Pi Zero W appears to be dead after electrical short

[AcetyleneLamp]

I have a Pi Zero W that I’ve been running Retropie on, last night I unplugged a USB gamepad plugged into the pi with a usb extension cord, I felt a small electrical shock from the extension cord and the Pi shut off. I picked up the pi and felt another shock from the GPIO holes (the case has a hole in the bottom for the GPIO). Now the pi won’t power on at all. I ruled out an issue with the SD card (I put it into my Pi 2B+ and it worked) or the power cable (I tried the power cable from my other pi and had same results). I tried plugging the Pi Zero into my windows 10 laptop with a micro usb data cable to check for signs of life (following the directions here: https://learn.adafruit.com/raspberry-pi ... -zero-dead) and nothing happened other than the Pi Zero heating up a little.

Is there anything I can do about this, and if not, what can I do to prevent this from happening again if I get a replacement?

[jbudd]

I'm afraid your Pi is dead.

Either there was a voltage spike on one of the cables plugged in to it or maybe you fried it with static electricity.

You really should turn the power off before plugging / unplugging anything.

[AcetyleneLamp]

I had my pi in the plastic case that came with this kit, what else can I do to protect a replacement from static electricity?

https://www.amazon.com/Vilros-Raspberry ... 3158&psc=1

Is there any kind of plug I can put into the GPIO holes to protect it since I don’t plan to use it?

I was plugging and unplugging stuff from the usb to switch between a keyboard and gamepad in retropie without anything happening other that a slight zap occasionally. I had just gotten a bluetooth keyboard and figured out how to set up Retropie to be able to use the gamepad for most of it, ironically.

I’ve had a Pi 2B+ for a few years that I’ve used for a few different things on and off (including playing with the GPIO a little) without destroying it, the Pi Zero only lasted about a month. Is it worth spending $10 for a replacement or are Pi Zeros too fragile to be worth it?

[ejolson]

I had my pi in the plastic case that came with this kit, what else can I do to protect a replacement from static electricity?

I’ve had a Pi 2B+ for a few years that I’ve used for a few different things on and off (including playing with the GPIO a little) without destroying it, the Pi Zero only lasted about a month.

Is there any kind of plug I can put into the GPIO holes to protect it since I don’t plan to use it?

I was plugging and unplugging stuff from the usb to switch between a keyboard and gamepad in retropie without anything happening other that a slight zap occasionally. I had just gotten a bluetooth keyboard and figured out how to set up Retropie to be able to use the gamepad for most of it, ironically.

I’ve had a Pi 2B+ for a few years that I’ve used for a few different things on and off (including playing with the GPIO a little) without destroying it, the Pi Zero only lasted about a month.

To prevent zapping stuff you need to discharge the static electricity before touching the Zero. Since it is not enclosed in a metal case that can protect it, my recommendation would be to touch the grounded metal base of a lamp, toaster or other appliance just before touching the Pi. Sorry for the bad luck.

[AcetyleneLamp]

I’m going to get a 3d printed case (from my local library that has 3d printers) without cutouts for the GPIO for when I get a replacement Pi Zero, that will probably protect it a lot better.