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Ok.....WHAT did I blow up this time.

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Axle

Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2002
Location
IE, CA
I was looking into a fanless solution this weekend with an old 300Watt ATXer, so I took it apart, and took the PCB off its mounts to see about HS removal & replacement. After fooling around with it for a bit, I become alarmed that I've broken something, so I place the board back on it's mounts (w/o screwing it on :rolleyes: ), and plug it in a test bed.

Powers up fine. I get distracted, and start to test some old HD's for bad sectors, jostleing the whole thing (includeing the open PSU) around a bit, and after the second or third time I've jumbled it, it refuses to start. I just keep pushing the power button thinking "EH!?!" So I lean a little closer in to see the PSU (open), and as I'm leaning in
!!!!POP!!!!, a HUGE spark comes off the board, as well as the obvious popping noise, and a small amount of smoke. With my face >a foot.5 away from it.

So anyway, after I'd got that heart attack under control, I check the fuse box to find that I'd thrown THREE 20 amp lines, lined up in a row. Don't ask how, I've got no idea.

I figured the board must have come off it's mounts, and all the soldering at the bottom touched through the steel caseing. Funny thing is, it works great. Not a problem.

So my question: Is this bad? What'd I break? And will it come back to haunt me.

TIA!!!!
 
Well, it's always bad to not take open electronics as serious as a land mine, but it sounds like you got lucky and just grounded out some power to the psu case. There's some pretty hot voltages inside that psu, not even counting the AC powering it.

After examining the underside for any spots of displaced solder (should look obvious) I'd run it for a while (assembled) while watching it, and if you get no nosefull of acrid electrical smoke, you should be okay.

You got lucky there bud, and at the least you could have been shopping....
 
Axle,

Diggrr's right, it looks like you got lucky. I managed to short out my Enermax about 10 days ago doing pretty much the same thing you were doing. Decide to purchase a brand new 430W True Power Antec, which has been much quieter than the Enermax BTW.
 
that's wodnerful news, thanks :)

I've been running it with no smoke pouring out of it, so I may just be in the clear. I guess it was just a bit disconceting to have something (for all intensive reasons) blow up, and then procede to work just dandy.

Really woke me up, though, maybe I should keep this one handy and do this every morning so as to be good and alert at 6AM.

NOT!

Thanks, guys, I'm glad I don't have to go shopping :)
 
I've seen some PSUs where the screw holes for the circuit board ran very close to traces that were not grounds, in one case high voltage. I also remember a PSU where two ground traces depended on good grounding through the screw holes to connect the traces together; there was no jumper wire. I never run a PSU without all its screws tightened, and if it's one of those wierd ones where two of the screws go in from the bottom, I'll install those screws with nuts.
 
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