SMOKING Corsair ForceGT SSD + power connector literally MELTED

[miaam]

This is my first real post on the forum, might be a little messy.
So yeah, my SSD may have caught on fire ??

I was gaming (nothing too intensive: Brütal Legend) when I noticed a bunch of smoke coming from my case.
I instantly turned off the computer, opened the side panel and then unplugged the computer from the wall socket.
(The computer seemed ok on the software side when I noticed the smoke, no glitch no nothing)

The sata power connector for my SSD was pretty much melted, the SSD was cold to the touch (aluminium casing)
I unplugged the connector, to make sure it wasn't melting and then hardening in place making it impossible to unplug later
Smoke was still coming out of the SSD a good ten minutes after the comp was off.
There's now a bunch of nasty black stuff all over the place, and a nice smell of burnt plastic to go with it...

So, I was wondering if any of you have had similar experiences and if you had any advice on how do proceed next.
What I'm planning to do is, wait till stores open (it happened a little after 4 am) grab some air duster and remove the black stuff that's all over the case. And then maybe open the SSD casing to see if there's some damage in there, before I try to boot the computer with the same SSD and a new power cable.

If you have any thoughts on things I should or should not do, feel free to contribute.
I would also be interested on possible causes, so I could avoid a similar accident.
If you need more information/details, feel free to ask.

↑ Melted SATA power connector ↓



↑ Smoking SSD ↑

↑ Burn marks on the side pannel ↑

 

Relevant Specs: (I'll be editting those if more details are needed)
Corsair SSD 120GB Force Series GT (installed in January 2013 same spot/cabling)
Cooler Master Real Power Pro M700 (system draws less than 100W on idle and about 250W on heavy load, been using it for 5years)
old ass Antec P182 case with decent airflow, (5 Noctuas on LNA)
(including an intake fan blowing cool air along side the SSD)
 

[Enderman]

RMA? was the smoke coming directly from the SSD or just the power connector? It could possibly an issue with the power connector of your PSU, because it sounds like your PC was still running while it started smoking...This leads me to believe it was not the SSD, since that would have immediately crashed your system long before you saw any smoke.

[Raudi_]

I would say that the PSU is way to overkill if you're saying that your system only draws 250W on load. But I could also be wrong and that you had some bad luck.

[NInety]

That's HOT.  :wub: 

[flibberdipper]

Looks like your PSU threw a hissy fit.

[daemonowner]

Wow. My guess would be the power supply also. Which model is your 700W?

[mkessler9]

This is my first real post on the forum, might be a little messy.

So yeah, my SSD may have caught on fire ??

I was gaming (nothing too intensive: Brütal Legend) when I noticed a bunch of smoke coming from my case.

I instantly turned off the computer, opened the side panel and then unplugged the computer from the wall socket.

(The computer seemed ok on the software side when I noticed the smoke, no glitch no nothing)

The sata power connector for my SSD was pretty much melted, the SSD was cold to the touch (aluminium casing)

I unplugged the connector, to make sure it wasn't melting and then hardening in place making it impossible to unplug later

Smoke was still coming out of the SSD a good ten minutes after the comp was off.

There's now a bunch of nasty black stuff all over the place, and a nice smell of burnt plastic to go with it...

So, I was wondering if any of you have had similar experiences and if you had any advice on how do proceed next.

What I'm planning to do is, wait till stores open (it happened a little after 4 am) grab some air duster and remove the black stuff that's all over the case. And then maybe open the SSD casing to see if there's some damage in there, before I try to boot the computer with the same SSD and a new power cable.

If you have any thoughts on things I should or should not do, feel free to contribute.

I would also be interested on possible causes, so I could avoid a similar accident.

If you need more information/details, feel free to ask.

↑ Melted SATA power connector ↓

↑ Smoking SSD ↑

↑ Burn marks on the side pannel ↑

 

Relevant Specs: (I'll be editting those if more details are needed)

Corsair SSD 120GB Force Series GT

700W CoolerMaster PSU (system draws less than 100W on idle and about 250W on heavy load)

old ass Antec P182 case

with decent airflow, (5 Noctuas on LNA)

(including an intake fan blowing cool air along side the SSD)

 

Its possible you had a power surge. Are you on a surge protector?

[miaam]

Wow. My guess would be the power supply also. Which model is your 700W?

Cooler Master Real Power Pro M700

I've been using it for 5+ years.

 

RMA? was the smoke coming directly from the SSD or just the power connector? It could possibly an issue with the power connector of your PSU, because it sounds like your PC was still running while it started smoking...This leads me to believe it was not the SSD, since that would have immediately crashed your system long before you saw any smoke.

My guess is it's the small extension I used for the sata power. Been using it for a couple of years tho.

 

Its possible you had a power surge. Are you on a surge protector?

Yup, using a surge protector and an uninterrupted PSU.

We did have electric storms in the past couple of days.

[Enderman]

 

My guess is it's the small extension I used for the sata power. Been using it for a couple of years tho.

Ok then try switching that to something of better quality, there is a big chance it shorted out, which is what melted the plastic, creating all the smoke.

[mkessler9]

Cooler Master Real Power Pro M700

I've been using it for 5+ years.

 

My guess is it's the small extension I used for the sata power. Been using it for a couple of years tho.

 

Yup, using a surge protector and an uninterrupted PSU.

We did have electric storms in the past couple of days.

If you where on both of those I don't think you would have any problems if there was a surge. I would get a replacement if it still has the warranty. Or possible upgrade to a newer one.

[ericlee30]

looks like the PSU cuased it.

[miaam]

Lots of people seem to think the PSU aused it.
If so, is it safe to boot again with the same set up (except the melted cable)?
Is there any way to test the PSU before I declare it dead/evil?

And, as a more general question, is it bad to have a big margin of wattage?
(I can see how using a crazy SLI setup drawing +500W on a 350W PSU is a hazard but, is the opposite situation dangerous?)

[TDP_Equinox]

whatever caused it you need to try and rma both the PSU and the SSD.
Try the PSU first, and tell them that it wrecked your SSD. If they don't replace your SSD, try and RMA that from the source.

[miaam]

whatever caused it you need to try and rma both the PSU and the SSD.

Try the PSU first, and tell them that it wrecked your SSD. If they don't replace your SSD, try and RMA that from the source.

I'm not trying to get my money back, I'm just traying to make sure I'm doing things in a safe way.

The PSU is 5+ years old, the SSD is 2 or so, there's no RMAing it

I'm gonna go buy some sata cables and then I will open the SSD and report when I'm back.

[Guest]

She is soooo HOT!

[miaam]

Here's a update on the current situation:

 

TL;DR: more crazy chemical fumes, SATA power & data extension at fault. Fixed?

imgur album with all the pics in this post http://imgur.com/a/edyzB#0

 

I cleaned the SSD and figured there was no need to open it.

There was some dark crusty stuff on the power connector, and a small part of the plastic was eaten away.

 

But here comes the weird part: while I was cleaning the nasty residue on the Corsair metal tray, some white "smoke" started to appear again... wtf!?

I think some sort of chemical reaction was releasing fumes, this is probably the same thing that I mistook for smoke coming out of the SSD. (From the smell I'm guessing maybe some sulfur compound eating the plastic?)

 

I took a close look at the SSD extension, and I am certain it was the cause of this incident. 

I tested the wires, and the yellow wire and black wire next to it are shorted.

 

I can't remember where I got that extension, it was in my box of handy cables and adapters, could have come with a different SSD or a laptop HDD. 

The branding on it says "OWP SATA - Crimping"  wires have a "VEGA TECH 300V 80°C lettering. 

Their website: http://www.owpsata.com/en/product/index.asp?page=34

 

 

You can notice there is still some nasty oily stuff on the melted parts.

 

Based on the burn mark on the side panel I believe there was a open flame at some point, probably for a very short time, 

and this somehow initiated a chemical reaction releasing nasty fumes.

 

After all those fun discoveries, I was confident my PSU and SSD were not at fault, and decided to plug the SSD back.

the PC booted properly and I am now posting from it.

 

If something similar were to happen to you, I suggest you:

turn off the computer (and eventually unplug it)

quickly unplug the SSD (mine was not hot) and try to clean it before the plastic gets damaged too much.

 

 

For the time being I won't let the computer run without monitoring, just in case.

I will mark the topic as solved if nothing weird happens in the next few days.

[dogbreath97]

Looks like something shorted it out... it could be the connector + dust, or something in the SSD. I would open the SSD to check just in case. U don't want this happening again I guess

 

U should be in a good ventilated room when the plastic is still releasing chemicals!!! lol

[miaam]

It's been a few days, I haven't notice any smoke, house burning down or hell fire.
I'm gonna assume this was caused by a wonky cable extension that just happens to catch on fire if a full moon rises on Friday the 13th and mark this issue as solved.

[Mitico]

It's been a few days, I haven't notice any smoke, house burning down or hell fire.

I'm gonna assume this was caused by a wonky cable extension that just happens to catch on fire if a full moon rises on Friday the 13th and mark this issue as solved.

Thats weird anyway,since any psu must have overvoltage protection...Be carefull,and check it daily imo..