any recently.

 

[Phoenix]

Ever seen a Smoke Cloak go off?

Neither had the Alarm bloke!

He had by the time he went home!

Got a few stories about those

Alarm bloke sets it of accidentally.... panics... cuts the flex of it as shop is full of customers....blows fuse for checkout general purpose sockets.... unfortunatly sockets had been muddled up and most of the tills go down!

 

[Evans Electric]

Used to do a lot of work for Barclays Bank.   Called out to a largish branch ,TP curtain heater not working properly ,  suspecting a phase blown in the ground floor Dist. panel  I open it up ...... & stick my old Drummond tester across red & earth .

All the lights went off , all the tills off , attack alarm starts whooping like a banshee , the main door locked and the staff go into "Bandit alert" . 

Customers are screaming , staff running about like scalded chickens .

It was only then  I remembered that the twonk of a designer had insisted on the main incomer switch in the basement should be a Triple Pole 200A  X  100mA  MCCB .  

The staff won't let me through to the basement  ( where the strongroom is)  because only the manager knows I'm there.  

 

[Churchill]

You cannot be held accountable for a coincidence