Helix USB Power Surge Issue with Laptop

[shane11]

Hello everyone, 

 

I had the strangest thing happen this morning and wanted to see if you had any ideas on what could have transpired. I was trying to connect my Helix to my laptop like I have done many times before and it went very wrong. Now my Helix unit is bricked and my laptop is destroyed, I am so confused as to what happened. 

 

1. My laptop was turned on

2. The Helix was turned off AND unplugged

3. I plugged the USB A-B cord into the Helix and my laptop's USB input

4. I plugged the Helix into a power strip but did not yet turn the Helix power switch on

5. The power strip surge protector immediately tripped and turned off after about 3 seconds

6. I unplugged everything and discovered my laptop was completely dead and the USB port looked melted and smelled like burnt plastic

7. My Helix is dead and only turns on the backlighting for the foot switches and nothing else works on it, the main screen is black and the USB plug on the back of the unit looks like it was arching/ melted a little just like my laptop

8. My laptop is completely dead and cooked internally like it was back fed power via the USB cord connected from my Helix

 

How would it be possible for the Helix to internally cook itself as well as fry my laptop via the USB A-B cord?

 

I took my laptop to a repair person and they said the laptops' USB input was overloaded with current from the Helix. And now the Helix unit is dead as well. So in one swoop my Helix and laptop both got destroyed? Has anyone seen anything like this before?

[Schmalle]

That is a nightmare scenario. In short: you experienced a catastrophic ground fault.

Here is the "fast version" of how your gear probably was destroyed:

 

1. The Cause: A "Hot" Ground

Either your wall outlet was wired incorrectly (e.g., Neutral and Ground were swapped) or the Helix had a major internal power supply failure. This caused the metal chassis of the Helix to carry full AC wall voltage instead of being a safe "0V" ground.

 

2. The Path: The USB Cable

The moment you plugged in the USB cable, you created a bridge. That high-voltage current surged from the Helix, through the thin USB wires, and into your laptop to find a path to the earth.

 

3. The Result: Total Meltdown

The Melted Ports: USB cables are designed for 5V not 120V (240V). The wires acted like a heating element in a toaster, melting the plastic and arcing.

 

What to do now:

Test the Outlet: Buy a $10 outlet tester. If it shows a wiring fault, your landlord or an electrician needs to fix it before you plug in anything else.

 

Contact Line 6: Tell them the unit "back-fed voltage through the USB." They may want to investigate such a dangerous failure.

 

Insurance: This is often covered under "Electrical Surge" in renters' or homeowners' insurance.