High quality PSU makes a weird noise when the button is between 1 and 0

[PolishGod]

If I turn the PSU off, it sounds like it makes sparks and if I hold the button between 1 and 0 the noise keeps coming, should I get it replaced? It has been like this for many months and my computer works fine for what I can tell. This is my PSU: https://se.pcpartpicker.com/product/Yqqrxr/be-quiet-dark-power-13-1000-w-80-titanium-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-bn661

[OhioYJ]

That's "normal" and it is arcing inside. Don't do that, or try and do that. It's not normal for someone to try and hold a switch in between positions. It should be flipped on or off. You will mess up the contacts if you keep doing this. 

[Brennan Price]

As mentioned by @OhioYJ what you're suggesting here is normal, are you turning this switch on/of every time you use the computer though? I would recommend only flipping this when necessary, ie working on your machine or if it will be off for weeks at a time. I found out the hard way that these rocker switches were not designed to be used in that way, eventually mine stopped working as a switch! 

[Mark Kaine]

im pretty sure you can actually destroy it by doing this.

 

would highly recommend to STOP doing this therefore   

[artuc]

Yeah so basically as you move the switch positions the contacts will break or make as in disconnect or complete the circuit.

 

However electricity can get a bit eager and can arc or 'jump' a small air gap when the contacts are close to each other.

 

It's not generally wanted and can cause damage to the contacts if excessive.

 

A lot of switches will will have a spring or tensioned parts so that contacts move quickly between positions, kind of jump or snap between them. You don't want them casually meandering over, if switches are mushy it's generally a bad thing.

 

Anyway on that note, don't forcefully or deliberately hold switches in spots they aren't supposed to be in, moreso if you hear arcing. Same goes for say holding a breaker or RCD on that is tripping.

[Hellowpplz]

2 hours ago, PolishGod said:

if I hold the button between 1 and 0 the noise keeps coming, should I get it replaced

Why would you do this.

And stop flipping the switch whenever you leave your computer. Just shut down your OS and leave it.

[jaslion]

10 minutes ago, Hellowpplz said:

Why would you do this.

And stop flipping the switch whenever you leave your computer. Just shut down your OS and leave it.

This too it wears out the psu and will give it a shorter life. If there is really a need to shut if off off just get a power bar or plug that has an off switch.

 

The back psu switch is NOT meant to be used on a daily basis

[Alex Atkin UK]

34 minutes ago, jaslion said:

The back psu switch is NOT meant to be used on a daily basis

Arguably it should be, but you're right in that it seems a lot of manufacturers really cheap out on it assuming people wont be.

 

I've definitely had one or two PSUs where the switch broke despite me very rarely turning it off that way.

[seon123]

25 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

Arguably it should be, but you're right in that it seems a lot of manufacturers really cheap out on it assuming people wont be.

 

I've definitely had one or two PSUs where the switch broke despite me very rarely turning it off that way.

Using a more expensive switch for the sake of saving 0.05W of power is wasteful

[PolishGod]

Wdym why would I do this, it literally does that sparking sound when I use the button normally.

[PolishGod]

8 hours ago, jaslion said:

This too it wears out the psu and will give it a shorter life. If there is really a need to shut if off off just get a power bar or plug that has an off switch.

 

The back psu switch is NOT meant to be used on a daily basis

Well good thing my motherboard doesn't keep the lights on when the PC is off because just turned the PSU off all the time with my old pc.

[Alex Atkin UK]

1 hour ago, PolishGod said:

Well good thing my motherboard doesn't keep the lights on when the PC is off because just turned the PSU off all the time with my old pc.

Another problem is motherboards used to use single-use Lithium cells for the CMOS which lasted up to 10 years.

 

A lot of modern ones assume you never turn the PSU off so use rechargeable with varying capacity, that can drain relatively quickly and may in fact wear out in a few years if you're using up charge cycles every day.

 

1 hour ago, PolishGod said:

Wdym why would I do this, it literally does that sparking sound when I use the button normally.

Are you not pushing it hard enough?  It should happen so briefly the noise would be hidden by the click of the button.

[-rascal-]

13 hours ago, PolishGod said:

If I turn the PSU off, it sounds like it makes sparks and if I hold the button between 1 and 0 the noise keeps coming, should I get it replaced? It has been like this for many months and my computer works fine for what I can tell. This is my PSU: https://se.pcpartpicker.com/product/Yqqrxr/be-quiet-dark-power-13-1000-w-80-titanium-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-bn661

 

Are you talking about the power switch (I/O) on the BACK of the PSU?

Why would you HOLD it in between I and O??

 

[jaslion]

13 hours ago, PolishGod said:

Well good thing my motherboard doesn't keep the lights on when the PC is off because just turned the PSU off all the time with my old pc.

You can turn that off on all boards normally.

 

Also op what is the make and model of your psu?

[PolishGod]

12 hours ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

Another problem is motherboards used to use single-use Lithium cells for the CMOS which lasted up to 10 years.

 

A lot of modern ones assume you never turn the PSU off so use rechargeable with varying capacity, that can drain relatively quickly and may in fact wear out in a few years if you're using up charge cycles every day.

 

Are you not pushing it hard enough?  It should happen so briefly the noise would be hidden by the click of the button.

 

11 hours ago, -rascal- said:

 

Are you talking about the power switch (I/O) on the BACK of the PSU?

Why would you HOLD it in between I and O??

 

You turn off your PSU

You hear sparks

You hold the button between 1 and 0 to see if the sparks keep coming.

[PolishGod]

19 minutes ago, jaslion said:

You can turn that off on all boards normally.

 

Also op what is the make and model of your psu?

https://se.pcpartpicker.com/product/Yqqrxr/be-quiet-dark-power-13-1000-w-80-titanium-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-bn661

[Alex Atkin UK]

22 minutes ago, PolishGod said:

 

You turn off your PSU

You hear sparks

You hold the button between 1 and 0 to see if the sparks keep coming.

All of which happens in 100% of power switches (though you might not hear it as most the click is so loud and fast you wont hear the spark), which is why you absolutely do not do the last thing.

[jaslion]

3 hours ago, PolishGod said:

https://se.pcpartpicker.com/product/Yqqrxr/be-quiet-dark-power-13-1000-w-80-titanium-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-bn661

Oh can happen with psu's of that caliber.

 

Have it too with my rm1000 and seasonic prime 1000w az well as many higher wattage psu's.

 

It happens basically just dont flip the switch when you dont need to

[Caroline]

Yeah maybe don't do that. This is what happens to the little metal piece inside the switch.

 

Mine (also bQ!) makes a spark "pop!" sound, this happens because there's no relay inside... how to explain this. The switch is handling all the inrush current that goes to the PSU upon switching it on, if it had a relay inside then the switch would ONLY control that relay (actuator coil, it moves a set of contacts inside against each other and that conducts electricity), which in turn would turn on the power supply without arcing the switch.

In short (no pun): it's normal, that's the way it was designed.

 

This is a relay. Bottom contacts power the coil (what makes it work). Center contacts #3-4 is where power goes in, #1-2 are "normally closed" meaning power will flow through them when the coil is OFF, #5-6 are "normally open", no power will flow through them unless the coil is ON.

This is useful for a bunch of reasons when you're building circuits but that's not of interest here.

[PolishGod]

8 hours ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

All of which happens in 100% of power switches (though you might not hear it as most the click is so loud and fast you wont hear the spark), which is why you absolutely do not do the last thing.

Well I'm a curious guy, I will go "What was that weird noise? Does it happen when the button is between on and off?" and check it out.

[PolishGod]

20 minutes ago, Caroline said:

Yeah maybe don't do that. This is what happens to the little metal piece inside the switch.

 

Mine (also bQ!) makes a spark "pop!" sound, this happens because there's no relay inside... how to explain this. The switch is handling all the inrush current that goes to the PSU upon switching it on, if it had a relay inside then the switch would ONLY control that relay (actuator coil, it moves a set of contacts inside against each other and that conducts electricity), which in turn would turn on the power supply without arcing the switch.

In short (no pun): it's normal, that's the way it was designed.

 

This is a relay. Bottom contacts power the coil (what makes it work). Center contacts #3-4 is where power goes in, #1-2 are "normally closed" meaning power will flow through them when the coil is OFF, #5-6 are "normally open", no power will flow through them unless the coil is ON.

This is useful for a bunch of reasons when you're building circuits but that's not of interest here.

Can we speak Swedish? English is superconfusing, is it a bottom that contacts power the soil or is it a bottom and a contact?

[Mark Kaine]

On 3/27/2024 at 10:45 PM, PolishGod said:

Wdym why would I do this, it literally does that sparking sound when I use the button normally.

yeah... that just sounds like goalpost moving now.

 

On 3/27/2024 at 10:51 AM, PolishGod said:

if I hold the button between 1 and 0 the noise keeps coming

...

 

you're actively damaging it by doing this.

 

as others have said the switch isnt meant for daily use and certainly not to play around with it.

 

10 hours ago, PolishGod said:

You hold the button between 1 and 0 to see if the sparks keep coming.

no you don't if you know *anything* about electronics. 

[Caroline]

1 hour ago, PolishGod said:

Can we speak Swedish? English is superconfusing, is it a bottom that contacts power the soil or is it a bottom and a contact?

But I don't know Swedish If you're asking about the relay wiring (it's what I can make out of that comment) there are different ways to power one depending on what kind of power you're using, some have 100V AC coils, others 220V AC, 120V DC, 12V DC, etc. but you can use the actual relay contacts (not the coil) to switch on/off circuits with any voltage that doesn't necessarily matches that of the coil, i.e you could use a relay with a 240V coil to switch a 12V lighting circuit, think dichroic halogen lamps, poolside lighting, sauna stuff, anything that operates on a voltage lower than mains. You can also do polarity reversal for AC motors, switch between say 12 and 24V for devices that require it, pretty much anything that involves switching things on and off.

 

Air conditioners, heat pumps and other large devices use a bigger kind of relay called contactor, it works exactly the same way as miniature ones do, but it's made to handle a lot more current and higher voltages, the metallic clack sound sometimes can be heard from air conditioners is that contactor turning the motor on.

 

Just don't "keep the switch between 0 and 1", that's bad. And no, you can't add a relay to your power supply. Well, it's possible but you wouldn't be able to do it, and I won't tell you how to do it. Just leave the poor switch alone lmao, if you want to turn off the PSU get a power strip with a switch, or unplug it.

[PolishGod]

On 3/28/2024 at 11:39 PM, Mark Kaine said:

yeah... that just sounds like goalpost moving now.

 

...

 

you're actively damaging it by doing this.

 

as others have said the switch isnt meant for daily use and certainly not to play around with it.

 

no you don't if you know *anything* about electronics. 

I've built computers, made ethernet cables shorter and I was never told the button on a PSU is fragile.

[PolishGod]

On 3/29/2024 at 12:13 AM, Caroline said:

But I don't know Swedish If you're asking about the relay wiring (it's what I can make out of that comment) there are different ways to power one depending on what kind of power you're using, some have 100V AC coils, others 220V AC, 120V DC, 12V DC, etc. but you can use the actual relay contacts (not the coil) to switch on/off circuits with any voltage that doesn't necessarily matches that of the coil, i.e you could use a relay with a 240V coil to switch a 12V lighting circuit, think dichroic halogen lamps, poolside lighting, sauna stuff, anything that operates on a voltage lower than mains. You can also do polarity reversal for AC motors, switch between say 12 and 24V for devices that require it, pretty much anything that involves switching things on and off.

 

Air conditioners, heat pumps and other large devices use a bigger kind of relay called contactor, it works exactly the same way as miniature ones do, but it's made to handle a lot more current and higher voltages, the metallic clack sound sometimes can be heard from air conditioners is that contactor turning the motor on.

 

Just don't "keep the switch between 0 and 1", that's bad. And no, you can't add a relay to your power supply. Well, it's possible but you wouldn't be able to do it, and I won't tell you how to do it. Just leave the poor switch alone lmao, if you want to turn off the PSU get a power strip with a switch, or unplug it.

Well my new motherboard doesn't keep any lights on so I don't use the switch and if you don't tell me how to add a relay to my psu, I will wait for you in the minecraft arena and get you when you step inside.