Cursed CPU

[james_s]

Unlikely yes, but I find the idea of a motherboard or CPU killing power supplies to be at least equally unlikely. I too am curious to know what the root cause turns out to be.

[rdagger]

Despite the blown cap shown in my first post, the power supply tester shows that the PS is OK (for what it's worth).  During testing, I hooked the PS up to a 1 amp server fan.  The tester does not put a load on the PS.  Unfortunately I stripped the CPU cooler mount when I removed the PS so I'll have to wait until I can tap a new mount.

btw:  The blown cap is under the bundle of wires at the bottom right of the photo.

[shakalnokturn]

What more does a PSU tester do than the voltage monitor in the BIOS?

[rdagger]

What more does a PSU tester do than the voltage monitor in the BIOS?

Nothing, but the computer won't boot to BIOS.  It definitely won't tell definitively if the PS is good.

I'm leaning toward a bad motherboard.  I'm going to put the PS back together and throw it in another computer.  I think it might work despite the bad cap.

[rdagger]

Am I wrong about the failed cap?  Is it a Chemi-con aluminum polymer 470uF 16V cap?  Could the brown discharge on the side be something else?

[james_s]

I suppose it could be some kind of glue, I can't tell from the picture where it came from since it's on multiple parts.

[andy2000]

It looks like glue to me, but clean it off and see what's underneath to be sure.  One thing is certain, no overload could cause a cap to blow its top.

[rdagger]

It looks like glue to me, but clean it off and see what's underneath to be sure.  One thing is certain, no overload could cause a cap to blow its top.

I think you're right. I misdiagnosed the bad cap (rookie mistake).  It looks like yellow glue that turned brown from heat.  There's probably nothing wrong with the PS.  I guess it's the MB.

[bob225]

pull the board out of the case and bench test it, reset the bios and use the onboard graphics