Burnt wires in desktop computer.

by Greg71

Posted: 10 years ago 12 replies

OFF TOPIC

Hi. I am hoping someone might have some knowledge or thoughts on this situation.

My desktop kept shutting down whenever I did video converting in Gopro Studio. This is the heaviest task I subject it to and is the only time it shuts down.

It did it 4 or 5 times as I kept trying, then the last time i smelt burnt electrical wire.

Pulled the heatsink off, redid the thermal paste (which was ok anyway), then found the burnt wires.

There is a 4 wire adapter (2 yellow, 2 black) that joins these 4 wires from the psu to the motherboard. Where it connects to the motherboard is right next to the cpu, if that is relevant.

Perhaps that is cpu power and earth, plus motherboard power and earth (?).

Well anyway, inside the adapter plug that is halfway along these wires, on the motherboard side of the plug, the 2 yellow wires are burnt. I was pulling at things and they broke off with basically no resistance. This is how I found the problem.

Prior to this clean break, the computer would turn on and the heatsink fan start spinning, then shut down with no bios beep. So its on for 3 seconds.

Is it safe to reconnect the wires? Could it just be a bad adapter plug connection? Any ideas/ logic?

Thanks.

hardraysnight 10 years ago

that is what technicians are for
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lanfear63 10 years ago

Frying stuff in the vicinity of motherboards is not good. Considering the low cost of a new Windows desktop, is it worth the hassle of troubleshooting?

This is not a tech forum either of course.

Unless this is a custom build and you are an enthusiast, why bother.

Recent Dell desktops have two hard drive bays conveniently placed vertically, easily accessible. Suggest you move your HD with your precious data to the second bay of a new one.
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DWolfe 10 years ago

In the US we have a company called Bestbuy one of the big box stores that has a tech staff known as the Geek Squad. Do you have anything like that in your country ? If you do take it to them and have them pay to fix it. They will give you an estimate for cost of repairs. Then you have to decied if it is worth the cost to fix it or just replace it. Guessing by your post, I think your warranty is up. If that is the case, it may just be easier buying a new computer. Lets us know how you made out.

"Is it safe to reconnect the wires?" FYI - When wires begin to fry it would be best to assume it is not safe.
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Greg71 10 years ago

Ok I reconnected the 4 wires with super-duper-definitely-connected connections, crossed my fingers and powered it up.

So far, it is running as normal so its all good.

Its a second-hand pc I bought recently and am using the opportunity to learn, rather than pay.

CPU runs at normal temp, graphics card at 40 - 42 degrees under no load.

The good thing about this is that i took the heatsink off and blew it out with a can of compressed air, plus the power supply and all vents, so that will benefit the machine going forward.

So far, so good. Looks like it was possibly just bad connections on the power wires, resulting in extra heat on the connection, thus the melting and burnt wire.

Thats what i hope it is. The test will be when I load it up again with video converting.
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- BigFrank Banned 10 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Greg71
  
  using the opportunity to learn, rather than pay.
  
  I'm an old man and I have one thing to say about that: "As you learn, you'll pay - big time."
  
  Frank
  
  Thanks
  
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Regional Warrior

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Greg71

Hi. I am hoping someone might have some knowledge or thoughts on this situation.

It did it 4 or 5 times as I kept trying, then the last time i smelt burnt electrical wire.

Mate do you know the definition of insanity

mate let a sparky look at it before you cause a fire

Jason

Thanks
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Greg71 10 years ago

Yes I know what you mean haha. Fair call. I was hoping it would fix itself I guess. In actual fact, I was hoping it would get through the video conversion I was attempting. In the end, it made it abundantly clear to me that it wasn't happening
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yukon Banned 10 years ago

It's like working on a car, there's always extra parts leftover when your done working it.
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Greg71 10 years ago

Actually, the worst that can happen is something blowing and the thing shutting down. Cpu's and graphics cards reach a max temp before a failsafe kicks in.

This may not be true in all cases, but it would surprise me if this pc didn't have it because its fairly decent/modern spec (amd 8 core 3.5 cpu, 8g ram etc).

As long as you take precautions, these things are ok to work on. Pull plug out, discharge any current by pressing on button, earth out / use static wrist strap and so on.

Computer parts are cheap. I'm willing to risk blowing a power supply when they cost $65 to replace, whereas a tech will charge $90 an hour to diagnose, which I can do myself with a bit of research.

I might throw a new decent psu in it anyway, the one in it looks a bit on the cheap side.
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jbbryant 10 years ago

Bring it to PC shop or hire a technician. Don't risk damaging still usable PC components or injuries.
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dburk 10 years ago

Hi Greg71,

If you had a bad connector/connection that could have been the culprit.

Under powered PSUs are also a common problem.

You may want to check the PSU's maximum wattage and, if on the low side, upgrade to a higher wattage PSU, especially if you plan to continue to do a lot of video work with this machine. A higher wattage PSU can make a difference and extend the life of your other components. It's a good investment and can often be migrated to your next machine if it happens to come with a less powerful PSU.

HTH,

Don Burk
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- Greg71 10 years ago
  
  Hi Don,
  
  Finally, someone with some faith!
  
  I think this was the issue. The 8 pin mobo socket only had half of the splittable 8 pin psu wire plugged into it. It looked like it might have been the wrong type or something so the seller has plugged in half and left the other half hanging.
  
  Under load, the 8 core 3.5 amd cpu must have pulled too much current throu the 2 connected psu wires and therefore melted them.
  
  I bought a new psu of the same wattage (500) but of better quality than the "Besta" brand one that was in it. Got it hooked up last night with all 8 pins plugged in and loaded up 5 videos in the conversion queue, which it did without an issue.
  
  Then I ran a stress test program for an hour and it handled that, so I think the issue is resolved.
  
  It was exactly as you diagnosed, an underpowered cpu drawing too much current through a pair of wires not capable of handling it.
  
  Greg.
  
  Thanks
  
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Burnt wires in desktop computer.

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