Peter, Your question header said "Y-caps in Class II". However, Class II equipment typically has no ground and certainly not a ground that is relied on for safety purposes. If your header is correct, between which circuit parts are the capacitors connected?
The assumption in your Email below is completely invalid because it seems to talk about using capacitors in Class 1 equipment, presumably between the Primary Circuit and an accessible earthed part. This is never permitted because to do so would mean that you would not have Basic Insulation between these parts and, since Basic Insulation is the lowest grade of insulation that provides any protection from electric shock, you would have the possibility of receiving an electric shock when touching exposed metal parts. Remember that equipment can cross geographic boundaries, so a product sold into a country where a reliable earth connection is assumed not to exist (such as Sweden) can be moved to a country where the earth connection is reliable (such as the UK). Even within countries such as Sweden, the fact that you cannot rely on having a protective earth connection at the socket outlet does not mean that you can rely on not having a protective earthing connection: as far as I am informed, older houses generally do not have a PE connection (except for the kitchen) and yet newer houses do. Regards, Richard Hughes Safety Answers Ltd www.safetyanswers.ltd.uk In a message dated 08/12/2003 06:17:57 GMT Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Hello all, I know that Y-capacitors connecting line to ground and neutral to ground in a class I product have to be approved to IEC 384-14 and must have the appropriate rating and certification, etc. However if a class I product is used in a country where there is no ground or reliable ground, then surely the Y-capacitors have no meaning and basically can be any capacitors and not just Y1 or Y2, etc. Am I correct in this assumption? If so, can anyone point me to a clause in the 950 or an article or some kind of proof that confirms my assumption please? thanks Peter
