Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

[infringer]

The fuse is good it tries to turn on with pwr on jumpered to ground and a load connected but does not there is a faint brief burnt smell after you hear the initial spring like sound and then a quiet bzzt almost like a crossed wire, but nothing looks burnt nothing smells burnt inside of the supply.

So would it be around the sense circuit by the optocouplers and the resistor or do you think it would be the diode next to the 300v caps none of the caps look bloated or bad to be honest I'm thinking it is likely something else even though I recall there being other supplies that the slightest bit over on esr made the difference but for the most part it seems if a cap is not bloated it is most often still good could it be the optocouplers themselves IDK the more and more I look at this thing the more I am in wonder.

I have taken some pics to share providing they all upload.

Note: I have asked corsair for a refund but I cannot find my receipt to be honest so they declined my RMA and I think I may have ordered parts with an old friend who I lost touch with over the last couple years. So I went ahead and opened up the case and low and behold they were going to give me a "special" circumstance RMA! pfffft the think was sold no earlier than mid 2010 and it had a 7yr warranty when it cost me an arm and a leg. Then they told me they'd give me a power supply with a lesser value and I thought ok this one was overkill why not. Then he told me being that it was opened we are going to send you a mousepad as a token of our appreciation what a friggin joke these guys are. I uploaded pictures that clearly showed my warranty still intact and I put my flash drive that I told them I had on top of it as well as took a picture of my coolers. I think it is such BS for a non serviceable item to not carry an RMA on a lousy technicality like this I opened the dang thing to check the fuse cause at the time I wasn't even aware it was making noise I just knew it would not run. Let me tell you there ought to be a law against not RMA a defective product I don't care who had it or where the receipt is to be honest they have only sold the product for 4 years and they all carry a 7 year warranty weather Joe has his receipt or he gave it to billy it should still work at this point. These technical ways of wiggling your way out of doing whats right after making millions upon millions off of other peoples hard work is just insanity improve your consumers financial position, improve their outlook on you as a company and get good feedback this is the loop I'll never suggest a corsair product to anyone after this.

[infringer]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

I'm half tempted to try and trick the optocouplers to make it stay on and see what burns up but I don't really want to make it any more expensive of a fix that it already is lol.

I know there is some people with a lot more working knowledge than I on this forum when it comes to power supplies so any direction would be appreciated to try and save me a bit of time.

Thanks in advance!

[momaka]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

Don't assume the optocouplers are bad (they actually rarely - if ever - go bad) and definitely don't "force" or "short" anything in there. If anything, this will likely make the PSU very hard to repair when other parts blow. Lastly, if the fuse was blown, you wouldn't get power on at all.

The fact that the PSU "tries" to turn on with a blip probably means there's a short circuit on one of the outputs.

Do you have a multimeter and do you know how to use it? Let me know and we can start.

[infringer]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

I have a few tools that may help:

A multimeter
A digital thermometer
An infrared thermometer
A capacitance meter (errr I think this is faulty but the esr is good)
An ESR meter
An adjustable 0-30v PSU 10amp
An Electirc Pump style desoldering iron
A hot air station
A battery tab spot welder
tektronix oscilloscope TDS 540 (need some new probes only have one currently am very cautious with it.)

All of this at my disposal and yes I know how to use it not to say that I haven't created sparks before when I first started off messing with TV's a while back I have since learned quite a bit when it comes to safety seeing as I don't have the steadiest hand in the world

And at times need someone to lend me a hand only repaired a couple of ATX based power supplies mainly easy issues that were noticeable that is why it'd be nice to get some help here...

[momaka]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

Sounds like you have more than enough equipment . (okay, that was a joke... there is no such thing as "too much equipment" ).
Anyways...

Start with the 5VSB on the main ATX connector. Plug the PSU in the wall and check that there is 5V on the 5VSB wire. Voltage should be stable and within 5% of that value.

If good, unplug the PSU and wait for a little bit for the 5VSB to discharge (better yet, connect a small load like a 100 Ohm resistor between 5VSB and ground so that the PSU discharges). Next, measure resistance between ground and all rails one at a time. That is, check resistance between 12V rail and ground, 5V rail and ground, 3.3V rail and ground, and -12V rail and ground. Before taking the reading, make sure to leave the multimeter connected on each rail for at least a few second so that the output caps charge up. Otherwise you might read some really low resistances. Report back what resistances you get.

[infringer]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

5.11 v 5vsb

Readings taken off and fully discharged on 200k ohm setting

3.3v = 2.9

5v = 2.2

-12v = 1.7

+12v = 0.0 resistance is futile :P (Both outputs) I'm guessing this may narrow it down a slight bit.

By the way thanks for the help if you have a dogecoin wallet and you help me fix this I'll throw you a tip for helping.

If it gets too late I'll respond tomorrow gotta wake up for work in a few hours here... Arcade manufacturing can be hard lots of crawling around on cement floors and being bent in odd positions for hours as well as lifting and moving the dang things around there is a lot more work than people imagine when you see an arcade. If your schooling ever makes you an engineer keep this in mind there have been a thousand ways I could have done stuff easier if I were to design how things were done.

Have equipment I need more brains errrr scary I sound like a zombie

[momaka]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

5VSB looks healthy, so that's good.

Readings taken off and fully discharged on 200k ohm setting

3.3v = 2.9

5v = 2.2

-12v = 1.7

+12v = 0.0 resistance is futile :P (Both outputs) I'm guessing this may narrow it down a slight bit.

Unfortunately, those results are not yet helpful.
Sorry for that, I should have been more specific :\ . Try again, this time with 200 Ohms setting. We are looking for low resistanes. Let me know what results you get. My guess is, you'll probably get out-of-range results ("0L" or a "1" on the left side of your multimter's screen) for 3.3V, 5V, and -12V rails. On that note, whever you get a 0 (zero) on some scale, switch to a lower scale until you reach a scale where you get a number that fills the scale more reasonably.

By the way thanks for the help if you have a dogecoin wallet and you help me fix this I'll throw you a tip for helping.

No problem.
No, I don't have any type of e-coin wallet, but even if I did, it's not necessary to send me anything .

If it gets too late I'll respond tomorrow gotta wake up for work in a few hours here...

No rush. I myself may be on-and-off in the next few days, as I will be switching my rental apartment at the univeristy and possibly moving.

Arcade manufacturing can be hard lots of crawling around on cement floors and being bent in odd positions for hours as well as lifting and moving the dang things around there is a lot more work than people imagine when you see an arcade.

So you make arcade machines? That just sounds really cool, even though it may be a lot of work.

If your schooling ever makes you an engineer keep this in mind there have been a thousand ways I could have done stuff easier if I were to design how things were done.

Yes, I am working towards an EET degree. However, I do find it more fun to work on broken stuff that's been designed already than to come up with my own designs. But I don't know, maybe I need a hard job like yours to rub that "fun" off. So far, that hasn't happened yet when doing this on the side as a hobby. I spent an entire week this summer working in an odd position on the control board on an old washing machine. Still enjoyed it every bit despite my butt hurting a bit at times from sitting on a hard tile floor. Perhaps we need to switch places .

[stj]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

do you work for raw thrills by any chance?

[infringer]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

Nope sure don't but we do contract for larger operations than that Namco, Sega, and Global VR as well as a slew of other smaller companies. We were in talks with raw thrills but so far they seem set on a specific contractor would have been neat to work contract for them as well without a doubt it was an open ended deal though so maybe something will come down the pipe in the near future I do know raw thrills had one large success in there big buck hunter or whatever it was called other than that there orders don't match namco's or sega. GlobalVR has went extremely lean though after their large success with the V3 which was an awesome one of a kind game nothing like it out there available still to this day. If they wanted to do something they should remake this game it was a very tedious game to make but interesting game play. Enjoy thanks for your interest

[infringer]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

OK I'll mop up those numbers for you and report back!

[Behemot]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

If you have a digital multimeter, than using diode tester would be more efficient for detecting bad diodes…

[infringer]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

3.3v = 1
5v all pins = 1
+12v 4th Pin =.03
+12v 5th Pin = 1
-12v = 1

[Agent24]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

Probably you have something shorted on a 12v rail

[momaka]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

3.3v = 1
5v all pins = 1
+12v 4th Pin =.03
+12v 5th Pin = 1
-12v = 1

I'm guessing those results with a "1" were with that number on the left side of the screen... i.e. not 1.0 Ohms. This indicates that the resistance is higher than 200 Ohms. To avoid confusion, always say "out of range" or "0L" when you get that "1"

As for the result on the 4th pin on the 12V rail - what exactly are you referring to as the "4th pin"? -The modular connector on the PSU or something else? In that case, where are the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd pins?

Otherwise, if that 0.03 Ohm reading really is on one of the 12V lines, then it looks like there is a short circuit on it. Just a curious question though - what brand and model of multimeter are you using? Most non-professional meters I know don't have less that 100 mOhms resolution. Perhaps you had 0.3 Ohms? Not that that would change the results. 0.3 Ohms is still more or less a short circuit. Anyways, the problem is likely a shorted rectifier or a shorted ceramic capacitor on the bottom side of the PCB. Trace the wire(s) that are connected to the 4th pin on the 12V line and see where they go on the PSU's PCB. From there, trace back (or indicate on the pictures) where these wires go and what components they are connected to.

[Behemot]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

This is what you get when you tell somebody to test diode with resistance meter - nonsense. That's what diode meter is for! I will simply beep you if something is bad.

[momaka]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

This is what you get when you tell somebody to test diode with resistance meter - nonsense.

No, I didn't ask the OP to test a diode with resistance meter. Rather, the resistance measurement is to check if there is anything shorted on the output. Whether it is a shorted rectifier or a shorted capacitor, it will appear as a low resistance. A low mV reading on diode test is more confusing to interpret, since there could be minimum-load resistors on the output. With resistance measurement, it is easier to identify if there are any.

Also, cheap multimeters (like the 830, for example) have diode test and continuity function on the same setting. This leads to even more confusion (or nonesense, if you like), because people often report, "Oh, my meter beeps, I have a short circuit".
- WRONG! Continuity is a very loose definition. Some multimeters will beep for continuity in under 50 Ohms, others under 20 Ohms, and yet some as high as 100 Ohms. Why this matters? I've seen partially shorted ceramic capacitors measure as high as 32 Ohms and bad diodes as high as 10 Ohms.

I almost always check with resistance AND continuity/diode test. Depends on the circuit, really.

[Behemot]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

You do know the diode tester basicaly measures voltage drop, right? So if there is short, it beeps and shows 0as there is 0 drop. That is thousand times more telling than measuring resistance because these cheap multimeters measure several ohms where is almost 0. I tend to know something about the subject as I use such multimeter daily and do around 65 % of measurements with it.

[infringer]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

Display LCD 59 x 25 mm, 1999 DC voltage, V Range 200mV/2V/20V/200V/1000V Accuracy ±(0.5%+1) AC voltage, V Range 2V/20V/200V/750V Accuracy ±(0.8%+3) DC current, A Range 2mA/200mA/20A Accuracy ±(0.8%+1) AC current, A Range 20mA/200mA/20A Accuracy ±(1%+3) Resistance, Ω Range 200Ω/2kΩ/200kΩ/2MΩ/20MΩ Accuracy ±(0.8%+1) Capacitance, F Range 20nF/200nF/2uF/100uF Accuracy ±(2.5%+5) Inductance, H Range 2mH/20mH/200mH/20H Accuracy ±(2%+10) Temperature, ºC Range -40ºC ~ 1000ºC Accuracy ±(1%+3) Sampling rate 2-3x/s Power 9V battery: NEDA 1604, 6F22 or 006P Dimensions (H x W x D), mm 165 x 80 x 38.3 Weight, g (including battery) 275

UNI-T UT50D

Sure it is not a fluke but it does the job fairly well for the price....

Yes correct it is a 1 is not a measurement it is an indicator out of range.

hrmmm I suspected that from the first reading a short somewhere on the 12v but where it could be is the question there are 2 + 12v lines it would technically be pins 10 and 11 on the atx connector dunno why I said fourth but sorry for the mix up.

[momaka]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

You do know the diode tester basicaly measures voltage drop, right? So if there is short, it beeps and shows 0as there is 0 drop.

Yes, diode test measures voltage drop.
Your second statement is wrong, though. No, a short circuit will not always appear as zero voltage drop. I've seen a diode fail with a voltage drop of much higher than zero (i.e. not exactly a "hard" short circuit).
And like I said, many multimeters will beep on continuity/diode test if there is a resistor in the circuit with a resistance as high as 50 Ohms.

And such a case is not uncommon. What if the output rectifier is not shorted and there is a load resistor of a low value (say 24 Ohms - typical for a 5V rail on a guttless wonder PSU)? An inexperienced member will likely never notice the load resistor and just post the low voltage drop, leading others to think the o/p rectifiers are shorted when they really aren't.

That is thousand times more telling than measuring resistance because these cheap multimeters measure several ohms where is almost 0.

Yes.
And they often measure a non-zero voltage drop too because of the resistance in the leads. In fact, with the 830 variants, there is very little difference between using the diode/continuity setting and the 2000 Ohm setting. Try it and see for yourself.

I've tried many 830's. They all show between 1 and 3 Ohms on 2000 Ohm setting and 1 to 3 mV drop on continuity/diode test.

I tend to know something about the subject as I use such multimeter daily and do around 65 % of measurements with it.

As do I. My 830D is close to 14 years old not, if not more. I got it before I was even a teenager, so I know every little quirk and oddity it has. Of course, I do also have a better multimeter - I use in conjunction with the 830 to double-check certain measurements every once in a while or where the 830's accuracy doesn't quite cut it.

[Behemot]

Re: Corsair AX1200 Series Any Suggestions

Well, seems that I have some deluxe one than cause if there is continuity, I get 0. No 1-3, zero. If there is some small value e.g. because of resistor, than well, you can always have a look…if somebody misses it, than we are here to point him to it