Is my PSU dead?

[Phatswalla]

Hi everyone,

I came home today and tried to turn on my computer but all the fans turn on for a 1/10th of a second and then nothing else happens. The fans won't even do that a second time unless I flip the power switch on the PSU off and on again. I tried changing the power cable and using a different outlet but the same thing happens. I have an Antec P4 ATX12V 400 Watt. The flash of power makes me not want to believe that it's dead but is it?

 

[rbayer]

Sounds like it. Either that or the MB isn't providing the requisite load (~1amp +5V on my 300W). On the other hand, issues like this can also involve ATX Mobos deciding they want to be off when you tell them they want to be on. Do you have a spare system you can test it in?

 

[Phatswalla]

Hmm I hadn't thought of trying that. I was going to try and borrow a friend's power supply tomorrow, I can try mine in his system while I'm at it. How do you tell what the prerequisite amp is?

 

[DanTMWTMP]

u knw, it could be that there's a bare wire somewhere, or something's shorting out ur motherboard...or something like that...reinstall ur motherboard...cuz sometimes, those copper screw things behind the motherboard short circuits wires on ur mobo....also, chk for any bare wire hanging around, or if any of the connectors are grounded cuz they're touching the metal case....

 

[rbayer]

Any mb will meet the current requirements. It's just a matter of whether the mb is working properly. If you're interested in finding out for other reasons, it should be with the docs that came with your psu or on the manufacturer's website somewhere.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

A multitude of things can cause this in addition to what has already been mentioned , just lately I've worked on a system where this happened and it was a faulty power switch on the case, try hooking the case's reset connector to the power pins on the mobo and see if it boots using the reset button on the case. It could also be your ram took a dump so if you have muliple sticks try 1 at a time and in different slots if needed, I would also reseat everything for sh*ts and giggles since that is part of my personal mantra

 

[Phatswalla]

Hmm I plugged in my friend's enermax and everything works perfectly and my antec doesn't work in his so I guess it's dead. =(

Is something like this covered under warranty?

 

[amdskip]

If it's still under warranty, it should be covered as long as you weren't overclocking etc. because they will be fussy like that. Try having a single case fan hooked up to the power supply and take a short piece of wire. On the large atx connector, connect a black wire and the single green wire. This turns the power supply on if it is working. Just make sure to have only a fan hooked up and nothing else.

 

[rbayer]

Yes, it should be covered under the warranty, assuming you got it after Nov. 2000 and you haven't removed the label, opened the psu, or dropped it, etc. Also, if you're going to try to take advantage of the warranty, I would not recomend manually connecting pins on the power connector--it gives Antec an excuse to not fix it. Given that it didn't work in a system that works with other psus, I'd say the warranty is your only option at this point.