My Cooler Master ML240LRGB killed my motherboard and an RGB Controller

[DarkStang]

I'm putting this here mostly for documentation purposes, in case something like this ever happens to anybody else.

And maybe there is an expert in here who can tell me if this sounds right or if I'm way wrong.

 

TLDR Version: I bought an ML240L RGB back in March 2018. It must have had a defect and developed a short somewhere in the RGB side of things.

It appears to have broken my motherboard and an RGB controller. I didn't know it had a problem until it nuked the RGB controller.

I've just opened an RMA and asked Cooler Master to replace the unit and the hardware that it has broken. I wonder what will happen.

 

Most recent Update:

Just now, DarkStang said:

Update: Yesterday I received an ML240L RGB from Cooler Master. They still have not replaced the RGB controller and at this point I don't care.

It's been almost 6 weeks from RMA open to receiving a partial replacement (3 failed parts, 1 replaced and 1 returned).

I am beyond frustrated with Cooler Master at this point and will never use one of their products again.

 

I purchased an NZXT H400i and a Cryorig H5 Ultimate this week.

I've rebuilt my system into this case using this cooler. My build no longer has any CM parts in it.

 

I plan on borrowing somebody else's hardware so I can demo how my old motherboard is broken.

I don't think this old motherboard will break a CPU. It's just very unstable with higher power draws at this point.

I am going to give away all my CM parts because I have no interest in using them. I'll probably give them to somebody local looking to put together an mATX build.

 

 

Full Version:

Back in March, I bought an ML240LRGB AIO because I was moving to a smaller case (the Cooler Master Q300L) and my Hyper 212 evo would not fit.

I moved my hardware over and everything seemed great. A Prime95 stress test showed temps were well under control and everything was cool.

A few weeks in, I noticed the rainbow effect wasn't working anymore. A quick investigation revealed that the Green channel from my RGB header was no longer working.

Bummer. I'll just colors I can make with Red and Blue for now.

I also noticed some random blue screens, but I thought they were just random problems with running overclocked memory. They weren't super frequent.

 

My birthday was this week so I decided to treat myself. I bought a Cooler Master 3 pack of 140mm RGB fans that came with an RGB controller.

So I wired up the new fans and RGB controller and everything was cool. 

Then I was like "Oh wait. I should plug in this AIO and it's fans to this new controller so the colors will all match."

 

As soon as I did that and powered on the computer I noticed the CM RGB software isn't working. It's saying I need to plug in the controller.

But it is plugged in. Then I noticed windows show a popup from the systray saying a new piece of hardware is malfunctioning.

Then, I started to smell that wonderful burning PCB smell. I checked around and quickly found out that my RGB controller is now HOT. I quickly unplugged the SATA power cable and the smell started to disappate.

 

But now I realized there was obviously a problem with my AIO. It has apparently killed my brand new RGB controller and at least the RGB stuff on my motherboard.

Then I did some stress testing and at stock settings with a 240mm AIO on it my CPU isn't able to pass Prime95 for 2 minutes (temps are fine).

My crashes seem to be making a lot more sense now. They all happened while playing games or doing other intense work.

 

So now I've opened an RMA with Cooler Master asking them to replace the defective AIO and the components it's broken.

But I'm not sure what else could be broken at this point. I'll be pissed if my R7 1700 is busted because of this.

Edited June 21, 2018 by DarkStang
updated for most recent update

[Christophe Corazza]

On 12-5-2018 at 11:36 PM, DarkStang said:

I've just opened an RMA and asked Cooler Master to replace the unit and the hardware that it has broken. I wonder what will happen.

 

I highly doubt that Cooler Master will replace or refund the broken components besides the defective AIO.

After all, their warranty only covers their products.

[DarkStang]

1 hour ago, Christophe Corazza said:

 

I highly doubt that Cooler Master will replace or refund the broken components besides the detective AIO.

After all, their warranty only covers their products.

I think that's a reasonable expectation. However a defect in their product appears to have broken (at least) two other pieces of hardware in my system.

If they won't do anything for me I'll probably just not get anything from their company again, they'll never notice the slight drop in revenue, and life will go on.

[LoganTNZ]

Thats why i dont trust coolermaster with my cooling.

 

Great fans, and i love their h500p mesh. And their coolers may seem like great value, usually costing half of competing aio manufacturers like corsair. But theyre subpar quality and warranty is what drives the price down.

 

Also why does coolermaster always have to put rgb on literally everythong they make?

[DarkStang]

The ML240L is sitting on my coffee table along with the parts it has broken (motherboard and RGB controller).

I swapped out my motherboard today. Prime 95 passing w/o issue again.

[AngryBeaver]

On 5/12/2018 at 5:57 PM, Christophe Corazza said:

 

I highly doubt that Cooler Master will replace or refund the broken components besides the detective AIO.

After all, their warranty only covers their products.

3. What Is and Is Not Covered

It is important to note that our warranty is not an unconditional guarantee for the duration of the Program. Any replaced parts become the property of Cooler Master. The Program does not apply to the software component of a product or a product which has been damaged due to accident, misuse, abuse, improper installation, usage not in accordance with product specifications and instructions, natural or personal disaster, or unauthorized alterations, repairs or modifications.
The Program does not cover any events such as below:

• Any damages unrelated to manufacturing defects.
• Any unsuitable environment or use of the product in Cooler Master Opinion. (including cryptocurrency mining)
• Any product which has been modified without official permission from Cooler Master, or on which the serial number or warranty sticker has been defaced, modified, or removed.

 

Damage, deterioration or malfunction resulting from:

• Accident, abuse, misuse, neglect, fire, water, lightning, or other acts of nature, commercial or industrial use, unauthorized product modification or failure to follow instructions included with the product.
• Third party products using Cooler Master Components will not be covered by warranty. See your vendor or the manufacturer for information about servicing.
• Repair or attempted repair by anyone not authorized by Cooler Master, Inc.
• Any shipment damages (claims must be made with the carrier).
• Unauthorized repairs to a Cooler Master product will void the warranty offered by the Program. Cooler Master reserves the right to refuse to service any product which has been altered, modified or repaired by non- Cooler Master Service personnel.
• Cooler Master does not warrant that this product will meet your requirements. It is your responsibility to determine the suitability of this product for your purpose.
• Removal or installation charges.
• You are responsible for the cost of shipping the product to Cooler Master. Cooler Master pays the cost of returning a product to you.
• Cooler Master reserves the right to replace the product with a service product at their sole discretion at any time.
• Product malfunction or damage resulting from liquids or moisture.
• All accessories that malfunction due to physical damage such as: USB cables, extension cables, adapter cables, adapters, power cords, screws, retention brackets, ear cups, and all other similar accessories.

 

 

 

So I think the line you are getting confused about is  "Third party products using Cooler Master Components will not be covered by warranty. See your vendor or the manufacturer for information about servicing."

 

This just means for example if you buy say a unit from corsair, but it uses the Cooler Master fans and the fans die.... then you would contact corsair about the issue no them.

 

Now If the item that killed components was due to a manufacturing defect they will cover that item and any other items that are damaged by that item. The only other restriction they have is they will not be responsible for any possible data loss you suffer. So you can't basically sue them or claim they owe you XXXXX for lost data. Now be advised they will require you to sent in anything you claim was damaged by the item. They will then either replace, repair, or provide an equivalent or better item.

[DarkStang]

Update: It's now been over a week and I haven't received any response to my RMA request from Cooler Master.

I've opened a support request ticket asking if they're even going to acknowledge it at this point.

I am not impressed.

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

Good to know. Glad I switched that cooler out now.

[DarkStang]

Update: I finally received a response to my RMA request. Gotta pack things up and ship them out now.

[DarkStang]

Update: I just received a notification that a replacement part is on it's way.

Throughout this process I have only received automated responses (received, in process, shipped, etc).

I have no information on whether they are replacing the other parts their product broke.

 

Service experience so far: Poor.

I'll leave another update when see what they shipped to me.

[Christophe Corazza]

2 minutes ago, DarkStang said:

I have no information on whether they are replacing the other parts their product broke.

 

That might be the biggest hurdle in this whole story.

 

As I've said before:

On 13-5-2018 at 12:57 AM, Christophe Corazza said:

I highly doubt that Cooler Master will replace or refund the broken components besides the defective AIO.

After all, their warranty only covers their products.

 

[DarkStang]

Update: My lowest expectations weren't even met. I'm simply blown away at this.

I shipped cooler master an ML240L-RGB, the RGB controller that it fried (cooler master's RGB controller) and the motherboard that it fried.

Cooler master shipped back a different AIO (the master-liquid 240, no RGB), no RGB controller, and no motherboard (not even the motherboard that I sent them).

[Christophe Corazza]

9 minutes ago, DarkStang said:

Update: My lowest expectations weren't even met. I'm simply blown away at this.

I shipped cooler master an ML240L-RGB, the RGB controller that it fried (cooler master's RGB controller) and the motherboard that it fried.

Cooler master shipped back a different AIO (the master-liquid 240, no RGB), no RGB controller, and no motherboard (not even the motherboard that I sent them).

 

Do you remember what I've said before?

 

On 13-5-2018 at 12:57 AM, Christophe Corazza said:

I highly doubt that Cooler Master will replace or refund the broken components besides the defective AIO.

After all, their warranty only covers their products.

 

[DarkStang]

They didn't even 

2 minutes ago, Christophe Corazza said:

Do you remember what I've said before?

You didn't say they wouldn't even send me back the same product I sent them.

I shipped them an ML240L-RGB, then sent back an ML240.

[Christophe Corazza]

4 minutes ago, DarkStang said:

They didn't even 

You didn't say they wouldn't even send me back the same product I sent them.

I shipped them an ML240L-RGB, then sent back an ML240.

 

Get back in touch with Cooler Master and present them your situation.

They should give you at least your ML240L-RGB that has been repaired, or a new ML240L-RGB.

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

39 minutes ago, DarkStang said:

They didn't even 

You didn't say they wouldn't even send me back the same product I sent them.

I shipped them an ML240L-RGB, then sent back an ML240.

Don't ask for the 240L back, I had some bad experiences with that cooler as well. Try getting a refund and get a Cryorig H7

[DarkStang]

Update: They're sending me a return label and shipping me more hardware.

[IAnthonyFX]

23 minutes ago, DarkStang said:

Update: They're sending me a return label and shipping me more hardware.

what hardware?

[DarkStang]

4 minutes ago, IAnthonyFX said:

what hardware?

The correct AIO and controller.

[IAnthonyFX]

Just now, DarkStang said:

The correct AIO and controller.

how about yout mobo you shipped them?

[DarkStang]

1 minute ago, IAnthonyFX said:

how about yout mobo you shipped them?

Probably lost. I'll know next week.

[IAnthonyFX]

1 minute ago, DarkStang said:

Probably lost. I'll know next week.

oh that is a shame, please update when they let you know

[Christophe Corazza]

2 hours ago, DarkStang said:

Probably lost. I'll know next week.

 

Lost by the courier or lost by Cooler Master?

[Christophe Corazza]

2 hours ago, IAnthonyFX said:

oh that is a shame, please update when they let you know

 

That’s indeed a shame. RMAing is never big fun but when these things happen it makes it even more tedious. I guess the waiting game isn’t over yet for @DarkStang.

[DarkStang]

Holy crap. Amazing new update.

I just received a "your package has been sent to you" email from Cooler Master saying they they shipped my stuff to some rando in Texas instead of to me (I live in St. Louis, MO).

And now I cannot even login to the cooler master support site because it just throws an internal server exception.