PSU coil insulator "burnt"

[Eru]

Hello ltt,

 

switching on my pc blows the fuse on the wall plug. tried it with another wall plug the second time and it trips the house main fuse.

 

later found out that power supply's coil insulator were burnt and touching the body of the psu. i took the psu apart and all the caps are looking normal and no electronic burnt smell.

 

question is:

1) will that coil touching the body cause it to be short circuited? 

2) can i replace the insulator with the usual electrical tape?

3) what precaution should i take when messing around with the psu (dont touch the caps? wear rubber gloves? do not use conductive screwdrivers?)?

 

[QueenDemetria]

Hello ltt,

 

switching on my pc blows the fuse on the wall plug. tried it with another wall plug the second time and it trips the house main fuse.

 

later found out that power supply's coil insulator were burnt and touching the body of the psu. i took the psu apart and all the caps are looking normal and no electronic burnt smell.

 

question is:

1) will that coil touching the body cause it to be short circuited? 

2) can i replace the insulator with the usual electrical tape?

3) what precaution should i take when messing around with the psu (dont touch the caps? wear rubber gloves? do not use conductive screwdrivers?)?

1. Absolutely. I'm not sure exactly how this happened since the inductor was supposed to be "insulated", but when electronics are made by the millions for cheap I understand there is sometimes "error".
2. Sure I guess, but since it shorted out I would assume your PSU is damaged and ruined.
3. Discharge it. The easiest way is to press the power button on your PC without it plugged into the wall. This won't fully discharge it, but it will do most of it. If you let your PSU set for a few days most of the charge will discharge too.

TBH I wouldn't even mess with it, if it has a warranty I would take advantage of it(RMA, although if you took the PSU apart then you voided your warranty... unless if you are good at preserving the void sticker ). Out of curiosity, what brand is that PSU?

[W-L]

-SNIP-

 

The best thing would be to RMA it but if it`s out of warranty, you can open it and see if it was only isolated to a single wire and did not short between the others then you could insulate with some electrical tape. 

 

The regular safety thing with opening a PSU where you should unplug it press the power and let it sit for 30-60mins before opening and be aware of the contacts of the capacitors when open.

[Stefan1024]

Yes isolating shoulde work fine. Even if 2-3 windings are shortened it should still work because the coil has >100 windings.

And yes keep it unpluged for >15 minutrs and you are save.

[Eru]

 

1. Absolutely. I'm not sure exactly how this happened since the inductor was supposed to be "insulated", but when electronics are made by the millions for cheap I understand there is sometimes "error".
2. Sure I guess, but since it shorted out I would assume your PSU is damaged and ruined.
3. Discharge it. The easiest way is to press the power button on your PC without it plugged into the wall. This won't fully discharge it, but it will do most of it. If you let your PSU set for a few days most of the charge will discharge too.

TBH I wouldn't even mess with it, if it has a warranty I would take advantage of it(RMA, although if you took the PSU apart then you voided your warranty... unless if you are good at preserving the void sticker ). Out of curiosity, what brand is that PSU?

 

 

Its a Thermaltake Toughpower Gold 750W

The best thing would be to RMA it but if it`s out of warranty, you can open it and see if it was only isolated to a single wire and did not short between the others then you could insulate with some electrical tape. 

 

The regular safety thing with opening a PSU where you should unplug it press the power and let it sit for 30-60mins before opening and be aware of the contacts of the capacitors when open.

 

 

Yes isolating shoulde work fine. Even if 2-3 windings are shortened it should still work because the coil has >100 windings.

And yes keep it unpluged for >15 minutrs and you are save.

 

Warranty is long gone.

Its been sitting inside the box for around 2 weeks now so I'm sure its safe to handle. Will do an operation   on it then report back here later. Thanks for the replies! 

[k4p84]

When you have finished your repair may one suggest you use a PSU tester rather than your rig to see if it works, one would not like to damage any other components.

[Ohlyver]

Just to put it here, coils are made of wire ( yeah, pretty obvious) that are isolated by some sort of varnish, instead of a plastic based insulation like most other electric wire/cable..

If its not shorted to any other wire (be really careful when diagnosing a psu) you could apply some nail polish over the burnt area, a couple layers could do.

Keep in mind this is only my opinion and I am not an electronic engineer... I got a diploma in industrial electro-mecanic.. I would advice you only look at repairing this psu if you can't afford to buy a new one.

[Eru]

Nop, its not working. but at least it didnt trip the main fuse this time  :unsure:  all the fans spin for a second and the psu buzzed. the led on graphic card still glow thou... probably shorted somewhere else. 

[Stefan1024]

Nop, its not working. but at least it didnt trip the main fuse this time  :unsure:  all the fans spin for a second and the psu buzzed. the led on graphic card still glow thou... probably shorted somewhere else. 

At least you tried. Now you have to buy a new one.