Acrid smell!!!

Curious

Curious

Curious

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Joined
10 Feb 2006
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270
Location
Copenhagen Denmark
For a week, my computer has begun emitting an acrid smell, kind of like melted/melting plastic. I have taken it apart several times, and cannot find enything wrong. The computer works just fine, but something must ofcourse be wrong.
I found out that capacitor having burst, or leaked can emmit that type of smell, and when I think about it, it kinda smell like carbatteries recharging.
But even after having found out that, I cannot find anything leaking, or looking burnt in my computer. my latest attempt is to split the computer apart and put the parts in different rooms to see if i can smell a difference there. I just hope the bad smell does not aquire the computer to run, to be emitted.

I have voided my warrenty on my psu to do a visual spec (i cannot find my reciept anyway), I have gone over all the caps on the motherbard (visual spec only), and I have not found one bulging, bust or leaking one yet. The graphic card I have tried to look at too, I have not dismounted the cooler though, so there might be something I could miss.

Strange thing is, that my computer seems rock solid, and does not crash and can run highend games with no problem.

Before I go out and buy a new new parts at random to determine the culprit, I just wondered if any of you had any ideas.

My psu is a corsair TX750 maybe 5 years old.
Motherboard is maybe 4 months old, a Crosshair V
And the graphic card is a Powercolor 6950, same age as MB

PSU will be the first new buy if my latest smell test does not succeed.
 
Does sound/smell like a capacitor. Is is definately coming from the computer and not something like speakers or amp/sub etc?

Could be a GPU if you've not taken the cooler off to inspect it. Try running and extend furmark test to see if it starts to smell more perhaps?
 
Sounds strange but id recommend getting your nose in there and try and sniff the direction at least if a visual inspection doesn't narrow it down.
If there is a lot of electrical equipment in the area, test them all in isolation.
Best bet is the PSU or motherboard.
 
I did the nose test. And it was hard to find where it emmenated from, hence the splitting the computer and putting the parts in different rooms. It seems the Graphic card is not the bad guy. The soundsystem being used without the pc does not smell.
So now it is down to MB and PSU.
I really hope it is not both of them :(
I guess I'd prefere the PSU as it is the oldest part. Well, I'd prefere I did not have the problem at all, ofcourse.
If the PSU, I think I will go for an AX850.

Aah well, i'm rambling, probably the fumes ;)
 
I would say PSU, had a very similar thing happen to me some year ago, odd smells coming from the pc as you described, eventually it failed to switch on, changed PSU as a first point of call and all was well, booted up first time and no more smells. As hideki said have a good sniff around the PSU fan area.
 
Had the same thing happen on the 13th Dec. Acrid smell which made me panic having visions of the house burning down. Pulled the system out and found the psu had nearly all the capacitors bulged and the motherboard had one cap bulged aswell. I guess the psu went first and then took the board after :(

So keep digging. Could also be dust build up which is cooking as things heat up? dust is bad anyway as it will insulate capacitors and then cook them that way.
 
+1 for PSU.

But then again we could all be wrong. Inspect the kettle connector and plug because these are usually seldom checked!

Not that I advocate you do this but a while back I had a resistor go which was literally fried inside a PSU. There was some plastic casing inside my PSU that had melted as a result. I soldered a knew resistor on and the smell disappeared.

Disclaimer: Don't open your PSU - You risk electric shock!

Can you borrow a PSU? I mean just to run? also you can try smelling your PSU from the fan exhaust...
 
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I bought a new PSU, an AX580.

I used the old PSU untill I got the new one without a hitch. Except for the smell ofcourse.
As for the person saying I should not open the PSU, I already did. Both the caps lock and some diodes on the motherboard has lights on when my computer is powered off.
Taking out the powercable and pressing power on, seems to deplete the residual power of the PSU, as the lights go out after awhile, and I have not been fried.

As I think I wrote above, nothing showed up on visual inspection, but when changing PSUs I gave it another look. It looks like there is something on the other side of one of the prints that has overheated the print itself. I have not taken it further apart to see what might be on the other side. I am just happy, that putting in a new PSU has alleviated the problem.

Thanks for all the posts.
 
Curious said:
I bought a new PSU, an AX580.

As for the person saying I should not open the PSU, I already did. Both the caps lock and some diodes on the motherboard has lights on when my computer is powered off.
Taking out the powercable and pressing power on, seems to deplete the residual power of the PSU, as the lights go out after awhile, and I have not been fried.

As I think I wrote above, nothing showed up on visual inspection, but when changing PSUs I gave it another look. It looks like there is something on the other side of one of the prints that has overheated the print itself. I have not taken it further apart to see what might be on the other side. I am just happy, that putting in a new PSU has alleviated the problem.
Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong with opening a PSU as long as you are careful as you were as capacitors can bite! I had a similar smell coming from an old PC a few months ago; checked everywhere and couldn't find it one day the smell was really bad so I shut down the PC and it was a coil that had burnt out.
 
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