Spark when flipping PSU switch.

[benji_]

Yesterday, I finally got an internal USB 2.0 to 3.0 adaptor (bent the pins on the 3.0 port a while ago). I flipped off the PSU switch and unplugged it but nothing else. I then installed the adaptor and put the side of my case back on. I then plugged the power cable back in and when I flipped the switch to on, sparks came out of one of the screws that hold the PSU to the case. Nothing seems to be bad, am I safe?

PSU is an EVGA 1000G and case is a Dark Base 700 if that is any relevance. 

[Ryujin2003]

I wouldn't think you're safe. Maybe a bad ground? Is your PSU under warranty still?

[benji_]

9 minutes ago, Ryujin2003 said:

I wouldn't think you're safe. Maybe a bad ground? Is your PSU under warranty still?

No, bought it in 2015 iirc. Its never done it before until now

[Ryujin2003]

41 minutes ago, benji_ said:

No, bought it in 2015 iirc. Its never done it before until now

You could try swapping out the PSU cable to the wall? Might have a bad ground connection? Otherwise, you might have arching inside of the GPU maybe? I don't know. I wouldn't trust it with my system. A $100+ PSU is cheaper than fixing MB, RAM, GPU, etc...

[aezakmi]

Bad ground, avoid touching that screw while it's plugged

 

Discharge and reseat the PSU, use thin rubber washers between the case and the screws, try using a different cable, it's a 1000w PSU so the wires should be at least 1mm2 (18 gauge in the USA)

[benji_]

1 hour ago, aezakmi said:

the wires should be at least 1mm2 (18 gauge in the USA)

what would that be in the uk

[BuckGup]

2 hours ago, benji_ said:

No, bought it in 2015 iirc. Its never done it before until now

That PSU has a 5 year warranty so RMA it

[benji_]

7 minutes ago, BuckGup said:

That PSU has a 5 year warranty so RMA it

I didnt buy it from EVGA, I'm pretty sure it was amazon although I'm not certain. Would it still have a warranty regardless?

[BuckGup]

1 minute ago, benji_ said:

I didnt buy it from EVGA, I'm pretty sure it was amazon although I'm not certain. Would it still have a warranty regardless?

Yeah it would

[Guest]

2 hours ago, benji_ said:

I didnt buy it from EVGA, I'm pretty sure it was amazon although I'm not certain. Would it still have a warranty regardless?

Your 5 year warranty is an EVGA warranty.  You don't have to buy FROM EVGA to get a full warranty.

 

But I doubt there's anything wrong with the PSU.  I doubt you saw sparks come from a case mounting screw when you flipped the switch.  It probably just looked like that.  If your ground was that bad, your case would feel energized.

 

The hold up caps were probably completely drained and when you flipped the switch on the back, the sudden in-rush cause the terminals on the switch to arc.  Completely normal for a PSU that has to charge such large bulk caps.

 

If you look here:

 

 

You can see that the input terminal/switch area of this particular PSU is quite a mess, and without much insulation either.  High amounts of current are bound to arc.

[aezakmi]

5 hours ago, benji_ said:

what would that be in the uk

1mm, that's worldwide

except for the US and maybe some African country everyone uses the metric system for everything and that includes wiring

[Guest]

21 minutes ago, aezakmi said:

1mm, that's worldwide

except for the US and maybe some African country everyone uses the metric system for everything and that includes wiring

Actually, it could be 19SWG in the UK.  "Standard Wire Gauge" as the UK has not converted everything to metric (i.e. using feet, miles, acres, gallons, etc.)

 

 

[aezakmi]

27 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

Actually, it could be 19SWG in the UK.  "Standard Wire Gauge" as the UK has not converted everything to metric (i.e. using feet, miles, acres, gallons, etc.)

For real? what a mess

At least their plugs look nice and safe, we still use ungrounded schukos so sparks while plugging in stuff are normal

[benji_]

13 hours ago, jonnyGURU said:

Your 5 year warranty is an EVGA warranty.  You don't have to buy FROM EVGA to get a full warranty.

 

But I doubt there's anything wrong with the PSU.  I doubt you saw sparks come from a case mounting screw when you flipped the switch.  It probably just looked like that.  If your ground was that bad, your case would feel energized.

 

The hold up caps were probably completely drained and when you flipped the switch on the back, the sudden in-rush cause the terminals on the switch to arc.  Completely normal for a PSU that has to charge such large bulk caps.

 

If you look here:

 

 

You can see that the input terminal/switch area of this particular PSU is quite a mess, and without much insulation either.  High amounts of current are bound to arc.

I hope thats what it was, I flipped it off and uplugged it again just now and replugged it back in. No spark.

[benji_]

17 hours ago, aezakmi said:

Bad ground, avoid touching that screw while it's plugged

I touched it since jonny said it could just be an arc. Nothing happened when I did so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[benji_]

13 hours ago, jonnyGURU said:

I doubt you saw sparks come from a case mounting screw when you flipped the switch.  It probably just looked like that.

Do you mean they came out the back of the PSU, the holes for air or whatever?

[Guest]

5 hours ago, benji_ said:

Do you mean they came out the back of the PSU, the holes for air or whatever?

Yes.  Absolutely.

 

Happens all the time on higher wattage PSUs with questionable build quality.

 

[benji_]

1 hour ago, jonnyGURU said:

Yes.  Absolutely.

 

Happens all the time on higher wattage PSUs with questionable build quality.

 

So am I good or is it a time bomb?

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, benji_ said:

So am I good or is it a time bomb?

You're fine.  If you weren't, I wouldn't say it's "completely normal".  LOL!

 

[benji_]

1 minute ago, jonnyGURU said:

You're fine.  If you weren't, I wouldn't say it's "completely normal".  LOL!

 

Ok, I contacted EVGA about it but they still havent responded. If it does happen again tho I will probably RMA it. Checked the serial number and I've got 200 days left to do so.

Thanks for the help

[Guest]

Flip the switch on the back of the PSU to "off".  Unplug the PSU.  Unplug the 24-pin from the motherboard, but leave everything else plugged in.

 

If the PSU came with the "self-tester" (I believe most, if not all, EVGA PSUs do) put it on the 24-pin connector for about a minute.

 

If you don't have the "self-tester", use a paper clip to bridge two wires on the 24-pin connector like this:  

 

 

Again, wait a minute before pulling the paper clip out.

 

Put the 24-pin back into the motherboard, plug in the PSU and flip the switch.  Does it spark again?

 

[Unimportant]

1 minute ago, benji_ said:

Ok, I contacted EVGA about it but they still havent responded. If it does happen again tho I will probably RMA it. Checked the serial number and I've got 200 days left to do so.

PSU's sparking on turn-on is completely normal tough. As @jonnyGURU already mentioned, large inrush currents can cause the switch to spark. Wire inductance can cause severe voltage spikes on turn on, especially combined with switch bounce, which might be dissipated in a spark-gap, a device specifically meant to spark, depending on the PSU design, etc.

 

If the unit works fine I would not RMA it for this.

[benji_]

Just now, jonnyGURU said:

Flip the switch on the back of the PSU to "off".  Unplug the PSU.  Unplug the 24-pin from the motherboard, but leave everything else plugged in.

 

If the PSU came with the "self-tester" (I believe most, if not all, EVGA PSUs do) put it on the 24-pin connector for about a minute.

 

If you don't have the "self-tester", use a paper clip to bridge two wires on the 24-pin connector like this:  

 

 

Again, wait a minute before pulling the paper clip out.

 

Put the 24-pin back into the motherboard, plug in the PSU and flip the switch.  Does it spark again?

 

Aint got a tester. What does this do exactly by pushing a paper clip in?

[Unimportant]

1 minute ago, benji_ said:

Aint got a tester. What does this do exactly by pushing a paper clip in?

Turns on the power supply, draining the main filter cap.

[benji_]

Just now, Unimportant said:

Turns on the power supply, draining the main filter cap.

So do I gotta hold the clip? Anything I should know before I do this? Ill have to nick a clip from college tommorow since I dont think I have any. I want to do this properly and safely tho since I'm dealing with 1000w and 83 Amps here