Charred Molex Connectors

Hey, I was hoping i could get some help from the communitywith my computer. I've been having trouble with it for a while. Whatever molex connector is plugged into the video card will get charred and discolored, and eventually make such a poor connection that i'll have to rotate the plug to something else thats less sensitive and give my video card a fresh one. I think that now i have so many charred connections, my 350 watt power supply is having to push too hard and simply isnt able to deliver enough power.

so, i have three questions: what is the likely root cause of this problem (video card or PSU or a third party?) and, how can i clean off my molex connectors to make a better connection? (should i use a wire brush, or some kind of solvent?) and last, have you ever had a similar problem? what have you done to fix it?

system spec details are in my sig.

Thanks a lot for your help, people!!

Thats a toughie.....I'd blame the PSU. Charred lines are an aweuflly bad sign. Im suprised your vcard isnt dead yet. Get a new PSU first then RMA the gfx card

hey, thanks! Yeah, i'd rma the card, but its over a year old and has no more warranty.

you think its the power supply even though the only lines that get charred are on the video card? (the other ones that are charred were all on the card when they got charred, and i rotated)

Zippykid9 said:

hey, thanks! Yeah, i'd rma the card, but its over a year old and has no more warranty.

you think its the power supply even though the only lines that get charred are on the video card? (the other ones that are charred were all on the card when they got charred, and i rotated)

Click to expand...

Hmmmm are the molexes on the vcard browned as well? If thats the case its it.

yeah, molex on the videocard is charred too. maybe the poor connection makes the electricity arc which creates heat and charring? but if thats the case, how did this whole thing start?

it could be that when the card ws made that some how the pins got smashed somehow and there to small to fit in a reg molex plug but thats what i think

that is a possibility.

I managed to get my computer working by removing my video card and replacing it with a tnt2, plus making sure all of my charred molex connectors werent powering anything. So far so good, my uptime has only been about 20 minutes though. (thats a lot better than an average of 1-2)

*bump*

does anyone know what i should do to clean char off my molex connectors? also, would it be safe to solder on another molex connector to my video card to bypass the char? (should i remove the one that's there first?)

You could solder but I would have the PS checked or replaced.

Charred connector in one same spot usually indicates poor connection or cheap connector that offers too little contact area.