Anyone Melbourne have iMac crashing 38° yesterday. AC units causing currency spikes?

[barrysumpter]

My imac shut down about 5 times yesterday.
The weather got up to 38 outside my window in Glen Iris.
The room temp was never more the 23.

I'm wondering if the hot day with people using the AirCons causing spikes in the 240v AC current.

Anyone else in the area have the same issue?
iMac late 2012 27". Known power supply card issues with this model.

[rrich]

Does it happen when you are on battery only?

[david.elliott]

I've had this, but not that bad.
Investigating it I found that a build up of that fluff and dust that's normally around the home had reduced the effectiveness of the cooling fan. This could be your issue too, considering it's age. Mine is a 2011.
Follow the YT videos to get access to the inside and give it a blow or vacuum. Don't be timid. It looks daunting but it's dead easy.
The hardest part is making sure your glass is absolutely clean before putting it back. Took me three goes!
If you give it a blow ensure you leave it open for a while after before re-assembling. There is always an amount of moisture in compressor air and this can give your iMac a heart attack it you power up too soon.

[barrysumpter]

Does it happen when you are on battery only?

Thanks Rich,
It's an iMac desktop

[barrysumpter]

I've had this, but not that bad.
Investigating it I found that a build up of that fluff and dust that's normally around the home had reduced the effectiveness of the cooling fan. This could be your issue too, considering it's age. Mine is a 2011.
Follow the YT videos to get access to the inside and give it a blow or vacuum. Don't be timid. It looks daunting but it's dead easy.
The hardest part is making sure your glass is absolutely clean before putting it back. Took me three goes!
If you give it a blow ensure you leave it open for a while after before re-assembling. There is always an amount of moisture in compressor air and this can give your iMac a heart attack it you power up too soon.

Thanks David,
One would think it would happen continuously if that were the case.

[rrich]

Thanks Rich,
It's an iMac desktop

It just shows how little a MS man knows about Apple.

LOL

[Euge]

My iPhone locked up while I was taking pics (in photo mode) of wood yesterday afternoon.
This is a very rare occurrence and I'm only mentioning it because you asked. Maybe the software? I dunno
I doubt if they are linked to your experience Barry but maybe they are. I look forward to see what others may say.

[rrich]

Barry,

Just a thought here. I don't know if they are even legal in OZ but a power point strip might be the answer. Here they are sold with surge suppressors built in. Is something like that available in Australia? Here they can be had for less than $20 and for the desk top they are life savers.

Another solution is a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Source) between the power company and the iMac. We were having huge problems with the local AC power some years ago. I had one and it got me through the really bad times. So many times the power would drop for a few seconds but the UPS kept me up and running. Here IIRC the cost as about $200 but the company paid for it as I was working at home several days a week.

[barrysumpter]

Many thanks rrich,

Should have posted my attempt at a solution sooner

Purchased and installed from my trusted electronics guy.

CyberPower BU650E BACKUP UTILITY SERIES 650VA/390W [BU650E] - CPLOnline (https://cplonline.com.au/ups/tower-ups/up-to-850va/cyberpower-bu650e-backup-utility-series-650va-390w.html)
@ $80

We'll see what happens on next hot AC day.

Less than $20US is ~$30AU.
Fantasy in Aus.

This one can fit 3 plugs in this one.

My E Guy is 1K Smarter then I.
With no hesitation with advice and never condescending.
(not that anyone here is)

[NCArcher]

Just want to make sure you are aware that the UPS you purchased will only hold up for about 10mins with only the iMac plugged in. Just enough time to let you shut it down properly. It will however provide surge protection no problem.
No matter how many people turn on AC units it will not cause a current spike. It is also highly unlikely that the local voltage would drop to a point where the iMac power supply would shut down. You may have experienced several brown outs due to problems with the network but I suspect that your iMac power supply may be on the way out.

[barrysumpter]

Many thanks.
Yes, the power supply might be on the way out so soon is incredibly frustrating.
Can't believe I spent so much money of Steve Jobs "closed system from end to end" BS.

Just feeling me POS EOM Delta sensitivity to spikes in my own AC on top of local AC units turning on and off might be of note.
I could swear the iMac was shutting down before we turned our own AC on. But can't be certain now. grrrrrr.

Have already purchased a proper LiteON replacement Not a POS OEM Delta brand power supply just in case.
Apple replaced the last POS OEM Delta for around $250Au. Grrrrrr.
After to and fro-ing for about 4 to 6 months.
Apple techs guidelines are such BS.
Less than 2 years ago.

So I'll replace it myself with a LiteOn instead this time for < $100Au.

Not looking forward to the stress of doing it myself though.

[barrysumpter]

My iPhone locked up while I was taking pics (in photo mode) of wood yesterday afternoon.
This is a very rare occurrence and I'm only mentioning it because you asked. Maybe the software? I dunno
I doubt if they are linked to your experience Barry but maybe they are. I look forward to see what others may say.

What species of wood were you capturing?
Could be relevant.









LOL!

[barrysumpter]

Just want to make sure you are aware that the UPS you purchased will only hold up for about 10mins with only the iMac plugged in. Just enough time to let you shut it down properly. It will however provide surge protection no problem.
No matter how many people turn on AC units it will not cause a current spike. It is also highly unlikely that the local voltage would drop to a point where the iMac power supply would shut down. You may have experienced several brown outs due to problems with the network but I suspect that your iMac power supply may be on the way out.


Hoping the UPS will filter out the spikes enough to keep my sensitive POS Delta power card from shutting down.
We'll see.

[barrysumpter]

OK 42° on Wednesday.
And 44° on Friday.
No issues at all with the CyberPower BU650E (https://cplonline.com.au/ups/tower-ups/up-to-850va/cyberpower-bu650e-backup-utility-series-650va-390w.html).