Arduino crashed my computer when I plug in the USB cable I have a 2008 Mac that hardly ever crashes. But from time to time (not always) it crashes (the whole computer shuts down as if the power has been cut off) when I plug in an Arduino via USB.

What could cause this?



I've done some testing and the constant in when this occurs seems to be a cheap PIR sensor from eBay. It works some of the time.

Should I get another sensor? Or is there something about PIR sensors that makes them prone to this? It has a lot of caps... Is there another kind of motion sensor?
It could possibly be that there is a fault that is causing a short circuit. This short circuit could be in the board itself or the USB cable that connects the Arduino. The USB port on the Mac should have protection to protect against a short circuit. Your comments have indicated that you have tested for a short and found none - but this is helpful for others that are looking for a solution.

In your comments you mention that you solved this by changing the positive rail of your potentiometer from 3.3V rail to the 5V rail.