Author Topic: Gigabyte GTX 1070 Mini - No fan spin no video, dead cap found? [solved!] (Read 7970 times)

ThingWizard · « **on:** April 03, 2021, 11:59:39 am »

Hi!

All of a sudden this morning my computer did not wake from sleep, well it actually woke but there was no video. I tried the graphics card in another computer, same thing. No fan spin no video.

Ok, so I removed the heatsink from the graphics card and found a small black dot on the heat pad just over the vrms. Looks like something got hot.

I took my usb microscope out and saw this:

That capacitor (named C178) looks a bit sad, like something may have sparked here. I tried cleaning it up and re-flow it but the problem still remains.
The problem area is located here (red Arrow):

SO MY QUESTION: If the fan does not spin, I guess it is not getting power, but does the fact that the fan does not spin help me in troubleshooting, and if so in what way? - And, do we know where in the circuit that capacitor is. Are there schematics for these boards?

MY NEXT PLAN is to remove the heatsink and read the voltages coming out of the different rails in the VRM section to try to find the problem. A problem is I don't know what the voltages should be.

Any help really appreciated as graphics card prices are through the roof right now, and my bank account is not

Cheers!

coromonadalix · « **Reply #1 on:** April 03, 2021, 01:50:33 pm »

my Zotac GTX 1060 6gb mini amp edition, the fans never spins until the card reach a defined temperature, and the speed will increase with the video load ??

the photo looks like a bad smt soldering and overheating and crust migration ??

wraper · « **Reply #2 on:** April 03, 2021, 02:03:47 pm »

That capacitor is shorted, cleaning or soldering will not help. Trying to power it may only cause more damage. It needs to be replaced or at least removed. Most likely fuse on that 12V power rail is blown as well. IIRC it's 0603 size with 4.7uF capacitance, should be rated for 16V at least. I think that part of VRM was powered from PCI-E slot with fuse located on the other side of PCB somewhere close to the slot on the end with video outputs. 1206 Size 10A fast action.

ThingWizard · « **Reply #3 on:** April 04, 2021, 03:42:22 pm »

Quote

the photo looks like a bad smt soldering and overheating and crust migration ??

Thank you for taking time to respond, that certainly sounds like a possibility. Of course I don't know it that is the problem or not...

I cannot remember if the fan spins on idle or not, but in any case I have no video out.
[EDIT]No they apparently don't
"3D Active Fan
The semi-passive fans will remain off when the GPU is under a set loading or temperature for low power gaming. It allows gamers to enjoy gameplay in complete silence when the system is running light or idle."
https://www.gigabyte.com/fi/Graphics-Card/GV-N1070IXOC-8GD#kf

I'm not getting any warning beeps one usually gets with missing graphics card.

I'll report back when I have measured the voltage on the different "channels".

Also, do you recommend a "bake"? 200c for 8 minutes with a side of fries

wraper · « **Reply #4 on:** April 04, 2021, 03:54:03 pm »

Quote

I'll report back when I have measured the voltage on the different "channels".
Also, do you recommend a "bake"? 200c for 8 minutes with a side of fries

Replace the faulty capacitor and blown fuse. Not destroy extremely easily and cheaply repairable graphics card for no reason

. That capacitor simply developed internal crack and has shorted.

wraper · « **Reply #5 on:** April 04, 2021, 04:09:21 pm »

Quote from: coromonadalix on April 03, 2021, 01:50:33 pm

the photo looks like a bad smt soldering and overheating and crust migration ??

The photo shows a capacitor which managed to fry for some time after shorting before fuse finally blew up.

ThingWizard · « **Reply #6 on:** April 04, 2021, 05:07:35 pm »

That sounds credible! Thank you @wraper
I have no voltage at all from the L3 L5 L7 L9 L11 L12 coils(?)

EDIT: I found the fuse, F4 on the back side.
Yes it is blown!

Okay, so now I only need to know the value of the bad capacitor C178

wraper · « **Reply #7 on:** April 04, 2021, 05:31:27 pm »

If you want, I can mail you replacement parts for the cost of shipping and parts with no markup, since I have them. I will need to go to the post to ship some other things anyway. Should take a week or two to arrive.

ThingWizard · « **Reply #8 on:** April 04, 2021, 05:45:17 pm »

Quote from: wraper on April 03, 2021, 02:03:47 pm

That capacitor is shorted, cleaning or soldering will not help. Trying to power it may only cause more damage. It needs to be replaced or at least removed. Most likely fuse on that 12V power rail is blown as well. IIRC it's 0603 size with 4.7uF capacitance, should be rated for 16V at least. I think that part of VRM was powered from PCI-E slot with fuse located on the other side of PCB somewhere close to the slot on the end with video outputs. 1206 Size 10A fast action.

Oh thank you so much, I did not see this message before, must have scrolled right past it. Thank you for giving me the values for the cap and the fuse! This should be pretty straight forward then!

ThingWizard · « **Reply #9 on:** April 04, 2021, 05:46:19 pm »

Quote from: wraper on April 04, 2021, 05:31:27 pm

If you want, I can mail you replacement parts for the cost of shipping and parts with no markup, since I have them. I will need to go to the post to ship some other things anyway. Should take a week or two to arrive.

That would be great! I'll send you a direct message for details

ThingWizard · « **Reply #10 on:** April 19, 2021, 03:53:58 pm »

I got the parts today and will replace them. Again thanz a million Wraper - During this time I also bought and Andonstar AD207 microscope that was very helpful de-soldering the blown components - looking forward to trying it on for size

Nice to have the forum back from the damp bilge of the server wreck.

ThingWizard · « **Reply #11 on:** April 19, 2021, 05:08:36 pm »

Okiedokie, well. this was... interesting.

I replaced the components and tried the card out. Immediately fiery death of the neighbouring capacitor C177. What's the value for that one do you know Wraper?
Could it have been shorted too (Didnt think to test) or are we talking crazy voltages here because of some other reason?

Strangely enough the Fuse seems to be okay.

wraper · « **Reply #12 on:** April 19, 2021, 05:18:07 pm »

All 4 capacitors are the same. Most likely it already had a hidden crack. And soldering nearby pushed it a bit further. Well, you still have 2 fuses and 2 caps left.

ThingWizard · « **Reply #13 on:** April 19, 2021, 05:21:13 pm »

Excellent, thanx!
Yes - Luckily you sent me 3 caps, I'll try and replace that one then too with another one of them.
I checked the other two ones, they do not seem to be shortened.

wraper · « **Reply #14 on:** April 19, 2021, 05:24:17 pm »

Measure if there is no short across those capacitors when you replace a bad one. There should be something going on with those capacitors as I've seen that cap cracking on another such card. Maybe it's a mechanical stress because card is deformed in that area when cooler is mounted. They are located right next to a screw hole after all.

ThingWizard · « **Reply #15 on:** April 19, 2021, 05:44:52 pm »

The rest checked ok, replaced the burnt one. Did a quick test, no fire and smoke and the gpu warms up. I just had it running a few seconds without heatsink, but so far so good - it seems to be alive. I think I'll be ok to runt the card for a few seconds more without heatsink to see if I get any video...

[EDIT]
Good news, I got the bios post screen on my monitor - The card seems to be alive again!
Thank you so much Wraper, I could not have done this without your help, awesome man!

ThingWizard · « **Reply #16 on:** April 19, 2021, 08:31:22 pm »

Just an update here, I got the heatsink back on and the card installed in my computer. Right now I'm using it, and it has been going for a few hours without any problems.
What a great feeling! I will update in a couple of days when I know if it seems stable or not.

I'm thinking what might have caused this problem in the first place. Also, how can a crack in a capacitor cause it to short? I could better understand if a crack caused it to go open circuit. I tried googling SMD ceramic capacitor fail modes but I didn't really find anything good.

wraper · « **Reply #17 on:** April 19, 2021, 09:22:23 pm »

Quote from: ThingWizard on April 19, 2021, 08:31:22 pm

I'm thinking what might have caused this problem in the first place.

Quote from: wraper on April 19, 2021, 05:24:17 pm

Maybe it's a mechanical stress because card is deformed in that area when cooler is mounted. They are located right next to a screw hole after all.

Quote

Also, how can a crack in a capacitor cause it to short? I could better understand if a crack caused it to go open circuit. I tried googling SMD ceramic capacitor fail modes but I didn't really find anything good.

MLCC contains many thin layers which often short together when crack appears.

dc101 · « **Reply #18 on:** April 19, 2021, 10:08:40 pm »

Dave Jones has done a couple videos on this topic. Check out there one where he goes in depth on the subject: (EEVblog #1037)

Cheers
-Tim

Dingo_aus · « **Reply #19 on:** May 18, 2021, 12:03:35 pm »

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread. I have almost exactly the same issue. My Gigabyte GTX1070 visibly blew capacitor C176.

I also checked and Fuse F4 looks to have blown.

So now due to everyone's comments I am feeling positive about replacing these two components and getting my GPU back working.

I am going to research the parts and how to solder SMD components and give it a try.

Thanks everyone.

Grucha9898 · « **Reply #20 on:** June 08, 2021, 04:11:49 pm »

Can you give me value of these five capacitors? My capacitors blown up and i must replace them all.

Runco990 · « **Reply #21 on:** June 08, 2021, 11:20:27 pm »

Interesting read! I'll take some notes on this in case my own gpu decides to fail.

But sadly.... you have also deprived a poor scalper of his oh so hard earned profit...

Pretty soon we'll be fixing 3DFX Voodoo cards on this forum...

Bichael · « **Reply #22 on:** July 05, 2021, 09:25:42 am »

Hi all. Looks like this is a fairly common failure, thoughts on below pics? I'm guessing too far gone to try a repair but thought was worth asking...

wraper · « **Reply #23 on:** July 05, 2021, 09:36:17 am »

As long as PCB is not shorted, it's repairable. And even if layers are shorted, it should be possible to remove a bit of PCB material and fix that. Then badge some capacitors on top and it should be fine.

Dingo_aus · « **Reply #24 on:** July 05, 2021, 12:11:32 pm »

Wow, what a common issue and man did you caps blow but yeah... solder them off, hit it with some Isopropyl Alcohol and it will look better.

@Wraper, if I did not replace the caps, would it still work? Are the caps necessary or just to filter power supply etc?


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Author Topic: Gigabyte GTX 1070 Mini - No fan spin no video, dead cap found? [solved!] (Read 7970 times)

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