Mac Studio occasionally pops circuit breaker. Any ideas???

[raymondg]

I have a Mac Studio that sometimes pops the circuit breaker when I switch on at the power point before pressing the start button on the Stdio. It otherwise behaves normally. This is not an 'Earth Leakage' trip but trips a 20A breaker. I understand that with inductive loads on AC you can get spikes but this happens too often.

Any ideas on how to stop this happening?

 

[lcubed11]

I have a Mac Studio that sometimes pops the circuit breaker when I switch on at the power point before pressing the start button on the Stdio. It otherwise behaves normally. This is not an 'Earth Leakage' trip but trips a 20A breaker. I understand that with inductive loads on AC you can get spikes but this happens too often.

Any ideas on how to stop this happening?

circuit breakers will trip at lower and lower loads if they've been tripped multiple times.

consider replacing the circuit breaker with a new one of the same capacity.

 

[Ken Seals]

I have a Mac Studio that sometimes pops the circuit breaker when I switch on at the power point before pressing the start button on the Stdio. It otherwise behaves normally. This is not an 'Earth Leakage' trip but trips a 20A breaker. I understand that with inductive loads on AC you can get spikes but this happens too often.

Any ideas on how to stop this happening?

What is the "Power Point"? Is that a power strip or A/C distribution device? From your description, the power point is tripping the breaker. Is that right. Are there other devices getting power from the power point?

 

[raymondg]

each outlet is switched.The Mac is the first one I switch on and the breaker trips when I do.

 

[kelpdiver]

have you plugged it into a different outlet and then circuit and confirmed the behavior follows the mac? Is anything else on the circuit?

I share the same belief as the next poster- your circuit has been made marginal by past history. I had a somewhat similar experience in my current home, which has a mishmash of generations of wiring, but some still fuse based knob and tube wiring, potentially from the beginning (1933). A light was flickering severely, and I could hear a buzzing sound in the panel until I turned off that circuit.

My friendly electrician popped out, replaced the circuit and every outlet on the circuit. And yes, outlets wear out too, especially the cheaper ones. The folks plugging their EVs into 14/50 outlets are finding this out. High demand jobs can take a toll on the outlet.

You might be able to use one of the devices that measures power draw to see if the mac is extraordinary. But the max draw is somewhere over 100W and that outlet should be able to deliver 1800 or 2400 in a 20A example.

 

[Ken Seals]

Please post a photo of your power distribution system, from the wall to the Studio plug.

Like KelpDiver suggested, for troubleshooting, try different outlets directly without any in-between device.

Try different circuits, like kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc. You don't have to have a monitor connected for that test. If the Studio keeps popping breakers, it is unsafe and should be returned to Apple for service.

--
Regards,
Ken - LR ACE
FAA Remote Pilot Certificate, ATP ASMEL
Mizzou PJ '66
www.kenseals.com

 

[JPAlbert]

If you follow some of the advice above (by trying other outlets, and it still pops breakers), I'd suspect the power supply (inside the Studio).

Is there a brick n mortar Apple Store anywhere close?
You might take it to them for an inspection.

 

[dmanthree]

I have a Mac Studio that sometimes pops the circuit breaker when I switch on at the power point before pressing the start button on the Stdio. It otherwise behaves normally. This is not an 'Earth Leakage' trip but trips a 20A breaker. I understand that with inductive loads on AC you can get spikes but this happens too often.

Any ideas on how to stop this happening?

Seems pretty obvious that the "power point" is at fault since the breaker trips before switching on the Mac. Honestly, there's no way in hell a Mac Studio would draw that much current. Try other outlets, other power distribution devices, etc. Not a Mac problem.

 

[raymondg]

power supply is the issues which is turned on when power is applied. The start switch on the Mac just boots the computer.

 

[dmanthree]

power supply is the issues which is turned on when power is applied. The start switch on the Mac just boots the computer.

But you said the breaker trips when the power supply is turned on, correct? If so, it's the power supply, whatever that component is.

 

[kelpdiver]

power supply is the issues which is turned on when power is applied. The start switch on the Mac just boots the computer.

the PS is the trigger, but you haven't established that it is the cause. I don't think I've ever heard of a PS short circuiting to do this, so I find it less than likely. Would be easy to prove true - move to another circuit. But would be the hardest to resolve - have to send to Apple.

 

[Jacques Cornell]

power supply is the issues which is turned on when power is applied. The start switch on the Mac just boots the computer.

Basic science: isolate the variables. Unplug everything else from the wall outlet controlled by the circuit breaker. Plug the Mac directly into the wall outlet. Turn it on. If the breaker trips, it's the Mac. If not, it's probably something else.

My guess is you have the Mac and other things plugged into a power strip, and when you switch on the power strip, either the strip itself or something plugged into it is tripping the circuit breaker.

 

[dmanthree]

One more question: is the circuit breaker either a ground-fault or arc-fault breaker?

 

[raymondg]

I will get the breaker replaced and see what happens. If it still occurs I will get Apple to take a look at it.

 

[dmanthree]

I will get the breaker replaced and see what happens. If it still occurs I will get Apple to take a look at it.

The Studio pops the breaker by itself? It's the breaker.

 

[lightandaprayer]

I will get the breaker replaced and see what happens. If it still occurs I will get Apple to take a look at it.

I assume that if you are going to have the breaker replaced that you will have it serviced by a licensed electrician. I would expect her/him to determine the cause of the breaker tripping and not just swap the old one for a new part. Replacing a breaker doesn't take long; the cost of a basic service call will probably cover the time involved.

There are various reasons why a circuit breaker will be tripped. Some are relatively benign while others are more serious. In the worst-case scenarios when the issue is not resolved in a timely fashion a fire can be the ultimate result.

Personally, if I could not isolate the actual cause and remedy the situation ASAP, I would not wait a week before I have an electrician check it out. . .

 

[raymondg]

Hi,

Awhile back I started this thread looking for advice. I now believe the issue has been resolved.

What I did.

1. I had an electrician change out the circuit breaker that was tripping for a new one

2. I had a separate, individual circuit run for my computer gear with its own circuit breaker

I have not had any further issues so far. Hopefully, that is the end of the matter.

Many thanks for all the advice.

 

[Eric Nepean]

I have my M1Max Mac Studio and and about 14 other devices on the same plugin and never had any power system issues.

However, some Mac M1 users and Mac Studio users are complaining about their Macs using a lot of power ("Insanely high") - see this link for example:

https://piunikaweb.com/2023/01/04/m1-mac-high-energy-impact-issue-persists-even-after-macos-13-1/

I note that although I never use Safari, and typically use Firefox or Vivaldi, Safari comnsumes almost as much energy as Firefox. This on Ventura OS.

 

[EJ Fudd]

[No message]

 

[graybalanced]

That is really strange because the Mac Studio specs at the Apple website say the maximum power draw is 370 watts. Not very much really compared to a lot of PCs, or a space heater. I have a Mac Pro tower that has caused problems at times but that is because it was much more power hungry, several hundred watts more.

Unless the Mac Studio's power supply is defective enough that it causes an unusually high startup power spike, the problem is probably something else in the electrical system, maybe an interaction with another electrical device as I found several years ago.