What makes a Good Quality PSU produce sparks (burst/explode) and die?.

[js100serch]

I had a Seasonic Focus+ Gold 650FX. 80+ Gold. I lasted 3 years. Yesterday it just burst or like some people say, it exploded out of nowhere, it produced a really loud noise, sparks and a smell of burnt plastic. I wasn't gaming, I didn't have any over clocks gong on or mining. Just everyday tasks and then BooM!. Fortunately my SDDs are fine, all my files are there, I took my GPU to a friend's house and his PC booted to windows and my GPU showed correctly in Device Manager and DXdiag. So there's a chance that the rest of my components are also ok, I hope.

 

Do you have any Idea why this happens?. I had my PC connected to a 900va UPS, was it the UPS?, was it the power grid?. I bought this PSU when I was living with my parents, no issues there, but I have moved twice since then (same neighborhood, a couple of streets away) and my PC started to shut down since, but these shut downs were like power outages, even the UPS emitted an alarm every time this happened. Power outages are common here so... Should get rid of this UPS?, should I tell my Landlord to check the electrical wiring?, maybe the power outlets caused the issue. Although my Modem which was connected to the same UPS at the time of failure is ok and my monitor and speakers too, which were plugged to the same duplex outlet. Or maybe I just got a faulty PSU. 

 

I'm worried because even if I buy a new one if the issue came from the power outlets or my UPS I could potentially burn the new PSU. Any clues what could have happened?.

 

Thanks.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

Seems like the protections worked, it save the componets.

It probably just had a bad solder joint for a cpu. 3 years is within seasonic waranty, no?

Just rma it and see if wverything else worked.

[Chris Pratt]

Depends on how much abuse it's taken. All the protections have limits. At a certain point, if it's been tripped too many times or just tripped really severely, they can fail. If you don't have really clean power at your home, you might want to get a sine wave UPS to smooth it out to protect your components better.

[js100serch]

10 minutes ago, HelpfulTechWizard said:

Seems like the protections worked, it save the componets.

It probably just had a bad solder joint for a cpu. 3 years is within seasonic waranty, no?

Just rma it and see if wverything else worked.

Yup I tried to do the RMA process but since I'm from Mexico, the shipping cost to California is around $60 dollars, for 40 to 60 dollars more I can buy a new one. I use this PC for work, I have some deadlines to meet and looks like this process will take weeks. So that's doesn't seem like an option for me.

[js100serch]

9 minutes ago, Caroline said:

Sounds like a blown cap. What's your UPS? make and model. 

 

Define common. Only at your flat/building or the whole neighbourhood?

 

It is a national brand, made in Mexico, it is just known here =(  ... but shouldn't my Modem be dead too?.

VICA Surge protectors and UPS

 

 

[js100serch]

14 minutes ago, Caroline said:

Sounds like a blown cap. What's your UPS? make and model. 

 

Define common. Only at your flat/building or the whole neighbourhood?

 

Sorry, yes the whole neighborhood.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, js100serch said:

I had a Seasonic Focus+ Gold 650FX. 80+ Gold. I lasted 3 years. Yesterday it just burst or like some people say, it exploded out of nowhere, it produced a really loud noise, sparks and a smell of burnt plastic. I wasn't gaming, I didn't have any over clocks gong on or mining. Just everyday tasks and then BooM!. Fortunately my SDDs are fine, all my files are there, I took my GPU to a friend's house and his PC booted to windows and my GPU showed correctly in Device Manager and DXdiag. So there's a chance that the rest of my components are also ok, I hope.

 

Do you have any Idea why this happens?. I had my PC connected to a 900va UPS, was it the UPS?, was it the power grid?. I bought this PSU when I was living with my parents, no issues there, but I have moved twice since then (same neighborhood, a couple of streets away) and my PC started to shut down since, but these shut downs were like power outages, even the UPS emitted an alarm every time this happened. Power outages are common here so... Should get rid of this UPS?, should I tell my Landlord to check the electrical wiring?, maybe the power outlets caused the issue. Although my Modem which was connected to the same UPS at the time of failure is ok and my monitor and speakers too, which were plugged to the same duplex outlet. Or maybe I just got a faulty PSU. 

 

I'm worried because even if I buy a new one if the issue came from the power outlets or my UPS I could potentially burn the new PSU. Any clues what could have happened?.

 

Thanks.

Depends on what exploded.  Typically, a PFC MOSFET is what explodes (not a capacitor as Caroline implies).  If the thermal paste dries up or wasn't properly applied in the first place, the FET can easily suffer thermal runaway can occur causing it to blow.

[js100serch]

16 hours ago, jonnyGURU said:

Depends on what exploded.  Typically, a PFC MOSFET is what explodes (not a capacitor as Caroline implies).  If the thermal paste dries up or wasn't properly applied in the first place, the FET can easily suffer thermal runaway can occur causing it to blow.

So, probably nothing to do with the apartment I'm living in or the UPS?. Should I take any precautions? or forget about it and carry on with my life?. Like Star Lord said, maybe get a Sine Wave UPS?.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, js100serch said:

So, probably nothing to do with the apartment I'm living in or the UPS?. Should I take any precautions? or forget about it and carry on with my life?. Like Star Lord said, maybe get a Sine Wave UPS?.

It's not your mains power or the UPS.  Just a QC issue.