PSU stopped working after a day.

Soldato
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5 Jul 2005
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Hi.

I bought a Cougar 500w VTE from another seller. I installed it yesterday and today after installing windows on another drive I turned off the PC to connect my other Linux SSD and the PC would not turn on.

My system is:
Athlon X4 845.
Biostar MOBO.
8GB DDR3.
AMD 5850.
2 X SSD
Only one rear fan.

The PSU can output 37.5 amps on a single rail and I have read that the 5850 requires 40amps. Is this 40 amps only required when the card is extremely stressed or all the time? I only play Quakelive with the card - nothing demanding.

I have tried the screwdriver over the motherboard jumpers and nothing.

Previously the system was fine in another case and a different PSU. I thought the PSU would be OK for the 5850 if I don't stress the system. The thing is there was no spark or noise. I just turned it off and it would not turn on.

Is it the PSU?
 
Soldato
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5850 is around 130w/11amps, absolutely nowhere near enough to bother that psu.

Have you tried another power cable? And check the power switch on the back of the psu itself hasn't been knocked.

You can test the psu manually by bridging 2 wires on the 24 pin connection. It's easier if you Google it to get a picture than try and explain it.
 
Soldato
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Hi.

I've tried a new power cable and I have checked the switch on the rear of the PSU. No joy.

Could it be something touching the case causing a short? Strange that it worked for 24 hours then stopped.

I have heard about the 24 pin jump start but I am a bit wary about putting paperclips inside electrical things - I'll probably electrocute myself! I may build up the courage to do it.

I still have my original PSU I could try tomorrow.
 
Soldato
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Yeah. Are they are reliable authority or was that a bit of sarcasm @Quartz ??

I know Cougar are low tier but they are not as low as CIT or Aerocool. I bought a Cougar from OCUK 3 years ago and I sold it in a system and it seemed fine the time I was using it but it was the STX model not the VTX.

I will do the jump start sometime this evening and then I know most definitely what is what.
 
Soldato
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This mate:

gBczu5c.png



I do it all the time when i need to run and prime waterpumps to get my loops filled. Paperclip and some electrical tape to hold it in place will do.
 
Soldato
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I put my original bitfenix psu inside the build and nothing. Tried a different GPU still the same. So it's either the case or the mono / cpu has failed.

The new case is thermaltake versa h15.

Putting everything back in my old phantek p300 to see if that makes a difference.
 
Soldato
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Sounds like its shorting on something, check the standoffs are all where they're meant to be and theres no extras. Sometimes cases come with extra standoffs preinstalled, you have to manually remove them for whatever board size you are using or it will short on the back of the mobo.

Also check the orientation of the + and - on the power button cable in relation to the mobo header. You'd be surprised at how many times it sometimes gets inverted and no one notices.
 
Soldato
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One test you should do is see if it all works outside of a case, if it does then you know its the case shorting somewhere or a faulty button. Have you tried jumping it while its in the case without the power button?
 
Soldato
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Hi Jay.

There are no other standoffs. I screwed them all in myself.

About the + and - on the mobo pins for power I thought it didn't matter about polarity? The only polarity in the mobo manual is for HD LED and Power LED. Anyway it worked for a day so it must have been in correctly.

I tried to short to pin yesterday when the issue first arose but nothing happened? So does that indicate a short in the case?
 
Soldato
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I found the issue. It was a bust USB 3 port on the front of the case. One of the pins is bent touching the socket. As soon as you connect the front USB 3 connector to the MOBO is does not boot.

Two Thermaltake Versa H15 cases with QC issues in a row. The first one had a crinkled side panel where the screws go through meaning that the side panel would not close properly.
 
Soldato
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I found the issue. It was a bust USB 3 port on the front of the case. One of the pins is bent touching the socket. As soon as you connect the front USB 3 connector to the MOBO is does not boot.

Two Thermaltake Versa H15 cases with QC issues in a row. The first one had a crinkled side panel where the screws go through meaning that the side panel would not close properly.

well there is a lesson there dont go thermalfake
 
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