Metspitzer wrote:
I took the machine back down stairs and hooked it up. It didn't
work. The location is in the center of a very large room. There
only outlets are along the wall. The computer was plugged into a
power strip and then a 25 ft drop cord. The drop cord may be 12
Gauge, but I am sure it is at least 14 Gauge. I measured the voltage
and it was 119.
You measured the voltage where? At the power strip into which you
plugged the computer? If so, are you using the same power cord to the
computer downstairs that you use upstairs? When you plug the computer's
power cord (just that) into the power strip, do you see normal voltage
at the end of the computer power cord?
How did you measure voltage? With a meter? How about an outlet tester
(to make sure the wall outlets are wired correctly)? Is it a grounded
outlet? If so, did you test the ground is grounded, like checking
continuity to a water pipe?
Can you plug a working lamp into the same wall outlet and again into the
power strip to make sure the circuit can handle a load? How about a
vacuum cleaner? Just because you measure voltage doesn't mean the
circuit can handle the current load. I've seen fuses that blew.
Normally the metal strip blows apart; however, in one case, there was
just a crack in the metal strip and they were touching. So voltage
measure fine until I put a load on that circuit whereupon voltage
dropped to zero or very low. I could get some things to work, like an
LCD clock but a radio or lamp would fail. Check the fuse for that
circuit in the downstairs room. If you have breakers, flip the room's
breaker twice (off-on-off-on).
Does your electrical box have a whole-house surge protector? How about
the power strip? Get rid of any surge protectors if possible and use
unprotected wiring to power the computer. Surge protectors that use
MOVs work by shorting when there is excessive spike voltage. This
breaks down the MOV over time. Eventually the MOV fails first by
shorting and then burning open (and why MOVs can cause fires in surge
protectors if the short isn't quick to blow open). Get rid of the surge
protected power strip and use an unprotected one for now. Surge
protectors have been determined to cause some house fires. I had a
video link at one time that showed what happens to too many so-called
[cheapie] surge protectors that are continuously spiked to break down
the MOV (in a short time instead of the long time normally experienced
by a MOV in shorting the spikes) and the power strip burning up. It was
dramatic and scary. See
at
its 0:50 timemark and again at the 3:00 timemark (the MOV has already
been shorting catastrophically for awhile and getting host before you
see a fire like what is shown). Most "fires" are internal to the surge
protector's case so you might only see some scorching or carbon smudges.
Some protectors use fire retardant encased MOVs because of how they
catastrophically fail after an excessive number of spikes getting
shorted through them.
Their description of a MOV as a "sponge" to absorb the spike is wrong.
It *shorts* across the pads of the MOV to short the spike to ground
although some surge protectors also have MOVs across the hot and neutral
to handle those spikes. A coil will absorb and nullify. A MOV shorts.
The vast majority of consumer-grade surge protectors are surge arrestors
in that they short the spike. Some (more expensive surge *suppressors*)
absorb the spike and then span the overage over a longer time. One
example of a surge suppressor can be read about at zerosurge.com under
their tech info section. A MOV is a ceramic wafer with a metallic
scintered screen inside that reduces impedance on a spike (which looks
like high frequency). The spike punches (burns) through the screen from
one side to the other. There is NO absorbing of the spike. It gets
shorted across the MOV. This shorting burns a path through the MOV so
it degrades over time. Eventually it cannot handle a spike and can
short for too long before completely opening. The high current during
the extended short causes fires. Hopefully if you have a protector
using old MOV technology that it also is fused to cut out when the MOV
catastrophically shorts to prevent the high current that generates heat
and a fire. Alas, again, cheapies using MOVs aren't fused (fuselink or
circuit breaker). Some of the better ones put a lamp across the MOV.
If the MOV is open (its normal condition) then the lamp is on. If the
MOV is shorted, the lamp is off (because there's no voltage across a
short). Alas, the lamp being on showing the MOV is open could also mean
it has catastrophically failed, shorted and burned into an open
condition, and the lamp will be on. The only way to know for sure the
MOV is working is by testing it but testing is destructive in that
you're shorting and burning out small pieces of the scintered metal
within, so don't test too often.
Here's some aftermath pictures and videos of cheapie protectors going
ablaze:
http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=surge+protector+fire
(*)
(*) This guy really isn't demonstrating spiked voltage that these
protectors are supposed to short or absorb; however, remember that the
protector is getting zapped many times over its lifetime (before
catastrophic failure). Whether the protector gets hot enough to cause a
fire or itself burst into flames depends on what components were use
inside, insulation, fire retardants, and type of enclosure (the plastic
housing could be flammable but then a metallic housing would get hot and
catch something on fire against which it pressed, like the carpet, wood
desk, etc).
If you're going to go cheap on a surge protector/suppressor then don't
bother buying one and just get a power strip. Either pay for good
protection or don't pay at all.
You think it has 14-guage wire in the power strip's cord. Does it
really? Did you buy an $80+ surge protector or an under $30 cheapie?
The cheapies are often nothing more than an extension cord and that is
18 guage (i.e., lamp cord). Although some sites say 18-guage is okay
for a 16A load and 16-guage okay for 22A, I still find cords getting
warm enough to detect with my hand that are under these max loads. If
the cord feels warm then the cord's wire is undersized. The load
ratings are for a free standing wire (in air and by itself), not when
you bundle them inside a vinyl case with other wires, run along the
carpeting, or shove together with other power wiring behind your desk or
entertainment center. Another term for chassis wiring for amperage
rating is the free-air amperage rating. Once you bundle the wire with
others, the max current rating goes down to about 60%, or less. So your
14-gauge single-wire free-air rating of 32A goes down to 17A when
bundled; see
http://wiki.xtronics.com/index.php/Wire-Gauge_Ampacity.
How about the extension cord you used between the wall outlet to the
surge protector? Most cheap extension cords are just 18 guage and
they'll get warm or hot if you use all their outlets for big power
devices connected to it. Plus using an extension cord with a surge
protector is ALWAYS a no-no. Get a surge protector with a longer cord.
10 feet of power cord can induce a 400V spike during a surge, and then
add the length of cord for the power strip. Also, for surge protection,
make sure you use the same wall outlet for all protected devices. Don't
run a surge protector from one wall outlet to your computer, another
surge protector from a different wall outlet to your stereo, and then
connect your stereo to your computer. The length of interior wiring
between the wall outlets plus the lengths of cords to the surge
protector provide an impedence to a voltage spike that can induce high
voltage.
How many other devices did you have plugged into the same wall outlet
that were drawing power? You might only have a 15A circuit for the
room. Current load and wire heating is based on the interior wiring to
the wall outlets and the fused load for that circuit, not to a bunch of
extension cords plugged into the wall outlets. Did you feel if the
extension cord was warm?
How many into the power strip? Did you feel its cord's temperature to
see if it was warm?
Did you check the power strip's cord end, each end of the extension cord
(just get rid of that to be safe), and the wall outlet for scorch or
carbon marks from arcing? Making you have crappy connections. Look at
the prongs on the cord ends to make sure they aren't oxidized, corroded,
or pitted. You'll need a flashlight to look into the female cord ends
and into the wall outlet. Arcing will deteriorate the connection, up
the resistance, and the arcing itself makes noise (and blue arcs if it's
dark enough in the room).
Since you say the computer sits in the middle of the room, were are the
power cords routed? Under foot? If so, the constant stepping on them
can damage the insulation or connectors and cause shorts. If you cannot
route them overhead in a suspended ceiling, through the walls, or under
a raised floor then get a cord protector. You slide the cords into the
protector which is hard rubber that won't crush underfoot. Use a strong
one (
http://www.discountramps.com/hdImages/floor-cable-protector-10.jpg)
that is heavy-duty and doesn't crush under the weight of you standing on
it with both feet. The lightweight soft vinyl cheapies
(
http://ak.buy.com/PI/0/500/205675672.jpg) are just for show to tidy up
a room's look and do nothing to prevent damage to walked-on power cords
since the protector crushes to then crush the cords within. Of course,
this means you'll be tripping over the sturdy cord protector if it's in
an well travelled area and why some are bright yellow so you don't
forget it's there.
Check for any frays (scrapped off insulation) on the cords?
Got mice in the house? They chew on wiring insulation inside the walls.
Squirrels, too.
If you have GFI outlets, did you check if they popped?
Like you guys have said, the pop is pretty good sign that a cap died.
The mobo doesn't look like it has a bad cap, that gives the PS more
weight as the problem.
Since you say it works upstairs and not downstairs, I'm now thinking you
have a bad surge protector, damaged cords, blown GFI outlet, slightly
shorting near-blown fuse, or some wiring problem downstairs.
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