Problems with 530 Watt Fortron

[ColdFlare]

Hey everyone, I have a fortron 530 watt unit that I bought off newegg about 5 months ago. The fortron has started to act up. The 5v rail is dropping everyday. It was once exactly at 5volts measured with a Voltmeter from molex connector. Everyday its dropping by .1 volt. Right now I'm using the computer with the 5v at 4.8volts. This has been happening for the last month.

When it dips too low my system gets unstable and I have to open the fortron up and adjust the pots to get 5volts again. But it keeps dipping everyday, its getting tiring adjusting it every 2 days.

Anyone know whats wrong? It seems like the pot in the fortron is resetting itself back to the original position or something, I can't really tell.

Anyhelp would be greatly appreciated.

 

[BillR]

Hey everyone, I have a fortron 530 watt unit that I bought off newegg about 5 months ago. The fortron has started to act up. The 5v rail is dropping everyday. It was once exactly at 5volts measured with a Voltmeter from molex connector. Everyday its dropping by .1 volt. Right now I'm using the computer with the 5v at 4.8volts. This has been happening for the last month.

When it dips too low my system gets unstable and I have to open the fortron up and adjust the pots to get 5volts again. But it keeps dipping everyday, its getting tiring adjusting it every 2 days.

Anyone know whats wrong? It seems like the pot in the fortron is resetting itself back to the original position or something, I can't really tell.

Anyhelp would be greatly appreciated.

I’d start by measuring the AC line input and monitoring that first. If that is dropping then so will your rails. (A very good reason to have a good UPS)

That’s not to say there is not something wrong with the PSU, but there are other things to check as well. Could be you have a CAP, or CAPS going south on the motherboard, a VRM going bad etc.

Give the motherboard a good hard look, check for caps with the tops starting to bulge, or leakage of “goo” at the bottoms and or tops. That goes for the PSU as well; make sure those caps are ok as well.

When you adjust the “pot” for voltage, it is resistive to movement or is it loose? If it’s too easy to move it could be vibration moving it. If that’s the case a drop of nail polish will fix that. (No, I’m not suggesting you wear nail polish )

Check those things first, it’s usually something simple….usually

 

[Ice Czar]

trim pots will change with temperature and age, but that seems excessive
Id continue to adjust them and see if it eventually levels off
nd BillR's suggestions as well

 

[ColdFlare]

I’d start by measuring the AC line input and monitoring that first. If that is dropping then so will your rails. (A very good reason to have a good UPS)

That’s not to say there is not something wrong with the PSU, but there are other things to check as well. Could be you have a CAP, or CAPS going south on the motherboard, a VRM going bad etc.

Give the motherboard a good hard look, check for caps with the tops starting to bulge, or leakage of “goo” at the bottoms and or tops. That goes for the PSU as well; make sure those caps are ok as well.

When you adjust the “pot” for voltage, it is resistive to movement or is it loose? If it’s too easy to move it could be vibration moving it. If that’s the case a drop of nail polish will fix that. (No, I’m not suggesting you wear nail polish )

Check those things first, it’s usually something simple….usually

Great suggestion. I checked all the caps and they all look good. Even the giant caps in the psu are fine as well. Not sure what a VRM is tho. I checked the entire motherboard, aside from the mosfets in this 8kda3j being too hot and those coiled copper wires being extraodinarly hot, there is nothing else wrong.

However I do have a pump in my case, and I do watercooling. Could the vibration cause the pots vibrate themselves back to position? The pots do seem looser than the first time I adjusted them.

Are you suggesting nail polish as some sort of glue to stick the pot into position? I have some carpenters glue, and krazy glue, but I don't think those are safe to try. I think krazy glue eats away at plastic.

Anymore help is greatly appreciated. My voltages have just dropped again.

 

[BillR]

Great suggestion. I checked all the caps and they all look good. Even the giant caps in the psu are fine as well. Not sure what a VRM is tho. I checked the entire motherboard, aside from the mosfets in this 8kda3j being too hot and those coiled copper wires being extraodinarly hot, there is nothing else wrong.

However I do have a pump in my case, and I do watercooling. Could the vibration cause the pots vibrate themselves back to position? The pots do seem looser than the first time I adjusted them.

Are you suggesting nail polish as some sort of glue to stick the pot into position? I have some carpenters glue, and krazy glue, but I don't think those are safe to try. I think krazy glue eats away at plastic.

Anymore help is greatly appreciated. My voltages have just dropped again.

NO CRAZY GLUE, it will "limit" your options if you need to adjust again

Yes, the idea is to help stick the pot in place just in case it is a bit loose. Nail polish, drop of white glue, drop of hot wax, nothing permanent.

You could also mark the position of the pot to see if it really is moving, but I honestly doubt it is. IF it is then you’re fixed.

Any chance you have another PSU to try? If that voltage keeps changing and the pot isn’t moving I’m concerned that your PSU might be becoming unstable and could do damage.

Could you try that PSU in another computer to see if the problem continues? If not it could in fact be a motherboard about to go south. I think I would keep a close eye on it for the moment.

Just some thoughts.

Luck

 

[ColdFlare]

NO CRAZY GLUE, it will "limit" your options if you need to adjust again

Yes, the idea is to help stick the pot in place just in case it is a bit loose. Nail polish, drop of white glue, drop of hot wax, nothing permanent.

You could also mark the position of the pot to see if it really is moving, but I honestly doubt it is. IF it is then you’re fixed.

Any chance you have another PSU to try? If that voltage keeps changing and the pot isn’t moving I’m concerned that your PSU might be becoming unstable and could do damage.

Could you try that PSU in another computer to see if the problem continues? If not it could in fact be a motherboard about to go south. I think I would keep a close eye on it for the moment.

Just some thoughts.

Luck

But how would the motherboard going south have to do with psu dying? The psu reading from voltmeter shows that the voltage drop on the 5/12v line only. 3.3 volt it never moves.

 

[BillR]

But how would the motherboard going south have to do with psu dying? The psu reading from voltmeter shows that the voltage drop on the 5/12v line only. 3.3 volt it never moves.

Two different rails on a switching PSU. My thought was if something on the mobo was starting to draw excessive current, there could be an issue, possibly a voltage regulation issue. You mentioned “a lot of heat”. I know that’s a subjective call, so I am trying to cover all the bases.

As Ice point out, you seem to be dropping more voltage then would be normal for a break in period.

That leaves us with the “check it all” method. Didn’t want to see you have anything break.

 

[Dallows]

I'm a psu noob, how would I go about checking the rails on my fortron 530w?

 

[BillR]

I'm a psu noob, how would I go about checking the rails on my fortron 530w?

You would need a multi meter. Then check each lead for proper voltage. Some good info at the top of the page in the stickies. If your not comfortable probing around inside your computer I don’t suggest it, but if you have taken voltage readings before then you should be ok.

For most people with no known problems there is no good reason to do so unless you are really getting into the teckie parts of computing.

Be careful and enjoy