Enermax Liberty ELT400AWT making clicking noise but still running

[Behemot]

Re: Enermax Liberty ELT400AWT making clicking noise but still running

First generation of this PSU got problem with this shit going conductive over time…maybe that's it, try to clean the PSU from it…

[Behemot]

Re: Enermax Liberty ELT400AWT making clicking noise but still running

I got the very same problem with 500W version now. There are two 0,168ohm (brown, blue, silver, gold, green) resistors in parallel in PFC. There also seems to be one hidden under heatsink, according to diode setting on DMM, they are all 0. So if all three in parallel, that makes 0,056 ohm. ESR Micro reads 0,03-0,04 ohm.

There is no glue on primary at all, there was only soem lackuer holding ferrite rings on FETs legs, I scraped it from one place where it was touchign heatsink. It still clicks. All capacitors were replaced.

My only bet is input cap as it has somewhat low capacitance (284 uF, rated 330), but ESR is OK, 0,11 or so ohm. Besides the cap, I think that only bad component may be the PFC coil.

ADD// I tried paper tube and I think it's the PFC coil
ADD2// replaced PFC coil, the bloody thing still clicks!

[Behemot]

Re: Enermax Liberty ELT400AWT making clicking noise but still running

Also changed input cap, still clicking. The frequency is different, but it clicks.

Do you think it's safe to leave it be? I've read that quite many of 620W Liberties which suffered heavily by clicking also often burned in flames and killed components in computer. But I ckeched everything, replaced most parts and no change.

[Agent24]

Re: Enermax Liberty ELT400AWT making clicking noise but still running

Interesting. Mine started doing it again. No obvious problems but I don't want to use it.

I expect if we checked the output on an oscilloscope it will probably show some spikes\crap at the same frequency of the clicking. I don't think it would be a good idea to use them in that state on hardware you care about. I'll have a look but I don't have a decent load tester so I don't know how accurate the results would be, though.

I didn't check the primary capacitor on mine but if you tried replacing and it made no difference then I suppose that's not it.


I still suspect the PFC control circuitry\diode. If the PFC coil is making the noise but a replacement doesn't help.

Since mine started clicking again (it stopped for no apparent reason) I am tempted to try it again. Maybe swap the PFC control board from another I have which blew a transistor.

[Behemot]

Re: Enermax Liberty ELT400AWT making clicking noise but still running

I don't have x100 probe for oscilloscope and using just x10 would blast it off but let me order one, wanted anyway for the 24'' Samsung I've been troubleshooting.

…

OK, hopefuly it will be here in a couple of weeks.

[Agent24]

Re: Enermax Liberty ELT400AWT making clicking noise but still running

I was thinking of checking the secondary output, wouldn't need a x100 for that.

But regardless if there are spikes or noise in the outputs, it's obviously faulty and shouldn't be running in that state. I know I don't want to use mine like this anyway.

I do have an old x1000 one, for checking EHT on CRTs I think? - not sure it would be much use here though. The tip is probably too big! Plus I think it's just for voltmeters.

[Behemot]

Re: Enermax Liberty ELT400AWT making clicking noise but still running

If the problem is in PFC, it probably would not propagate through capacitor and switching transistors to secondary.