I've got *BIG* problems...

PSUs: The source of DC power for all components in the PC & often a big noise source.

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falloutboy20
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2002 1:08 pm

I've got *BIG* problems...

Post by falloutboy20 » Thu Oct 17, 2002 6:52 pm

I got a 92mm Papst fan to replace the 92mm fan in my Enermax PS. I have completely taken out the 80mm fan (all this as per the recommendations here on the board) I had asked a couple months ago if there were any kind of modifications that needed to be done to do this or if the fan would just drop in there with nothing more to do.

Everybody said that there was nothing unusual that needed to be done so away I went. It turns out that a little bit of modding needed to be done- no biggie, I just had to attach the little two pin connector from the old stock fan that came with it. It was pretty simple surgery: positive and negative wires on the fan, positive and negative wires on the connector.

After getting all that squared away, I plugged in the power supply to an old computer laying around just to start it up and see if everything worked ok.

All I got was an ultra high-pitched squeal and smoke coming from the power supply! What in the world could possibly be the problem here? It seems like such a no brainer that maybe a possible defective fan is to blame?

I'd hate to think I ruined this $22 fan I just bought. Any suggestions from you fella's who've done this before (especially the one's who told me how easy it was) ?

falloutboy20
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2002 1:08 pm

Post by falloutboy20 » Thu Oct 17, 2002 7:31 pm

Ok, im not going crazy anymore... hehe. As it turns out, the culprit was the fact that Im starting the power supply off of a motherboard that is old as the hills. When connecting it to a relatively new motherboard (which apparently has voltages that are friendlier to a new power supply), all was well and thankfully, my new retardedly expensive fan is unharmed. A good lesson for anyone doing this... :)

Justin_R
Posts: 319
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:26 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA

My bad

Post by Justin_R » Thu Oct 17, 2002 8:04 pm

Note: I wrote this before the second message came up.

As a big advocate of exactly the mod you performed (well, without the screeching and smoking bit), I feel pretty bad about your bum luck.

The good news is that the fan is probably okay. Most of the better fans out there have reverse polarity protection, so even if you wired it wrong, it shouldn't be a problem.

The bad news (in case you didn't realize it) is that your PSU is almost certainly toast. The most likely cause of this kind of catastrophic failure is when something that isn't supposed to touch ground does. Defective fans usually only result in "Fan doesn't go," not "PSU blows up." Perhaps a screw got lost in the PSU somewhere? Or your wire splicing / soldering was less than beautiful? Or you somehow managed to make part of the case touch some hot circuitry? I hate to imply that "pilot error" may have been the cause of your crash, but there's no reason known to me why a defective fan could possibly result in this kind of error. Perhaps the old computer you used to test the modded PSU didn't use a standard ATX PSU (like some Dell and eMachines(?) computers)?

For the record, I've ran my Enermax with both fans, with just the 80mm, with just the 92mm, and with no fans and I have never had the PSU do anything but get quiet. Hell, I even cut off the supplementary "P4" power connectors and directly wired a 5V line and a ground to the 92mm fan currently in the system without so much as an untoward fluctuation in my power levels. I've also opened a good half-dozen PSUs; I even dremeled one without removing its PCB (don't try this at home). The only time I ever got a "screech-bang" was when I was testing one out that I hadn't put the cover back on and wound up connecting the 120V line to ground while I was plugging the PSU in (oops).

Anyway, since your PSU is probably toast, I'd recommend ordering a new one, and trying out the fan (attached to an IDE molex connector) on a friend's PSU. Just in case, you better not make it a close friend.

If you want to play it more conservative with your new PSU, just unplug the old fans and route the wires for the Papst out through the hole where all the internal power connectors come out. Then plug it into a 4-pin or 3-pin Molex. That way if the PSU smokes again, you can just put the originals back in and return it (just don't damage the stickers).

MikeC
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Post by MikeC » Thu Oct 17, 2002 8:54 pm

Just in case, you better not make it a close friend.
:lol:

Justin_R
Posts: 319
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:26 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA

...and many happy returns!

Post by Justin_R » Thu Oct 17, 2002 9:27 pm

Now that you're up and running, what do you think of this setup? Are your temps where you want them? Did you do anything to block the vents on the face opposite the exhaust / power-switch?

Also, you may want to look at a post I just made about a different way of mounting the 92mm fan. Not that I expect you to be modding your PSU again anytime soon!

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