What does it mean when you plug something and the plug sparks everytime it touches the outlet?

Question

it only happens with the plug of my laptop computer but it happens all the time and in different outlets too (around the house and in other people's houses too). should i be worried? i wouldn't want to burn down the house!!!!

Answer 1

It is not a real problem!It happen because the laptop power supply doesn't has an on/off switch.When you plug it in it start to work.Also when you plug it off,it is working and when you plug it off suddenly stop.The sparks are generated by the transition current!

Answer 2

Get the plug checked immediately, tis better to be safe than not here at all. The fact that it is doing it on not just one point shows that there is a problem with your laptop. If a house has an earth leakage detector it would probably trip the circuits - either talk to an electrician or take it to computer store and get it checked out

Megsy

Answer 3

It sounds like an earthing problem, get the plug checked asap, there is a chance that it may shock you or do damage to the laptop.

Answer 4

You have a short somewhere... and where you have a short, there is the danger of electricution, so you need to get it checked out...

Answer 5

I have to agree with cezar t.  Almost anything will spark a bit if it's on when you plug it in.  Power supplies like those for a laptop don't have any switch to turn them off so you get a little spark when you plug it in.  As long as the laptop charges and operates normally and doesn't get hot, there's very little chance of something being wrong with the power supply.

Answer 6

does the plug to your laptop have two prongs or three? Sometimes when i plug two pronged items into the three prong outlets i get this too...the third prong is a ground and protects against energy surges and lightnings strikes.