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The easiest way to tell is to check your light indicators in your surge protector and if any of them are not burning your surge protector is probably not protecting your equipment from electrical surges and spikes. Surge protectors uses Metal Oxide Varistors (MOV) which essentially routes excess current away from your equipment via the ground wire. The MOV, however, is rated to carry only a certain amount of voltage. If the voltage exceeds the MOV rating then the MOV may essentially burn up. Once this happens all current can flow directly to the equipment. The MOV is generally wired directly to the protector's lighted indicator to signal if the surge protector is doing its job. For a complete run down on Surge Protectors check out this article at How Stuff Works. |
Your surge protector may have outlived its useful life and may be nothing
more than a glorified extension cord. How do you tell?