EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

[DOS-man]

Hello, and thank you for your help.

I have an Antec Earthwatts EA-500D that I recently tried swapping from my newer PC into an older one. However, I find that though it worked normally in the new PC, it will run for only 1 to 2 seconds in the old PC before it shuts down. The old PC works normally if I use my EA-650 PSU, but I'd rather use the EA-500D because I find it to be quieter overall.

New PC.
i5-750, Gigabyte P55-ud3R, XFX Radeon 4850, 8GB DDR3, 3 Hard drives, 1 DVD-RW.

Old PC
AMD Athlon II 4200+, Abit KN8-SLI, Gigabyte 4550 (No external power connector), 4GB DDR, 1 hard drive, 1 DVD-ROM.

Troubleshooting I've tried.
1. Swapped 12v connectors on the motherboard - no difference
2. This board (KN8-SLI) as an unusual molex connector at the bottom that is apparently included for sending extra power to the PCI-E slots. I tried plugging that in, it made no difference.
3. The motherboard can also apparently run on either a 24 or 20 pin connector, so I tried running it either way, but nothing changed.

At this point I'm guessing this has something to do with power draw on either the 12v or 5v lines, but the load table on both PSUs is pretty close. The EA-500D provides 24A on the 5v, the EA-650 provides 25A. This difference seems too insignificant to make a difference, but I can't figure out what else it could be.

Anyway, really scratching my head over this, thanks for your help.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

EA-500D has two +12v rails
EA-650 has three +12v rails

Sounds like you are loading a +12v rail too heavy.
Try evening out the +12v load across the rails.
.

[DOS-man]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

Thank you for replying,

I did some further testing, and it still does this if the only things it's powering are the CPU, mobo, and RAM. I even pulled the video card, but that didn't change anything.

[mockingbird]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

Maybe some of the capacitors inside died. IIRC, there were some questionable caps in my EA-500D last time I opened it up.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

Every Earthwatts I've seen has some questionable caps.
Usually have some LTEC and/or Taicon.
But so far I haven't seen [or heard of] one going bad over caps problems.
Was doing preemptive recaps for a while but now I'm using them as-is to see if they last like that.
.

[seanc]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

Hmm, this would be the first Delta built Antec *I've* seen with an issue, although I think I have one at the office is which is squealing.

Pics of the inside please.

[DOS-man]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

Thanks for all the replies.

Because this unit is still very new, and I'm still just learning about PSU repair, I've decided to RMA the unit. I know it goes against the spirit of this board, but I've got to be realistic about my chances of executing a repair successfully, and I'd rather not learn to solder on something that's still under warranty if I have other options. I will post a followup when I get the replacement. I still have a feeling that maybe this board and this PSU just don't get along for some obscure reason.

Again, thank you.

[mockingbird]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

I heard that there are two revisionjs of the EA-500D. If your unit is new, I would be curious to see their new design, though you shouldn't open if it's still under warranty, and you did good by RMAing it. Why should you bother with it if it's under warranty?

[PCBONEZ]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

That I know of: EA-500, EA-500D, EA-500D-Green

[DOS-man]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

The PSU in question is the EA-500D Green

[delaware74b]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

^x2 - warranty replace the power supply unless you've opened it. It has a 3-year warranty.

[DOS-man]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

Ok, so replacement arrived today. Plugged it into the motherboard, powering no other components, and... Same exact problem. The problem must be in the interaction between the board and the PSU. What could it be?

[Rulycat]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

I know older PSUs had some sort of -5V or something that is missing on new PSUs.

Maybe the board needs that?

[PCBONEZ]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

Any burned looking pins in the connectors?

[DOS-man]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

Nope, connectors look fine. Also, this board boots OK with my EA-650 v2, reviewed here. http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php...Story&reid=110

In notice that the EA-650 supplies 25 amps on the 5v and 3.5v rails, but the EA-500D Green supplies just 24 amps on those rails. That seems like too small a difference to be the source of the problem, but could that be it?

[PCBONEZ]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

Nope, connectors look fine. Also, this board boots OK with my EA-650 v2, reviewed here. http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php...Story&reid=110

I was talking about the motherboard side too...
I know what they look like, I have 2 or 3 of them..
And a review won't tell me if YOUR pins are burned or not..

In notice that the EA-650 supplies 25 amps on the 5v and 3.5v rails, but the EA-500D Green supplies just 24 amps on those rails. That seems like too small a difference to be the source of the problem, but could that be it?

No.

[DOS-man]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

I should have indicated that I was referring to the connectors on the motherboard. I gave them another close examination just now and they look as good as new, no scorching or discoloration.

Good to know that I was correct about that amperage difference. Thank you for taking the time to reply.

[Rulycat]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

Very odd situation.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

I should have indicated that I was referring to the connectors on the motherboard. I gave them another close examination just now and they look as good as new, no scorching or discoloration.

You did check the 2x2 [4-pin] also. The whole reason I asked is that someone was using mis-sized parts for a while. The pins in the 2x2 on mobo didn't get good contact causing them to burn. Unfortunatly I can remember exactly who had that problem.
.

[DOS-man]

Re: EA-500D boots one PC but not the other

Indeed, checked those as well. No problem there either.