[lennytiger]

hi guys my 5v line is fluctuating badly like right down to 4.48V, then i took the mobo ATX connector off and the 5v connectors are going black!!! whats causing this??

[WarriorII]

It sounds like the poor sob is going BAD. If it's an "aftermarket" PS, take it out of the PC and take it back for RMA replacement.

The wires turning black is not a good thing at any time.

[lennytiger]

what do u think is it the psu or a component drawing too much power???

[flounder43]

I would say that it is going black because of a poor connection. Like when a spark shoots out of a socket, leaving a black mark. I would clean it, and see if you can't get a better connection. I don't think anything is necessarily bad, other than the connection.

[lennytiger]

what do i clean it with white spirits or meths or something like that.... its actually the plastic on the connector melting because of resistance in the 5v rail!!

[el]

check it out with a multimeter. don't know what could cause that but 4.48v is WAY too low.

[Hoot]

I see this every day in my job. Luckily, I have many crimpers and you can buy new female pins and an extractor tool. Short of replacing the pin, you can get some DeoxIT and put it on the pin. First though, you should try to clean off the carbon. Hopefully, some of the tinning will be left beneath it. Use sharpened toothpicks, or whatever you can dig up that will go inside the female without getting stuck or breaking off. This is a hard to correct problem, short of replacing the pin. It will continue to deteriorate until it fails. Then the other 5V conductors will have to "shoulder the load" and their deterioration will start from the extra load. DeoxIT is expensive to purchase a whole bottle, but Caig, the makers of DeoxIT sell a sampler of their various products for $12.95 plus s/h. DeoxIT is an excellent preventative measure. By putting it on high current connections before you ever use them, you can avoid, or at least forestall pin deterioration. Why only one of the four pins decides to die is anyones guess. Perhaps it was not of a tight enough tolerance, you usually never know because by the time you discover it, the deterioration has effaced the original cause. Good Luck getting it resolved. Worse comes to worse, you can dike off an ATX connector from a bad supply and transplant the entire connector. that's a lot of soldering.

73, Hoot

[lennytiger]

Thanx Hoot, I will have a look for some in the shops here, could replacing the PSU sort everthing out too, what if it does the same thing also i was having a LAN party last night and after a few hours of gaming the ATX Connector very very HOT!!!!

I know with all my fans etc etc, i need a bigger PSU anyway!!

[Hoot]

Well, if you get a a new PSU, you get a new ATX connector on it. I highly recommend two things. Put a lite, emphasis lite coating of lubricant on the pins before you plug it onto your motherboard, preferable some DeoxIT, or equivalent. Second, avoid unneccesary plugging and unplugging of that ATX connector. The fact that your existing ATX connector gets warm is cause for concern. After reading that, I checked mine after running Prime95 all night, testing a new OC for stability and it was cool to the touch. Good case ventilation is a factor in removing heat from the case.

73, Hoot

[lennytiger]

Originally posted by Hoot
Well, if you get a a new PSU, you get a new ATX connector on it. I highly recommend two things. Put a lite, emphasis lite coating of lubricant on the pins before you plug it onto your motherboard, preferable some DeoxIT, or equivalent. Second, avoid unneccesary plugging and unplugging of that ATX connector. The fact that your existing ATX connector gets warm is cause for concern. After reading that, I checked mine after running Prime95 all night, testing a new OC for stability and it was cool to the touch. Good case ventilation is a factor in removing heat from the case.

73, Hoot

Hoot I agree with what u say here but, the ATX connector should never get warm!!

[lennytiger]

Anyway, I have cleaned off the gunk and blackness around the edges and plugged the ATX connector in (well kinda plugged in, it doesn't fit back in, so it kinda is half in and out, but it works )

Now the 5V line is at 4.95, which is fine, and although the ATX connector doesn't clip back in, the system works normally!!