Okay, here's the deal... I have a 2ndary machine sitting on the floor in my room. It's not in a case, it's just salvaged parts that i put together to make a little backup PC. It's being powered by a good 'ole L&C PSU. PSU has all Capxon caps... anyway, the heatsink closest to the main caps stays hot all the time, and the heatsink on the other side stays slightly warm. Is this normal? PSU still works fine, and I know the reputation L&C has as I went through a few of them in my cheaper days. I just want to make sure it's not going to burn the house down if the machine is off while I'm away. I have another L&C in the drawer, but I haven't tried that one yet. Maybe I should...
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Ludicrous gibs!
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Re: internal PSU heatsinks stay hot when PSU is off
Usually, there are 3 transistors on the primary-side heatsink in a typical ATX PSU. One of them is for the AUX PSU - it can be warm. There can be 7805 regulator for the +5VSB on the other heatsink. -
Re: internal PSU heatsinks stay hot when PSU is off
What is the model of the other L&C?
It is normal for a power supply's internal heatsinks to be warm when off, and Rainbow points that out.My gaming PC:
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition 3.3GHz Six-Core CPU (Socket AM3)
ASUS M4A77TD AMD 770 AM3 Motherboard
PowerColor AMD Radeon RX 480 8GB GDDR5 PCI-Express x16 3.0 Graphics Card
G.SKILL Value Series 16GB DDR3-1333 RAM (4x4GB dual channel)
TOSHIBA DT01ACA200 2TB 3.5" SATA HDD (x2)
WD Caviar Green WD20EARX 2TB 3.5" SATA HDD
ASUS Xonar DG 5.1 Channel PCI sound card
Antec HCG-750M 750W ATX12V v2.32 80 PLUS BRONZE Power Supply
Antec Three Hundred Mid-Tower Case
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bitComment
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Re: internal PSU heatsinks stay hot when PSU is off
Never ever touch the heatsink in a PSU! It can hold lethal voltages, I should know, I got zapped by an old AT PSU, when also holding the chassi with the other hand "I was just gonna see if it got hot"
Damn good idea... I've been chocked by 230v mains and also 400v mains but this damn shock felt allot worse than that...
That's just my 0,02SEK worth...
EDIT; Just wanted to clearify that this is not directly a message to you dood, but to all visitors that might read this thread and decide to check the temps of their PSU's... Since you are still alive I'm sure your method of measuring the temperature worked just fine
Last edited by Per Hansson; 01-18-2006, 02:56 PM."The one who says it cannot be done should never interrupt the one who is doing it."Comment
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Re: internal PSU heatsinks stay hot when PSU is off
Yes, never touch that when connected to AC. The transistors in some PSUs are mounted directly to the heatsink without insulation pads - so DC voltage from the big caps can be present there.Comment
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Re: internal PSU heatsinks stay hot when PSU is off
PSU was definitely unplugged when I touched the heatsink... I always unplug PSUs before opening. I remember seeing a label on a heatsink in an old AT PSU that actually said "Live heatsink"
But yeah, consider myself warned :pLudicrous gibs!
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Re: internal PSU heatsinks stay hot when PSU is off
Plugged in the other L&C PSU with nothing else plugged into it, and the case has gotten pretty warm, too, so I'm guessing it's the same deal. One is a VT-250ATX and the other is a LC-250ATX. I think they're the same... Both of them have all Capxon everywhere, though... it's just that the rest of the supply sucks.Ludicrous gibs!
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Re: internal PSU heatsinks stay hot when PSU is off
I've seen PSUs where the transistors were mounted on insulators but the heatsink still had high voltage on it because it was connected directly to the 170VDC coming out of the rectifier. It was explained to me that this was done to reduce EMI without compromising safety, in case the PSU wasn't connected to a grounded outlet and the transistor insulation failed.Originally posted by RainbowComment
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Re: internal PSU heatsinks stay hot when PSU is off
Plugged in a Sparkle ATX-300GT that I have here, left it plugged in for about an hour, same as the L&C, and the heatsinks were only slightly warm to the touch. I'm guessing the L&Cs have some sort of design flaw that keeps the transistors on all the time, because the heatsink closest to the big caps was HOT, not just warm. Guess that's another reason not to trust L&C supplies... I mean, Deer... I think
Ludicrous gibs!
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Re: internal PSU heatsinks stay hot when PSU is off
The best thing you can do when using crappy PSUs like that is to disconnect/turn off AC power when you don't use it. Then you'll know that it will not catch fire when you're away
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Re: internal PSU heatsinks stay hot when PSU is off
>That's just my 0,02SEK worth...
What's SEK?Comment
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Re: internal PSU heatsinks stay hot when PSU is off
whats GOOGLE for?Comment
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Re: internal PSU heatsinks stay hot when PSU is off
Haha, yes, Willawake, the text rigth above the first google hit is pretty telling
Chris1992; It's the Swedish currency ;-)"The one who says it cannot be done should never interrupt the one who is doing it."Comment
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Re: internal PSU heatsinks stay hot when PSU is off
I thought Sweden used Euro...Comment
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Re: internal PSU heatsinks stay hot when PSU is off
http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...=sweden%20euro
incredible toolComment
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Re: internal PSU heatsinks stay hot when PSU is off
Haha willawake
Chris1992; no, we crazy Swedes did not enter the Euro... I thought it was a real shame because I spend allot of time abroad because I am a Roadracing Mechanic for profession...
On the flip side of the coin (haha) the SEK increased in value compared to the Dollar and Euro while the "experts" said it would drop in value if we did not change to the Euro...
www.andreasmartensson.se"The one who says it cannot be done should never interrupt the one who is doing it."Comment
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