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Safe to open a PSU?

S

SOKHAR

Gawd
Joined
May 8, 2002
Messages
631
Hi guys I noticed today that my system was getting way too hot and in my digging around I found that my erermax 460w (EG465P-VE) rear exaust fan was not spinning. The 120 mm fan ont he bottom is spinning fine but it is causing the hot air to be pushed back into my case.

So what I wanted ot know is if I take out the PSU and drain any remaining power (jump the pins) would it then be safe to change the fan that is in there? or is there a big rish of shock doing this?

Thanks
 
How would one of your fans being off cause the flow to reverse? If there are two fans on your psu, the one on the bottom should draw air in from the case and the back should exhaust out to the room. Even if it flows the other way, one fan stopping shouldn't change it. The designers wouldn't have two fans working against eachother...

That being said, it is generally said that messing around inside a PSU without electrical experience is bad mojo. I've replaced a fan before and it wasn't too bad. Just unplug the psu and let it sit for a day or so, and be very careful when you start poking around in there.

If your PSU has any warrantee left on it, THIS WILL VOID IT. So be aware of that.
 
PSU capacitors are bad mofos. Give it a lot of time to sit before you work on it and scrounge around on the net for any other safety tips you can find.
 
I agree that is should not have changed the flow but the fact of the matter is it has there is atleast double the ammount of hot goinging out the front of the PSU then there is comming out of the back.

Ya I was planning on draining it and then let it sit for a while I just hate to toss a god PSU for no reason.
 
discharge it first. you have 3 ways: 1. when the computer is off, the psu switch on the back is on, but no cord, press the power button on the computer several times. you'll see lights go on, fans start spinning, for about half a second, then shut off. 2. when the pc is running, pull the plug. 3. Discharge the capacitors with a screwdriver. This might kill, so don't do it.
 
I've changed many PSU fans, taken apart monitors, etc without issue. I think the key is to be very careful and don't touch anything. If you've got the shakes like a crackhead waiting for his next hit, get a discharging device or follow the advice posted above.
 
No it is not safe. In my opinion you should really have some training in how to discharge those capacitors. I have heard in can take months to discharge on their own.
To me it's not worth it. Buy a new psu.
Ribs
 
I've opened up 2 psu's...one was an old one that was sitting in a closet for months and the other was my brand new OCZ GameXstream 600w. (I just had to see if it really was a FSP :p ) I would recommend letting it sit unplugged for a few weeks before you crack it open..
 
Okay, someone said shorting the caps with a screwdriver. THat is not a good idea. they make a device which is nothing more thatn a resistor with two sire attached to it. You put each end on each pole of the cap and it allows the charge to dissipate slowly so as not to get yourself hurt or damage the cap.

However, if you are asking if it is safe to open a PSU then you should already know the answer is 'No". People who haven't any electrical experience have no business going inside a dangerous device like that. I've got a bit of experience under my belt and I still hesitate to open a PSU. Hell I take voltage readings three or four times before messing with house wiring.
 
Never open up a PSU without first unplugging the AC cord and then pressing the computer's front panel power switch to drain off the big high voltage capacitors. Even if you don't do this, the PSU should drain down by itself in roughly 20 seconds because of the load presented to it by the +5V standby regulator, but if for some reason that doesn't work because of a defect, the bleeder resistors across those big capacitors should drain the high voltage in about 20 minutes. However your Enermax may not have those bleeder resistors because my 350W model EG365P-VD doesn't, and I know those capacitors retain charge because a couple of times I've pressed the front power button and the fans have spun for a fraction of a second, even though the AC cord had been unplugged overnight.

Another thing to watch out for is that many PSUs have the heatsink next to the big high voltage capacitors connected directly to 170 volts DC, and my Enermax is among them. In other words, don't even dare to operate the PSU with its cover removed. But if you do, don't touch anything inside the PSU, and don't plug the AC cord into the PSU when the cover is removed because its chassis can then flex enough to touch that heatsink and create a 170VDC short. I once stupidly did that with an Antec and thought I had ruined its high voltage transistors, but amazingly they were fine.

If you're still going to ignore the warnings and still operate the PSU with its cover removed, use a wall outlet protected by a GFI, also called a GFCI, but realize that it can't prevent all dangerous shocks, just those between ground and line. There are plug-in GFIs available where outdoor power cords are sold at Home Depot, about $10-20. I should warn you that GFIs sometimes fail, too, so always press the TEST button just before each use.
 
Thanks for the advice guys but I think I will be just chucking this thing out I dont think its worth the risk. I have rigged up a Torando fan to the outside of the exaust fan for now to suck out the hot air so I can atelast use the system with out it over heating.

I will be replacing the PSU soon.

Thanks again.
 
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