OCZ at it again [URGENT]!

Did you choose the right voltage type: 110v or 220v on the back of the psu?

Sounds like definately a short. You board could be fried. Does it work with another PSU?
You should test your equipment before blowing a third. Check you outlet wiring also.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

Check the wiring in the outlet. See if the +/- is crossed up. Some devices will still work if they are, so test your outlet.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

It's also possible that you have too many devices on one line. Furthermore, when you connected the PSU, resulting in the circuit breaker opening because of a short circuit, it may have damaged other devices on the same line. I would check those appliances. Again, something is not correctly grounded and this condition may exist behind the outlet(s) or with another device.

Did you follow <A HREF="http://www.bleedinedge.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5661" target="_new">THESE</A> instructions?

<font color=blue><b>I Harley here, I Harley there, this bear will Harley anywhere.</font color=blue>
<font color=red>I am the Harley Bear.

First, t33lo, this is your second PSU from OCZ. While they don't have a long, illustrious track record like some of its competitors, I sincerely doubt the second PSU was shipped damaged. Anything is possible, yes, but it is not a priority. Your priority is the circuit breaker.

Also, it is hot all over the U.S. (is that where you reside?); If you live in a humid area, it's very possible that moisture built up on some corroided voltage lines, probably just outside your home, and shorted that line. Then again, I'd imagine this would cause problems to everything on that AC line.

The circuit breaker trips when there is too much current, essentially a short circuit. When you connected the PSU, even though it's off, it's still has a resistance. Think of resistance like a measure of water flow through a fixed pipe, think of current as water, the PSU as a resistor, and the wires connecting the circuit as tunnels. The resistor, or PSU, is a fixed size pipe. The smaller the pipe (greater resistance) the less water can full through in a given time. The larger the pipe (less resistance), then more water can flow through. When a short circuit occurs, it's as if the pipe was busted wide-open, with the water flowing the tunnel at an extremely high rate. So, even if the PSU is off, it still has resistance.

Now then, since the PSU was off and the circuit breaker tripped, it's possible that the PSU tripped it IF it's damaged. However, we set that accusation aside for now. Oh, almost forgot, did you hear a clicking noise from the PSU when you connected it to the AC outlet? If you did, it must've protected itself and your mobo (btw, if you installed one graphics card in your mobo, then it's NOT running in SLi mode).

Here's what you should do: take out all but the most critical components to run the system - all that should remain are one stick of RAM, the PSU, the mobo, the proc w/HSF, no case fans (leave the case open; we're just looking for the system to initialize successfully), video card (if possible, use a less powerful, alternative discrete graphics card or on-bard graphics if one is available and can be enabled at this stage of troubleshooting), the monitor, and the keyboard. Plug the cable into the PSU, then turn it on.

If it clicks at this point, that means the PSU was fed too much current or voltage (I believe you said it has both) and protected the system components. These protection mechanisms ONLY work on the DC side, not the AC line. If the circuit breaker tripped, as well, the PSU was fed too much AC current - basically a short circuit - and the PSU kicked in DC overcurrent protection. Again, this applies if you heard a click when it's ON.

If you repeat this step, but leave the PSU toggle switch to OFF and you hear a click, then you know the circuit breaker has tripped and the PSU is NOT causing the problem - the sudden surge of current off of your AC line is beginning at some other node, or device. [Edit: I apologize. What I should've said is if the PSU does click while it's OFF, then the PSU is either shorted or there is an overwhelming amount of current such that the open circuit of the PSU is closed.] If the PSU doesn't click, that's fine too. This just means that the circuit breaker tripped before the current had a chance to reach the PSU.

Here's what you do now. Find out what is feeding off the AC line, the same one connected to the PSU, and disconnect every single device that you can, especially the ones that need a wealth of power. Ideally, the AC line should be clean. Or, no devices should be on that line. Connect the PSU to the outlet and set it to OFF. Check if the circuit breaker tripped. If it didn't, turn on the PSU and check again. If all is fine, you know something else is causing the short circuit. If it shorts when it's OFF, the wiring inside your walls needs examination. If it shorts when it's ON, then it could be either the wiring (check the outlet) or the PSU.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by poly4life on 08/04/05 04:17 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

Yes, that's fine. In fact, instead of hooking up all of the components, just try that, for it puts the minimum amount of load on the PSU. If this works, don't assume it's not the PSU. Just because the PSU works heavenly at one load, it doesn't equate to all loads. Meaning, a case fan is a case fan. A gaming rig is an entirely different matter. That's why those power supply testers are of little help during troubleshooting, for they draw very little power from the PSU.

Oh, and be very careful! Take your time and if your not sure about something, ask somebody who knows. Better safe than sorry.

Edit: In the second to or last paragraph, I talked about troubleshooting with a clean AC line. I made a slight error. If the PSU is set at ON or OFF, a click occurs, and circuit breaker trips, it could be EITHER the PSU and/or wiring (again, check the outlet first - start with the easy stuff). The key is in the click. When the PSU is set to OFF, you don't want to hear a click. It only clicks when a circuit is closed. In OFF mode, the circuit is open, at the PSU. If a big enough current flows, it could close the circuit. If that happens, the PSU should click, indicating overcurrent protection or short circuit protection on the DC side, and the AC current reached the PSU BEFORE the circuit breaker tripped. Either the PSU is not internally wired or functioning correctly or it's the house wiring.

On the other hand, if the circuit breaker trips, the PSU it set to ON, and the PSU does not click, then either the circuit breaker tripped before the current flowed through the PSU, indicating a short circuit with the house wiring. If the PSU set to OFF, however, then the PSU only protects when it's in the ON state (perhaps someone can verify this) - meaning it's the house wiring or possibly the internal AC wiring in the PSU (where the AC plug goes in). I'm guessing your problem will come down to the wiring on the AC line that connects to the PSU.

Last thing (actually the first thing, what I am I saying?): Check the AC cable. Is it damaged? Consider using a spare and see if it fixes it. You should also first check if the PSU is in pristine condition, as well as the wall outlet. Your checking for ground problems here. That's why your getting a short circuit in the first place. Take a good look at the female and male outlets for both the AC wall outlet and your PSU.



<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by poly4life on 08/04/05 05:24 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

Sounds like you have very bad home wiring or the PSU is dead. Is their a red on/off switch on the back of PSU? Does that PSU have an internal fuse?

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

Wootz! You're getting a 600watt beast! Do you have another house (and or PC) you can test it on first, before going through this again just to be sure?
OCZ sure is bending over backwards for you.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

While you are waiting, can you borrow another PSU and try your system? You definately have been having more than your share of problems. I would be investigating everything I could at this point.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

I like <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/OldVersion/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=42-102-003&depa=0" target="_new"> CyberPower UPS </A>
Cheaper priced than APC and as good if not better quality.


<A HREF="http://www.cyberpowersystems.com/CPS1500AVR-HO.asp" target="_new"> I have this one </A>

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

That is all I paid for my Cyberpower 1500 UPS online at Newegg new last year.

What I am saying is CyberPower is more bang for your buck, and way less costly.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

I used his 420 W in my rig at my house in the same outlet that didn't like my 520 W. Everything worked fine with his.

Or it could be the worst luck by choice of weird coincidences!

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

Ah, that makes sense. That's certainly the PSU, no doubt, causing you the headache. Ostensibly, it won't trip the circuit breaker with a light load. A larger load resulted in the PSU shorting, which subsequently tripped the circuit breaker. The question is why it shorted. I have a feeling at least one cap opened - to put it succinctly, your PSU is malfunctioning, of course, you knew that already.

It would limit any spikes or voltage drops. Would also alert you if wiring was not correct, +/- reversed or no ground connection. But incorrect wiring could be determined upon close inspection and testing.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

Local home depot has inexpensive electric outlet testers that will indicate if wired correctly.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

No, but a vacuum cleaner usually pulls more amps than that. If a vacuum doesn't trip it, and the wiring is good. You got it as good as wiring gets, conductively considering.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

I tend to agree...

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>