Alright, so I realize that this probably is a very foolish question but I'm new to electronics and how they work. Basically I have a 12v regulated power supply that I use for a car audio amplifier in my home and I only have it hooked up with a cord that has a Line and a Neutral, no ground. Could this be dangerous or cause any other issues? It's been working fine so far and I don't get a shock when i touch the case of the power supply.
Best Answer
Some appliances may give a shock if there's a wiring fault. Some, will only give a shock if there's TWO wiring faults. Each may be safe if there are no faults.
But, local safety standards (which differ according to century and region) may require... almost ANYTHING.
If you might touch the 12V output wiring of the power supply, and if there is any hazardous AC voltage involved, a ground-fault interrupter (GFI, or GFCI) and the two-prong plug should make the system shock-safe. Any modern three-prong power plug has a ground that would also make the system shock-safe (if the design passes modern safety standards that I'm familiar with).
There is no absolute safety, so there's no possible complete answer to this question. Notably, even if there's NO AC power involved, batteries have been known to catch fire.