voltage drops over time

[jihiggs]

lately ive noticed a continuing trend with my computer. about once every 3-4 weeks i notice my voltages starts to drop. the 3.3 rail drops to 2.9 at load and my 5 drops to 4.5 at load. my power supply put out the correct voltage on all rails. to get my voltages back up i have to clean and re compress the atx pins every time. then my voltages return to normal but then slowly drop down again. when this problem started i didnt notice it for a long time and my computer became unstable and one of the pins in the atx connector burned out. i replaced the pin and its fine now except for this annoying decrease in voltage! i measure the pins with a volt meter and the psu outputs strong voltage but when it gets to the mobo it drops. i have verified that its not a mis reading by getting a volt reading from the usb connectors. they drop to the same voltage as my software reads. any one else ever have this problem? its an enermax 431 watt.

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[jihiggs]

no way. i turn it off and leave it over night, the voltage is still the same when i boot. i leave my computer on 24/7. the only time i do turn it off regularly is to fix this damn voltage sag.

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[DCB_AU]

Did you touch the pins. If you have it can cause "HOT Joints" over time.

You can buy cans of electronic contact cleaner from electronic stores.

Also, occasionally plugs/sockets can be faulty and not grip the pin with enough pressure and cause resistance. Always take note when installing plugs of the amount of force required. This is a rough check only as with multiple plugs/sockets, you can still have one with a fault.

<font color=red>DCB</font color=red><font color=white>_</font color=white><font color=blue>AU</font color=blue>

 

[endyen]

I had the same problem with an enermax psu. Turned out that 1 of the leads was pulled out too far, so the rest weren't seating properly.

 

[jihiggs]

im tempted to replace the pins. thats a lot of soldering though.

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[addiarmadar]

Dude replace that PSU. It is either overloaded or worn out. That will happen if you leave your rig on 24/7

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ATI Radeon 9800 Pro(420/720)

 

[jihiggs]

dont be an idiot, i said if i clean the pins the voltage returns to normal. and when the voltage does start to sag its always after the atx connector. i can stick a probe on the back of the pins with the comp on and the voltages are strong. and no that doesnt "happen" when you leave your rig on 24/7 id say it shortens the life of a psu if you power it off and on every day.

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[addiarmadar]

Then I take you never owned an Antec

Mobile Barton 2500+ @ 2420mhz 11x220 1.7v
Asus A7N8X Dlx 440 FSB
1gb Geil GD pc3500 Dual Channel (2-3-3-6)
Segata 80gb SATA 8.5ms seek
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro(420/720)

 

[jihiggs]

you are correct.

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[phsstpok]

My +5 volt rail drops over time. I have to reseat the ATX connector about once every two weeks. I often forget to do this but am reminded when my system becomes unstable if the voltage drops to about 4.65 volt.

I don't run my system 24/7 but the problem happens almost like clockwork. Looking at my MBM logs I know that the drop is gradual over time, meaning day after day the voltage is down a little more.

My PSU is an Enermax EG-351P, 330 watt.

<b>56K, slow and steady does not win the race on internet!</b>

 

[jihiggs]

are your atx connector pins goldish copper color? maybe its a problem with enermax units. maybe the metal they used is too thin, or too weak, or not condioned or whatever correctly. i had the thing for a long long time and it never had that problem. this has just started over the last 4 months maybe.

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[phsstpok]

The PSU has gold plated connectors but the motherboard does not.

The connectors seem to have a snug fit but maybe I should take a good look at the +5V lead.

I've tried some electrical contact treatment which seems to last longer than without but the problem eventually returns. As I type this message MBM 5 reports that the +5V rail is at 4.83 volts. It was at 4.88 volts yesterday. I just turned on my machine.

I know I've needed a stronger PSU for a long time. I'm just cheap.

I've had this annoyance for a long time. I first noticed it 2 years ago when I installed a Tbird 1.0 and overclocked it to 1.5+ Ghz. It got worse a couple of months later when I installed a Radeon 8500 (overclocked of course). It improved when I switched from the overclocked Tbird to an overclocked Tbred which doesn't seem to draw as much power.

Everything is normally fine. I can game for hours. I can leave the machine on for days at a time, though as I said, I usually don't. I've run SETI@home, Prime95, 3DMark2001, and TOAST (each at different times) for days at a time (well about two days each, Toast only about 1/2 a day) without any problems.

However, after a couple of weeks the voltage drops to where I have stability problems. When I was playing UT2003 demo I'd notice the fist sign there, a program exception that UT2003 would catch. Later, I get crashes in other programs. This would then extend to non-graphic programs. If I wait long enough I start getting spontaneous reboots.

All these problems go away if I just reseat the ATX connector. After a couple of weeks it starts all over again.

I'm going to take a tip from you and tighten the ATX connectors, at least for the +5V pin. (Anybody know the color of that wire, off-hand?) Is there an easy way to get the wires out of the ATX connector?

<b>56K, slow and steady does not win the race on internet!</b>

 

[jihiggs]

getting the pins out is a pain in the ass. there are two clips that press out to hold it in, but theres not much room to get somthing in there to press them in. to tighten them back up i just stick a needle in on both sides and that seems to work well. they are starting to get a little mangled though from doing this so much.

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[endyen]

Go to an electrical supplier and ask for a good anti-oxident. Dont settle for penatrox as it's too gummy. A thin coat should make cleaning a chore of the past.

 

[jihiggs]

ok, last night i touched the atx connector barely and the computer shut down, reseated it and the thing shutdown again when i booted it back up. NOTE: it didnt turn off, the board lost power for a split second and came back up. its just a loose connection between the mobo and psu so dont tell me this crap about a bad psu. anyway, i got mad and jacked the pins up pretty good, they still work but they are very deformed lol. im going to splice a new atx connector on it. unless i can find an atx pin block. you think an older atx pin grid wouldnt be enough for the higher power demand of newer boards? this connector is from a pos 250 watt psu.

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[endyen]

Got lots of crimp connectors? Sounds like a good plan. You can also use the oportunity to adjust cable length.

 

[Mitch007]

Have you tried looking for an ATX back to back connector or extension cable to act as a jumper, you could hard solder the PSU end together without the need to replace crimps, and have a good quality connection into your mobo.
I'll look about, I think i've come across these jumpers/extenders somewhere.

MIS645Ultra/2.4gig Pentium/2*TwinMos 256 MBit DDR333/450W Enermax PSU/1*40Gig 7200rpm Western Digital Disk/1*20Gig 720 Hitachi Disk/GeForce3 Ti200 LeadTek G-Card running 520/230 Ram/Core MHz

 

[jihiggs]

dont need crimpers, just need to go out to frys today and get some solder cup pins.

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[hoserb2000]

I had allmost the same problem, sept mine ended with my atx header so fused to the motherboard I had to cut it off to get it out of the case. But before that my computer would reboot if I touched the atx cable.

Also, do you know why the red (VCC) would melt?

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[Kronos]

You should be ok..if your not ColorBlind.

I want to die like my Grandfather...in my sleep...not screaming in terror like his passengers.