I Smell an Explosion....

SH4RKY

SH4RKY

SH4RKY

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Joined
28 Aug 2004
Posts
766
Location
b'ham
Loaded up BC2 last night for a quick blast... and quickly Alt F4ed when i started smelling that burning PCB/plastic type smell.... had a sniff around and pretty sure its coming from the PSU.

The PSU pops sometimes when i flick the wall switch on (wasn’t sure it was the PSU or speakers, but pretty confident it was the PSU now)

PSU is a BeQuiet Dark 650 of around the 2008/9 vintage.

So... not sure what to do at the mo, going to contact the place i bought it as its still within warranty. I don’t really want to turn it back on in case it goes out with a bang possibly damaging other components.... but on the other hand i really really need to edit some photos etc and it seemed to be fine while not under heavy load...

If the PSU was still working, could it be a less important bit melting or maybe the fan or whatever rather than the critical parts of the psu itself? or is it a sure sign of imminent failure?
 
Poping sounds are usually capacitors exploding which is never a good sign, if i were you i would take the powersupply out completely just so i dont get the urge to "try" it again
 
You could take the power supply out and then power it on seperatly and see what happens. Probably best to stand well back as you switch it on though. :p
 
Had the very same happen to me a while back with my PSU on crysis I think it was!

Was fine until a propper graphics intensive game.
 
This is actually the second PSU now... the first did explode when i flicked the switch (under 6 months old). But this one has been fine running everything for the last year or so.

The PC is running a Q9550 (actually undervolted compared to stock and running at 3.4ghz, lol), a GTX260, 8gb ram, 2 HDDs, Soundcard and thats about it. So its not like a 650w psu should struggle.

Has put me off BeQuiet a little... the 2 experiences i have had have both seemingly ended in failure! :/


Fisha, what happened to your PSU in the end?
 
My PSUs pop when you flick the on/off switch on the PSU itself. I can't remember exactly why they do it but it's probably something to do with the big primary capacitors filling with energy.

If it's a decent PSU it will not likely take your components with it.

I'd try it again but keep an eye on it.

Make sure it's free of dust deposits too.
 
If its still under warranty RMA it, would not take the chance of it not taking out anything if it does go bang, tell them you smell burning and it has gone pop a few times.
 
SH4RKY said:
This is actually the second PSU now... the first did explode when i flicked the switch (under 6 months old). But this one has been fine running everything for the last year or so.

The PC is running a Q9550 (actually undervolted compared to stock and running at 3.4ghz, lol), a GTX260, 8gb ram, 2 HDDs, Soundcard and thats about it. So its not like a 650w psu should struggle.

Has put me off BeQuiet a little... the 2 experiences i have had have both seemingly ended in failure! :/


Fisha, what happened to your PSU in the end?
Click to expand...

hmm if its the second psu to do it i'd get your home electrics looked at. Our house had/has dodgy electrics, until a few months ago the house wasn't even earthed.

Although speakers do often make a popping noise when powered on by the mains, so it could have been your speakers when you turned the mains on.

I'd proberbly power up the PSU seperately or try a different PSU if you can
 
Dont have access to another PSU atm.

Slightly confused now though - how would you turn the PSU on if you separate it from the other components? Doesnt it need to be connected to at least the Mobo to 'activate it'??

The house electrics did cross my mind too... but we havent had any electrical issues with anything else as of yet. I am going to check the plug socket out in any case.

TBH, I think its always popped. I think part of me thought it was the speakers (the part that didnt want to RMA a psu) but in reality it was more likely the PSU. But again, I think i had just written it off as the Caps charging or discharging or something.

Will RMA it anyway as i dont trust it anymore.

And yeah, im half tempted to try it again... Might take it out the PC case first though, see if i can see any obvious damage. Might use a broom to flip the switch... haha
 
Hmm, well its been agreed that I can RMA it, so ill send it back and hope it blows up their end... well... not blows up, but they confirm its faulty :)


Ah well... might take this opportunity to freshen up the old girl. SSD, new GPU and maybe a 3D monitor. :D
 
PSU was faulty, tripped the mains.

And now they are saying a replacement isnt available therefore they are offering a 10£ refund.

Err... Ok, i know the product was near the end of its 3 year warrenty period, but this sounds like absolute crap to me?

The psu blew up... it was within warrenty... Surely i should get a replacement or product of equal spec in todays standards????

what the hell...
 
SH4RKY said:
PSU was faulty, tripped the mains.

And now they are saying a replacement isnt available therefore they are offering a 10£ refund.

Err... Ok, i know the product was near the end of its 3 year warrenty period, but this sounds like absolute crap to me?

The psu blew up... it was within warrenty... Surely i should get a replacement or product of equal spec in todays standards????

what the hell...
Click to expand...

Badger them until they give you one :p.
 
The fight is on going...

I suggested the 550w version would be a suitable replacement. They still think a 10£ refund is within their rights. They say i have had 2.5 years benefit from the item so the value is based upon that. Pretty sure i could have ebayed a working version for at least 60 quid. its not like PSU tech has got all that more advanced in 2.5 years....

It actually cost me £12.25 to send it back to them!?! FFS...

Phoning back tomorrow to speak with 'management'. I dont understand why they dont just send it back to bequiet... or... well i dunno...

Does it depreciate slower if the warrenty was 7 years? what if it was a 1 year warranty and it went faulty on the 9th month? would they not offer an exchange, but a 10% refund instead?! Doesnt seem like any point in a warranty either if they wont honour it.

Angry.
 
To test outside of mobo:

1. Get a paperclip.
2. Put one end into the hole on the 24pin connector with the green wire.
3. Put the other end into any black wire connector.
4. Turn on at wall.
5. See what happens :)
 
EGuitarStar said:
Hmmmm, I know that many US companies follow this rule but is it applicable to the UK as well?
Click to expand...
It's fairly standard in the UK as well.

Companies don't even need to give you a new replacement, just a like for like replacement so even if they could replace it, all he might end up with is a 3year old refurbed unit.
 
Hopefully you'll get further by speaking to someone else. As for them shipping it to BeQuiet, that'd leave the retailer well out of pocket by the time they've shipped it back to you too. If it's shown to be faulty, which by offering £10, I presume they've admitted it is, they should really be offering a replacement product.
 
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