Ever since I got a phone with a metal chassis I get this issue : if my phone is plugged to a train electric outlet and I simultaneously touch my phone and any metallic part of the train (such as an ventilation grid) I get a small, but painful jolt.
Now, as I understand it, insulation between the phone chassis and the train should be provided by
So why do I get those shocks ?
It can be more than just capacitive coupling between the windings of the transformer. Some designs couple high frequency output noise (due to the switching action of the controller) back to the nearest thing to ground that is available and that generally means the high voltage DC supply line after the AC power rectifier. Coupling is done with a capacitor like this: -
So, it trades better EMC performance for a slight tingle when you touch the DC output wires or you touch the metal parts of the device it is charging.
That's simple. It's an inherent downside of switch-mode power supplies. I'd assume yours doesn't have an earth (PE) terminal into the wall.
This is what it would look like without countermeasures:
This is where you are now, probably:
This can be done, but it would take a PE terminal on your PSU:
(And it has residual side-effects still: can contribute to a ground loop, can help trip a "Residual Current Circuit Breaker" etc.)
