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A look into a dead PSU from a Dell (made by Acbel)

Torn Mind

Torn Mind

Lifer
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This came from a Dell Inspiron 546s I serviced. As you can see, most of the secondary caps are bulging. The primary is alright and the LED indicator light still comes on, but no power is going through that secondary to the motherboard.

(Pics are thumbnail links to imageshack)
 
bononos said:
What is the brand of the secondary caps?
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Ltec, written in cursive lettering and encircled with an ellipse. This can barely be seen on the capacitors near the top middle with grey silicone around them. Another characteristic of Ltec is the date code being whiter than the rest of the writing. Ltec is not the worst for power supplies.
 
Probably, since it is in the TFX form factor, heat might accelerated this capacitor bulging.

One of these days, I might get a soldering iron and try to revive this thing. After all, the LED light that tells you it is plugged in is working.
 
It's pretty easy to solder in new caps. You can buy kits on ebay with all the most common caps needed for computer components.
 
lehtv said:
How easy is it to remove dead caps?
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It's the easiest solder component you could remove and replace. As long as the traces aren't ruined around the cap, it's what you pray for when you have a malfunctioning device.
 
imagoon said:
I personally won't run $20 PSUs. Properly built they should last a decade or more.
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In your dreams. I don't believe you. Even Seasonics don't last. There's a reason that their warranties aren't longer than five years. I do agree with the logic behind not running a $20 psu.
 
My CX430v2 was $17... guess I better go out and buy a more expensive one...

There is an exception to every rule... (in both directions, by the way.)
 
bigboxes said:
In your dreams. I don't believe you. Even Seasonics don't last. There's a reason that their warranties aren't longer than five years. I do agree with the logic behind not running a $20 psu.
Click to expand...

My 2 PC power and cooling units are 10 years old with 10 years of run time -power outages. They both run fine. I have several Dell servers that were finally retired after 8.5 years of service on the original power supplies. I suspect they would have kept going if I had let them. My father to this day is still running an old Windows XP machine that I built him in 2003 that is also running on the original PSU and has been running 24/7 that entire time. Then there is my Mitel PBX... Original PSU set and 18 years old.

So it is not "in my dreams" but in reality.
 
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Charlie98 said:
My CX430v2 was $17... guess I better go out and buy a more expensive one...

There is an exception to every rule... (in both directions, by the way.)
Click to expand...

Well getting fantastic deals on quality supplies count. I normally consider the $20 stuff as the cheap Chinese stuff that uses fake caps etc.
 
imagoon said:
My 2 PC power and cooling units are 10 years old with 10 years of run time -power outages. They both run fine. I have several Dell servers that were finally retired after 8.5 years of service on the original power supplies. I suspect they would have kept going if I had let them. My father to this day is still running an old Windows XP machine that I built him in 2003 that is also running on the original PSU and has been running 24/7 that entire time. Then there is my Mitel PBX... Original PSU set and 18 years old.

So it is not "in my dreams" but in reality.
Click to expand...

Well, I still say that you are being unrealistic in your expectations for a power supply. I say they rarely make it to ten years. Even quality ones. I do think that they should make it to five years without issues, but I know that is not always the case with consumer power supplies. I switched to Seasonic branded power supplies back in 2006. Finally had to replace the power supply in my file server after 6+ years. Upon inspection I couldn't find any sign of failure. Only the 11v readings on the 12v rails showed it was the psu that was the problem. I did have one Antec (a 300w unit) from my 2000 T-bird build that finally died last year.
 
bigboxes said:
Well, I still say that you are being unrealistic in your expectations for a power supply. I say they rarely make it to ten years. Even quality ones. I do think that they should make it to five years without issues, but I know that is not always the case with consumer power supplies. I switched to Seasonic branded power supplies back in 2006. Finally had to replace the power supply in my file server after 6+ years. Upon inspection I couldn't find any sign of failure. Only the 11v readings on the 12v rails showed it was the psu that was the problem. I did have one Antec (a 300w unit) from my 2000 T-bird build that finally died last year.
Click to expand...

Not really. Well built supplies can last for decades. My 1979 IBM XT still powers on with the factory supply. I consider that impressive.

Continuing down the line of power supplies... The 1000 -> 4000 watt arc lamp supplies at the movie theater here are still running after being installed 1984 also. 15x originals. Not bad for pushing 225 amps continuous load.
 
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