Melted Wire

[TwistedMetalGear]

Hey guys,

My parents' computer recently turned off and went up in smoke out of nowhere. I took it outside, inspected it, and saw that this cable had melted (the one connecting to the video card).

I replaced this cable with a new one, turned the computer on, and just like that it was fixed. Checked the temperature of the new wire periodically, nice and cool.

My dad is freaking out saying that he's never going to trust the computer again. He's convinced that it's going to burn the house down. Myself, I'm convinced that the problem was limited to that wire. There is no damage to any other wires in the computer. No smell of burning anywhere.

I should note that this computer was CAKED in dust. If you look at the last photo you can see dust or cobwebs or something bridging the connection between those two pins. Is it possible for dust to be conductive and bridge a connection?

What do you guys think? Is the computer safe to continue using with the new wire?

 

[Mister E]

The computer probably choked to death from the dust. It could have cut off circulation completely causing some of the components to overheat. Maybe a fan seized up. Who knows. Buy your folks a couple cans of compressed air and show them how to use it lol.

 

[larrymoencurly]

I don't know if a cable can cause that, unless a poor connection made the video card's voltage regulator greatly increase the current draw. The PSU can cause that if it doesn't put out enough voltage. What brands of capacitors are inside the PSU? You're supposed to know that, without looking.

 

[ymic]

There's only a few thing that can melt a cable like that... a direct short with no short circuit prevention or way too much current going through the cable. If those 12v lines got that hot, how was the video card and other power cables not damaged?