first custom water loop. Need help

[blueballd ninja]

So this is my first custom water loop attempt and i followed the sticky thread for beginners, but for some reason the loop is not circulating the fluid.  before installing i flushed everything multiple times.  I took it to the repair store in town and the guy there was trying to be as helpful as he could without having to take my computer in, he told me to add some more fluid in it, which i did and it didnt change anything.  on my pictures i have one where the system is jumped and on and one where it isnt.  I have this air bubble that sticks around in the line going to the reservoir/pump.  Idk if i have some rookie mistake in here but if anyone can help i would be so thankful.

the loop goes pump>gpu>rad1>rad2>cpu>pump

rad1-280
rad2-240 slim
cpu-supremacy evo
gpu- fc 1070gtx
pump-XRES 140 DDC 3.2 PWM Elite 
all of which are from EK.

[TMobile]

I am a noob to this but it could be your pump not being strong enough ?

[W-L]

30 minutes ago, blueballd ninja said:

-SNIP-

Since you have a PWM enabled pump it may be defaulting to the idle speed which may not be enough for it to circulate the fluid around to bleed the loop. If you have a PWM controller or another systems PWM header using a splitter to the pump's PWM line to kick the pump up a notch. 

[blueballd ninja]

i didnt see a controller when ordering all of this, is there anyway i can just hardwire it so that it doesnt sit at idle speed?

[SonoDanshi]

2 minutes ago, blueballd ninja said:

i didnt see a controller when ordering all of this, is there anyway i can just hardwire it so that it doesnt sit at idle speed?

You can probably adjust the PWM functionality for the header in the BIOS, so just set it to full power there. You might also be able to unplug the pwm fan connector (blue and grren cable) and just run the pump off the molex, it *should* run at full speed.

[W-L]

6 minutes ago, blueballd ninja said:

i didnt see a controller when ordering all of this, is there anyway i can just hardwire it so that it doesnt sit at idle speed?

Not easily atleast if you bridge the PWM line at 5V that should force it to run at full speed. But if your sure that the loop isn't going to leak you can simply provide power to the motherboard and the PWM connection to the CPU header can do the same. 

[airdeano]

problem is you have too much air in the system (airlocked) and prolly stuck in the top radiator.

fill res as full as possible. tip case towards the front, cycle the pump until the reservoir level drops 60%, and stop. retip to normal and refill res, then repeat prior procedure till the res level no longer lowers.

problem is the air is trapped in the upper devices and cannot return to the reservoir (supposed to separate the air from the coolant).

front rad is prolly full of air too, due to its orientation.

[blueballd ninja]

im trying tilting it forward right now while cycling the pump like u said and that bubble hasnt changed.  it moves around, obviously, but the level in the res hasnt changed

[blueballd ninja]

idk if this matters at all but when i go to loosen the res the and the seal is broken the fluid fills the res, kinda like a soda when u shake it is the best way i can describe it. also i unplugged that green and blue fan cable 

[W-L]

6 minutes ago, blueballd ninja said:

idk if this matters at all but when i go to loosen the res the and the seal is broken the fluid fills the res, kinda like a soda when u shake it is the best way i can describe it. also i unplugged that green and blue fan cable 

Try cracking the port on top of the res to let the pressure eqalize to see if that helps to circulate it but as airdeano mentioned it sounds potentially like a trapped air pocket. If you have extra ports on the rads you can try that on the top rad but do it very carefully. 

[blueballd ninja]

if i fill the res while its cycling, so there is more to fill, will that help?

[W-L]

13 minutes ago, blueballd ninja said:

if i fill the res while its cycling, so there is more to fill, will that help?

Just be careful when doing that since there is a trapped air bubble, it can back up into the res and overfill it potentially. As mentioned try rotating the system around and giving it a shake to try and move the air bubble along. 

[blueballd ninja]

here is an updated pic. that last bit wont give up and i cant seem to get it out. progress tho

[xgn]

You have airbubbles in the system.

When bleeding the loop the air needs to come out somewhere. so open the top of the reservoir. You can leave pump running while doing this.

You can also speed it up by opening the draining valve attaching a tube to it and hold it at a high point then blow into it.

Btw keep the pump off while opening draining valve. guess its obvious but just incase.

[blueballd ninja]

i think they are all out finally!! you guys are awesome, thanks for the quick replys. i do have another question though, the coolant doesnt look like its flowing fast at all, but idk how fast its supposed to look like its going

[W-L]

1 minute ago, blueballd ninja said:

i think they are all out finally!! you guys are awesome, thanks for the quick replys. i do have another question though, the coolant doesnt look like its flowing fast at all, but idk how fast its supposed to look like its going

It's definitely moving fast you just don't notice it in the tubing, just make sure on first boot your temps are good to make sure nothing is wrong right off the bat. 

[blueballd ninja]

at idle it was sitting at 20-25 degrees. i think its doing what its supposed to be doing, thanks again you guys were a lot of help

[Corrupt_Liberty]

Just for future reference, I had the same problem with an EK XRes D5 PWM Res/Pump combo.  I was able to solve the PWM speed problem by making a simple Arduino with a potentiometer.  I used an old PSU to supply the 5V to the arduino and the 12V to the pump (the both have to be on the same ground plane).  I then found a program that reads the input from the potentiometer and outputs a PWM signal that I then sent to the pump.  By ramping the pump speed up and down I was able to bleed the system in minutes.