[Resolved] Alphacool Eispumpe VPP755 not powering on

[Voxels-Box]

Hello,

I’m currently filling my first custom loop, and I hit a potentially major problem. My Alphacool Eispumpe VPP755 v2 D5 pump does not power on using an external psu with the 24pin bridged. It has never once shown a sign of life. 

Lets take a step back though, when I first got the pump, the first thing I did was re sleeve it to match my build, however, in my inexperience, I accidentally cut the yellow wire (rpm sensing) about an inch from the base of the pump while removing the original sleeve. So, I soldered that wire back together, heatshrank the area, and went on my way. I sleeved the wires, Re crimped connectors, and got it back to what should have been working condition. I was very careful about the pinout, so I’m certain that I did that correctly. 

Do you think that the cut and repaired rpm wire is the cause of this? If so, is there any way to recover it? Are there any other troubleshooting steps that I should attempt? Thank you so much!

 

Update 7/22/17 7:41pm

After attempting to troubleshoot the pump thanks to the help of the great people on here, the conclusion that the pump truly is dead has been reached. I already ordered a replacement. I’m still not sure if the pump was DOA, or if my incident with the rpm wire was the cause. I guess that’s a mystery for the ages!

 

(The top picture is the finished sleeved pump, and the other two are the reference photos I took for reference of the pinout prior to starting)

Edited July 23, 2017 by Voxels-Box
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[W-L]

5 minutes ago, Voxels-Box said:

Hello,

I’m currently filling my first custom loop, and I hit a potentially major problem. My Alphacool Eispumpe VPP755 v2 D5 pump does not power on using an external psu with the 24pin bridged. It has never once shown a sign of life. 

Lets take a step back though, when I first got the pump, the first thing I did was re sleeve it to match my build, however, in my inexperience, I accidentally cut the yellow wire (rpm sensing) about an inch from the base of the pump while removing the original sleeve. So, I soldered that wire back together, heatshrank the area, and went on my way. I sleeved the wires, Re crimped connectors, and got it back to what should have been working condition. I was very careful about the pinout, so I’m certain that I did that correctly. 

Do you think that the cut and repaired rpm wire is the cause of this? If so, is there any way to recover it? Are there any other troubleshooting steps that I should attempt? Thank you so much!

 

(The top picture is the finished sleeved pump, and the other two are the reference photos I took for reference of the pinout prior to starting)

Why are there three connections for the fan it should only be two an RPM and PWM signal line for it to function but if you just plug it into the molex power it should at least run at a define fixed speed.

 

-Moved to Liquid and Exotic Cooling- 

[Voxels-Box]

7 minutes ago, W-L said:

Why are there three connections for the fan it should only be two an RPM and PWM signal line for it to function but if you just plug it into the molex power it should at least run at a define fixed speed.

 

-Moved to Liquid and Exotic Cooling- 

Thank you for moving this to the right place!

 

this pump can be controlled via the dial on the pump, thus you would only use the 3pin with the one wire to read the rpms. If you’re using pwm, you’d instead use the 4pin, with the 3pin left hanging. Kinda odd. The yellow wire splits about an inch or so from those headers. So it’s only one yellow wire going into the pump, which is the one I accidentally cut. 

 

Right, even plugged only into molex with an external psu, there’s no sign of power. No sound or liquid movement. I’ve tried my HX750i and the cheap external one, and I’ve verified that both psus work with a psu tester. 

[W-L]

5 minutes ago, Voxels-Box said:

Thank you for moving this to the right place!

 

this pump can be controlled via the dial on the pump, thus you would only use the 3pin with the one wire to read the rpms. If you’re using pwm, you’d instead use the 4pin, with the 3pin left hanging. Kinda odd. The yellow wire splits about an inch or so from those headers. So it’s only one yellow wire going into the pump, which is the one I accidentally cut. 

 

Right, even plugged only into molex with an external psu, there’s no sign of power. No sound or liquid movement. I’ve tried my HX750i and the cheap external one, and I’ve verified that both psus work with a psu tester. 

Hmm that's an interesting option they let you have, but for testing the pump make sure nothing is mix wired or pinched. Also never run the pump dry since it will ruin the ceramic bearing surface for the impeller. 

[For Science!]

This might sound very dumb, but are you jumpering the 24-pin cable?

[Voxels-Box]

31 minutes ago, W-L said:

Hmm that's an interesting option they let you have, but for testing the pump make sure nothing is mix wired or pinched. Also never run the pump dry since it will ruin the ceramic bearing surface for the impeller. 

Indeed, a novel option. 

The red and black wires are in the correct spots in the molex connector, and I don’t see any visible pinching. 

I made sure to have liquid in the system before trying to power on the pump. It’s never been run dry.

[Voxels-Box]

32 minutes ago, For Science! said:

This might sound very dumb, but are you jumpering the 24-pin cable?

Yes, I’m using on of those jumper connectors with the two pins bridged. 

[Voxels-Box]

Update: I discovered something interesting. The power supply will not actually turn on if the pump is plugged into it. Previously, I’d test the psu without the pump attached, with the tester or by powering the leds in the system. But I decided to try attaching a fan to the external psu via molex to see if the psu was working when the pump was plugged in. With only the fan attached, the fan spun, but with the pump and fan plugged in, nothing. Not even the 80mm fan at the back of the psu was spinning. This leads me to believe that something in the pump or it’s wiring is preventing the psu from even attempting to power the pump. Thoughts?

Side note, I also repinned the pump, as the pins were getting loose and the wings were not holding the connector well. 

[W-L]

5 minutes ago, Voxels-Box said:

Update: I discovered something interesting. The power supply will not actually turn on if the pump is plugged into it. Previously, I’d test the psu without the pump attached, with the tester or by powering the leds in the system. But I decided to try attaching a fan to the external psu via molex to see if the psu was working when the pump was plugged in. With only the fan attached, the fan spun, but with the pump and fan plugged in, nothing. Not even the 80mm fan at the back of the psu was spinning. This leads me to believe that something in the pump or it’s wiring is preventing the psu from even attempting to power the pump. Thoughts?

Side note, I also repinned the pump, as the pins were getting loose and the wings were not holding the connector well. 

Did you open the pump when doing this, I would check to see if something inside is shorting out or such, sounds like it may be tripping the short circuit protection on the PSU if it's not turning on when the pump is plugged in. 

[Voxels-Box]

8 minutes ago, W-L said:

Did you open the pump when doing this, I would check to see if something inside is shorting out or such, sounds like it may be tripping the short circuit protection on the PSU if it's not turning on when the pump is plugged in. 

No, all the steps in the last step were taken without removing the pump. I think my next step will be to drain the liquid, and take everything apart. I may need to post pictures of the inside of the pump, as I’m no electrician. 

[Voxels-Box]

39 minutes ago, Voxels-Box said:

No, all the steps in the last step were taken without removing the pump. I think my next step will be to drain the liquid, and take everything apart. I may need to post pictures of the inside of the pump, as I’m no electrician. 

I got the pump out of the system and took the cover off. The only thing I see is that the heat shrink I used over the solder joint wasn’t entirely covering the wire, however, this section was outside of the pump and covered by sleeve. 

[W-L]

Just now, Voxels-Box said:

I got the pump out of the system and took the cover off. The only thing I see is that the heat shrink I used over the solder joint wasn’t entirely covering the wire, however, this section was outside of the pump and covered by sleeve. 

Hmm might be suspect, since it is apart everything looks clean and it hasn't taken a shit might be a good chance that it shorted against something. It should still function though with just the 12V power to the pump. Fix up that joint and try doing a test with water of course to see if it was the cause. 

[Voxels-Box]

1 minute ago, W-L said:

Hmm might be suspect, since it is apart everything looks clean and it hasn't taken a shit might be a good chance that it shorted against something. It should still function though with just the 12V power to the pump. Fix up that joint and try doing a test with water of course to see if it was the cause. 

I’ll give it a shot!

[Voxels-Box]

4 hours ago, W-L said:

Hmm might be suspect, since it is apart everything looks clean and it hasn't taken a shit might be a good chance that it shorted against something. It should still function though with just the 12V power to the pump. Fix up that joint and try doing a test with water of course to see if it was the cause. 

Unfortunately, the result is the same. I completely replaced the two wires related to the PWM, and the pump behavior is unchanged. I think it’s time to call time of death on this one. Thank you very much for your advice!

[W-L]

19 minutes ago, Voxels-Box said:

Unfortunately, the result is the same. I completely replaced the two wires related to the PWM, and the pump behavior is unchanged. I think it’s time to call time of death on this one. Thank you very much for your advice!

That's unfortunate to hear