Electrical Smell PSU

Right Side Gone · June 11, 2019

So basically I acquired a Rosewill capstone 650w 80+ gold a few months back. I got it from someone i trust however i have no clue how much its been used. When i first used the system i could here a sizzle/crackle coming from it. Followed by what could only be described as an electrical smell, or a rubber like smell. It stopped after about 30 seconds each time it occurred. Eventually it stopped doing this altogether. But thinking back i did switch the extension cord & surge protector. But i switched back and have not gotten that problem since anyways. I just got it again today when i moved the surge protector to the floor while system was running. The sound came for about 30 seconds followed bt the smell. There are zero sparks coming from the system . everytime thid has happened zero damage occured and like i said its been months now. Does anyone have any clue what this could be? Ive smelled a similar smell coming from a weak flimsy extension cable before, but i am currently using a thick heavy duty extension cable tbat leads into mt surge protector. Everything does have the ground prong as well. All answers are apprexuate but please, no basic google ones. Ive already read all of it and it doesnt seem to correlate. Could it be my surge protector? Its old but im pretty damn sure its specd for this.

YaBoiWill · June 11, 2019

Where exactly is the smell coming from, The computer or further towards the wall?
It could be the surge protector if it is old, but tbh I highly doubt it unless it is not rated for the amps, idk that much about consumer versions of these things.

If it was coming from the PSU, it could just be dust being heated up as the system goes under load and producing the smell, happens if you havnt used a light in a while and its got a bit of build up.

Most IEC cables are rated to like 95c so it most likely wouldn't be the plastic shroud around that either.

Personally, try a new protector/no protector, with a new/different IEC cable and then run a stress test on the system to see if it is the psu which is making the smell

Right Side Gone · June 11, 2019

Its weird because it happened at the start menu. Nothing was being ran. I put my nose directly onto the psu vent and took a whiff. Nothing really. But when i back up i smell it. Honestly i think its the surge protector but i cant really tell because it hardly happens. Ill have to look again to see if its specd just to be sure. If it was tge protector, how would that translate into the psu making a noise? Not getting enough power? Also do you happen to know if a capacitor makes noise when it charges? Honestly i just wanna rule out the psu being the problem. Its been months so i doubt its the cause . Ill try different cables.

SpookyCitrus · June 11, 2019

Old Surge Protector + Old used PSU + Crackling and burnt smell = Fried components.

I've been in computer repair for years and have built a couple hundred computers and repair a few a day, I have two rules I always follow when buying power supplies 1. NEVER buy used. 2. Make sure it is a recent quality model at most a year old. Any quality power supply within the last few years is perfectly capable and safe to use without a surge protector, if you feel more comfortable usinga surge protector make sure it's a quality brand and if it ever has issues like that you want to replace it immediately. I've seen surge protectors "explode", filled with bugs, filled with dust/dirt and all of them were bad. If you do buy a used PSU make sure it's still under warranty, not too old, and make sure to heavily inspect test and clean it before installing it into your PC. Honestly if that's happening try the computer without the surge protector or replace it with a new one, if it still happens after you replace or stop using the surge protector then it means it's probably the PSU. If it's either the CPU or PSU replace it immediately.