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Need some PSU diagnosis help

M

Minotaar

Weaksauce
Joined
Mar 21, 2004
Messages
97
Last night, my desktop shut off suddenly. No unusual noise occurred when the desktop shut off. Attempts to turn it back on cause the PSU to click twice and do nothing. When I attempt to power it on, nothing turns on: no fans, no post, no nothing. Here's a sketch of my system:

PSU: Corsair AX850
Mobo: Asus P8p67 Pro
CPU: Core-i7 2600k (partially loaded during the shutdown)
Video: Asus GeForce GTX 465 (not running any "serious 3d" at the time of shutdown)
Storage: 3 hard disks, 1 SSD, 1 optical (not in use at the time of the shutdown)
OS: Windows 7

So my computer was only partially loaded (I was watching a youtube video) when it shut down. It had run starcraft 2 at top resolution for about 3 hours, earlier that night. And on top of that the PSU is totally underloaded on my system.

Interesting note: nothing else on the same power strip even flinched. My cable modem and router never lost their connection nor powered off, and my monitor didnt just went to sleep mode. It's also a very solid surge protector, but not a battery backup.

I'm guessing it's my PSU. I'm at work now and havent had a chance to rip everything apart and do the unit test, but that clicking in the PSU really bothers me. Can anyone offer some advice on what might be wrong? Any suggestions would be very very much appreciated.
 
Most probably, as you have guessed, PSU is the culprit. Unplug all connectors and check your PSU using paper clip method. If its fan start spinning, than there might be some other issue but PSU is OK. If fan doesn't spin, than it has gone.

In case you are lucky enough and fan is spinning while using paper clip method, reconnect all connectors and start your PC without rams. If it powers up, than one of your ram stick might be faulty.
 
KDKHAN said:
Most probably, as you have guessed, PSU is the culprit. Unplug all connectors and check your PSU using paper clip method. If its fan start spinning, than there might be some other issue but PSU is OK. If fan doesn't spin, than it has gone.

In case you are lucky enough and fan is spinning while using paper clip method, reconnect all connectors and start your PC without rams. If it powers up, than one of your ram stick might be faulty.
Click to expand...

Actually the fan on that PSU won't spin up unless it gets like 20% load or something, so during a test the fan wont spin. To test it you should use the paperclip method, and then a multimeter on the rails, or just use a PSU tester.
 
Thanks very much for the help! I've ordered myself a PSU tester (it will definitely be worth testing other PSUs with it, so I see it as an investment) and this way I can confirm it's dead and ship it back to Corsair.

Guess everyone gets a bad PSU every now and then.
 
It happens, and things can and will slip through quality control. That's what the warranty/RMA service is for.

Use the paperclip method, but attach a fan to it.
 
Minotaar said:
I've ordered myself a PSU tester (it will definitely be worth testing other PSUs with it, so I see it as an investment) and this way I can confirm it's dead and ship it back to Corsair.
Click to expand...
If the tester has only indicator lights and not a digital voltage readout, it could say that a bad PSU is OK. I had a PSU that wouldn't make hard drives spin, and a cheap CompUSA/Soyo tester said it was OK, while a multimeter said the +12V rail was putting out only 10V. A cheap, highly accurate digital multimeter can be bought for as little as $3. Add a paperclip to ground the PSU's green wire to turn it on.
 
I ordered the Rosewill tester with a full voltage readout. Just tested it - nothing! the tester did not even light up. However, a yellow LED lights up on the motherboard. Am I doing something wrong, or is that what you would expect from a dead PSU?

Thanks for all the help - never did this level of testing before.
 
Just tested it on another computer, and I was definitely using it right - tester lit up and everything. This PSU must be dead.
 
Most likely. However, the best way to test is still with a DMM, not one of those cheesy PSU testers.
 
Minotaar said:
Also... theres white goo coming out of one of the capacitors. Wow.
Click to expand...
White goo? Capacitors that leak typically put out a brown goo, but I have seen white stuff from capacitors in a TV that's 2 years younger than me. Could the white stuff be sealer used for gluing capacitors in place? A lot of PSUs have white or yellow sealer to hold large parts in place or to prevent them from touching high voltage or hot components. OTOH I've never seen sealer used on motherboards.

Why buy a power supply tester when the local Harbor Freight has a decent $7 multimeter that's often sold through a coupon deal that makes it just $3 or free with purchase? A meter, a pack of 10 ohm/10 watt resistors to load down the power supply, and a bent paperclip make a more accurate tester that can also diagnose other stuff (motherboard batteries, on/off switches, cables, car batteries, turn signal lightbulbs).

I keep old hard drives and optical drives to use as PSU loads because if they work, then the PSU is putting out decent voltage on the +5V and +12V rails. Fans can also serve as loads, but a 12V fan will spin even at 5-6V. I don't know of any way to check the +3.3V rail, except with a motherboard, tester, or meter. If the PSU turns on when you ground the green Power_On lead on the big 20-24 pin power connector to either black lead next to it, then most likely the +5Vstandby supply (often indicated by an LED on the motherboard) on the purple wire is working.

I think most Corsair PSUs are made by Seasonic, and reviews indicate that some Seasonics contain capacitors made by OST, which isn't exactly the best brand. I never had an OST cap in a PSU fail on me (and I doubt one ever will -- I replaced them preemptively), but I've had 4-5 bulge or rupture in ECS brand motherboards, and experts say OSTs can fail without showing any physical signs.
 
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