Opening a PSU

[MustISO]

Have a PSU that died 2 weeks ago. Should it be safe to open it now. Just wanted to check out the inside before I toss it.

 

[Mogadon]

1 days wait is fine.

 

[twitchee2]

yea there nothing left after 2 weeks

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

I wasn't aware that capacitors discharged over a period of time. I would highly suggest discharging any caps to ground before really digging around in there.

 

[mindwreck]

couple of days and it should be gone

 

[Zepper]

Caps have parasitic resistances and would discharge slowly even if not in a circuit which offers other paths for discharge.

.bh.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Seriously OP what do you want to see in there. If you are interested go to SIlent PC Review and look at some of the PSU innards there. IF you dont know what you are doing (Im not saying you dont) then dont open it up.

As Zepper said, the capacitors are designed to hold a charge. If you are going to fiddle around in there you need to know what you are doing, and what to avoid.

If you do decide to open it up, post back here once more and im sure one of us can tell you what to touch and what not to before you delve into it.

 

[MustISO]

I opened it up, looked around a little and sealed it back up. I was just curious about the cause of it's death. It was a blown cap.

 

[Zepper]

Oh, a blown cap. Perhaps opportunity exists for an RMA even if the unit is beyond warranty. Many Taiwanese technology manufacturers got bitten by a company that was making bad caps from a purloined (and incomplete) electrolyte recipe. It is apparent that these companies did not do due diligence on their parts.

.bh.

 

[JEDIYoda]

What I would do to check to see if the capacitor has lost its charge is to take my tongue and lick the top of the capacitor.......

 

[DJMiX]

Originally posted by: MustISO
I opened it up, looked around a little and sealed it back up. I was just curious about the cause of it's death. It was a blown cap.

replace the cap and it should work again, (IF no other damage was done by the cap failure).

just be careful those caps hold alot of voltage !!! 200 + VOLTS should be right on the cap.

 

[Nirach]

Eugh. I tooka fair crack from a PSU nearly a month after it was last used. Granted, it had exploded, but it was still not an experiance I've been quick to replicate.

I went in there to scavenge parts, connectors and the like.

Never know whe you're going to need an extra AUX. 4pin power connector, or a spare ten molex connectors ready wired!

 

[MustISO]

Originally posted by: Zepper
Oh, a blown cap. Perhaps opportunity exists for an RMA even if the unit is beyond warranty.

I tired, I e-mailed Antec and got the stock reply, no warranty no service. It may be that I didn't get the right person who actually understood what the problem was. They may have just seen the past warranty sentence and hit the "Reply #2" button.

 

[andrewbabcock]

Originally posted by: DJMiX

Originally posted by: MustISO
I opened it up, looked around a little and sealed it back up. I was just curious about the cause of it's death. It was a blown cap.

replace the cap and it should work again, (IF no other damage was done by the cap failure).

just be careful those caps hold alot of voltage !!! 200 + VOLTS should be right on the cap.

Don't be afraid of volts. Volts don't kill you. Its the amps that kill you and i don't know how much ampage they have.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: andrewbabcock

Originally posted by: DJMiX

Originally posted by: MustISO
I opened it up, looked around a little and sealed it back up. I was just curious about the cause of it's death. It was a blown cap.

replace the cap and it should work again, (IF no other damage was done by the cap failure).

just be careful those caps hold alot of voltage !!! 200 + VOLTS should be right on the cap.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzTTTTTTTTTTT!!!

Don't be afraid of volts. Volts don't kill you. Its the amps that kill you and i don't know how much ampage they have.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: andrewbabcock

Originally posted by: DJMiX

Originally posted by: MustISO
I opened it up, looked around a little and sealed it back up. I was just curious about the cause of it's death. It was a blown cap.

replace the cap and it should work again, (IF no other damage was done by the cap failure).

just be careful those caps hold alot of voltage !!! 200 + VOLTS should be right on the cap.

Don't be afraid of volts. Volts don't kill you. Its the amps that kill you and i don't know how much ampage they have.

I don`t know about you but just because putting my hand on a hot frying pan won`t kill me immediately that doesn`t mean I`m not going to be careful around a hot frying pan...lolol

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: andrewbabcock

Don't be afraid of volts. Volts don't kill you. Its the amps that kill you and i don't know how much ampage they have.

That is not a good advice!

It is voltage that causes the current (Amp) to flow.

They do not have Amperage!
Any source of voltage has an output impedance. The voltage divided by the output impedance gives you the maximum current that particular source can provide.

Those capacitors have very low output impedances. So, they can source high currents!