Comp not working with 220VAC

[EricMartello]

I have a computer that needs to run on a 220VAC (60 Hz). It has an OCZ Modstream 450W PSU, and works fine on standard 110VAC power. When I flip the red voltage selector switch on the back to 220 and plug it into a 220V outlet, the power supply fan comes on as do both the power and HD leds on the front panel of the computer, but the system does not boot up. It kinda just hangs there. Power-cycling doesn't do anything, and it works fine on 110V. Is there some "trick" to getting it to work right on 220V?

 

[Greenman]

I thought when running on 220V it had to be 50HZ power? Isn't that what they use in the rest of the world?

 

[Googer]

I know there are a few electrical engineers that hang arond these forums. Once upon a time in the highly technical section of forums.anandtech.com some one asked the question (similar to) "Why does the USA use 60Hz and the rest of the world 220/240 ___ Hz" . Several electrical engineers and engineering students jumped on to the thread to give an answer. I suggest you try searching that section (if it is still there/hasnt been deleted) and finding those people so you can private message them or send some emails.

Besides that, I would Contact OCz Technical Support or email Michael Schuette. Or I would just get a really damn good PSU like PC Power and Cooling Turbo Cool, there is no 110/220v switch Turbo Cool PSU's becase they feature smart circuitry that automaticly detects the voltage and line conditions. Call them before you order and let PC Power and Cooling know the situation you are in.

 

[Jiggz]

It is possible the 220VAC outlet you are plugged in is under voltage. This reduces the outlet voltage of the PSU which prevents the mobo from booting. Some PSU's are actually designed to run on 240VAC vice 220VAC. You can try reducing the number of peripherals connected to the PSU and see if this will let the system boot. Disconnect all hdd and optical drives and try booting with only bare peripherals like video card (rams and kb connected) only and see if the system boots. If it boots then the PSU is suffering from undervoltage which results in lower output voltage (caused by voltage droop). As for the frequency, most PSU's are designed to work both on 50 or 60 hz. As for electrical standards, there is none. Each country has its own. Most common used household voltage is 220VAC/60HZ. AFAIK, US is the only country who uses the 110VAC/60Hz system. Japan uses 100VAC/50Hz.

 

[EricMartello]

I just realized something...that PSU is rated as follows:

110V @ 60 Hz AC
220V @ 50 Hz AC

However the power outlet that it was plugged into is 220V @ 60 Hz AC...so is it possible that now the PSU is damaged? I misread the specs, thinking that either 220V @ 50 or 60 Hz would be OK. I did try using a cheap 220 to 115 converter, and still got the same problem. The converter would output 115V @ 60 Hz.

 

[sandeep108]

I have never really had a problem with the 50/60 Hz. I use 110v 60Hz electronics with a radio shack adapter / local adapter in a 220v 50Hz line. As Jiggz said, most PSUs are rated to work at either frequency and I would add also a voltage variation of +/- 10%. But otherwise I agree, quite a weird problem.

 

[EricMartello]

I just got an email from Sean at OCZ, and he told me the reason I'm having trouble is that the PSU does not have "active PFC". Apparently, the lack of active PFC will prevent this PSU from working on 220VAC @ 60Hz, however it should work on 115VAC @ 60 Hz which is what I get with the adapter. Since I do not have direct access to this computer, it just makes it that much harder for me to fix this problem. I would hate throwing parts at a problem till it fixes...can anyone confirm or deny this thing with active PFC? I might just replace the modstream with an enermax unit if that is the case.

 

[ribbon13]

In Europe, it's actually illegal to make PSUs without Active PFC.

 

[Mark R]

In Europe, it's actually illegal to make PSUs without Active PFC.

No. It's illegal to make PSUs without PFC. (Doesn't have to be active).

Back to the OP's problem. Frequency is unlikely to be an issue. A PC PSU isn't going to be affected by a difference between 50 and 60 Hz. Higher won't matter, and you could probably go down to about 30 Hz before you started running into trouble.

Active PFC or not is an irrelevance. Active PFC gives you 'universal voltage' compatability - i.e. it will work fine without adjustment or switching on any voltage from 90 - 270V. It has little bearing on the frequency compatability.

My guess is that the 220 V outlet is not actually supplying 220V. It may well only be 200V (or possibly less) - which will probably not be sufficient for a non-active PFC PSU to operate correctly. (Note that if the PSU did have Active PFC, it probably would work on this faulty socket).

 

[JimPhelpsMI]

Hi, You got a bunch of pretty good answers here. One thing not clear is that the Switching power supply does not have to be designed for 60 or 50 HZ. The first thing done is to convert the input to about 150 VDC through a bridge rectifier. Minor Frequency difference has very little effect. Hope this helps a little, Jim

 

[Jiggz]

Originally posted by: EricMartello
I just got an email from Sean at OCZ, and he told me the reason I'm having trouble is that the PSU does not have "active PFC". Apparently, the lack of active PFC will prevent this PSU from working on 220VAC @ 60Hz, however it should work on 115VAC @ 60 Hz which is what I get with the adapter. Since I do not have direct access to this computer, it just makes it that much harder for me to fix this problem. I would hate throwing parts at a problem till it fixes...can anyone confirm or deny this thing with active PFC? I might just replace the modstream with an enermax unit if that is the case.

I doubt there is an "Active PFC" installed in any home system PSU! One way to find out the source of the problem is to take output reading on the PSU when plugged in to a 220V/60Hz outlet. Make sure the raw output voltages are within 2% of their rated outputs.

 

[Navid]

PFC can have nothing to do with this. PFC or power factor correction is to modify the phase between voltage and current at the input of a device to reduce the reactive current to optimize the load of such device on the power system. It has no effect on the output of such device.

If you have PFC on a device or not only affects loss in the (power) lines that bring voltage to the device. The power company delivers voltage to you and everybody else and prefers that their overall load has no reactive component. Your small PC power supply has no impact on the overall scheme of things and the voltage delivered to it.

Also, as mentioned before, the frequency change from 60 to 50 cannot be the cause either.

Do you have a Volt meter that you can use to measure the AC voltage on the 220V outlet. It may not be 220V. If it is less, it may explain why the PC does not power up properly.
WARNING: This measurement can be dangerous. Do not do it if you do not know what you are doing.

 

[EricMartello]

Just for the reference of anyone with a similar problem in my situation (unlikely), the reason the comp wasn't working is that the idiots at customs were rather careless. THey opened the PC to check for whatever they check for, but in doing so, unplugged a few wires here and there. The person using the computer was not the type who could figure this out however it has been fixed. The PSU works fine at the 220V/60Hz voltage It's always something like that...jeez....