The Ground pin is purely for SAFETY. It has almost the same purpose as the neutral wire in an ac circuit. Both often connect together in your meter box. First, "Lightning" can jump the gap to take the HV pulse to "Ground" Also, When wires fall off connectors inside equipment and touch the grounded metal chassis they cause the fuse to blow, Plastic enclosures don't have a need for the "ground" wire.
Modern AC supplies now use an RCD for added safety. This senses an minute in-balance between the three wires and electronically switches power off. (Which may have been caused by your finger between the AC hot phase wire & ground... thereby saving you from a full shock)
The "short cycling" being a shorter time period than set on the timer clock. This would be either an electronic timer or mechanical timer. Each would have a different reason for reducing the expected time to do a function.
Disturbances & spikes in the Electronic's Power Supply could change the time value. Are their any Electrolytic Capacitors on the internal incoming power supply voltages. See Below
Cheers
Hot Neutral and Ground our Funny Looking Household Electrical Socket
Difference between Neutral and Ground wire Explained
Identifying bad capacitors on motherboards and adapter cards
Answers & Comments
Hi "T"
Highly unlikely.
Depends what you mean by "short cycling"
The Ground pin is purely for SAFETY.
It has almost the same purpose as the neutral wire in an ac circuit.
Both often connect together in your meter box.
First, "Lightning" can jump the gap to take the HV pulse to "Ground"
Also, When wires fall off connectors inside equipment and touch the grounded metal chassis they cause the fuse to blow,
Plastic enclosures don't have a need for the "ground" wire.
Modern AC supplies now use an RCD for added safety.
This senses an minute in-balance between the three wires and electronically switches power off.
(Which may have been caused by your finger between the AC hot phase wire & ground... thereby saving you from a full shock)
The "short cycling" being a shorter time period than set on the timer clock.
This would be either an electronic timer or mechanical timer.
Each would have a different reason for reducing the expected time to do a function.
Disturbances & spikes in the Electronic's Power Supply could change the time value.
Are their any Electrolytic Capacitors on the internal incoming power supply voltages. See Below
Cheers
Hot Neutral and Ground our Funny Looking Household Electrical Socket
Difference between Neutral and Ground wire Explained
Identifying bad capacitors on motherboards and adapter cards