Corsair HX620 died... then came back to life

[Bun-Bun]

As seems to be all my computer experiences I have have another weird one.

Crucial M4 SSD's had a important F/W update. Pull side panel off, unplug other HDD's. Power up with F/W update, flash SSD, turn off. Plug HDD's back in. Turn on computer. Everything is booting fine. Put side panel back on and computer goes dead as soon as the side panel touches the case... wtf?

Computer will no longer turn on. Power light blips and then nothing. Get out PSU tester... nothing. USB devices still have power so the unit isnt completely dead... just wont turn on.

Frustrated I connect a cheapo 500w coolermaster to the computer and it runs fine for a week while I order a Corsair HX650.

Go to put in the HX650 and I decide to test the HX620 one last time and the darn thing is now working but the fan is clicking a bit. The computer is incredibly dusty (as my dad is a heavy smoker) so I take it out to the garage and blow it completely out. Now the airflow is greatly improved and the fan in the PSU no longer clicks.


Question: Would you trust this PSU? Did it just overheat from too much dust? Or would a safety trip from not having the fan running at speed?

[Tator Tot]

It most likely did not overheat but you could have shocked the computer and SCP shut down the PSU and kept it in safety mode for a bit.

If the unit is dead, you can always get a replacement from Corsair (most likely an HX650.)

I would trust the unit though. There shouldn't be anything wrong with it.

[McSteel]

Yeah, I bet it was a static discharge, which was channeled through something grounded to the case... Perhaps the front USB ports, which would trigger the short-circuit protection on the 5V rail.

I believe it's pretty safe to assume that the HX620 is alive and well

[Zap]

Nooooo! It is now a zombie PSU. You need to kill it with fire before it is too late!

[Phaedrus2129]

SCP is a primary side protection isn't it? I think the CM6800 controllers have it integrated. So it's not limited to a given rail.

[370forlife]

SCP is implemented on the secondary side, the CM6800 is only a PFC controller and PWM controller.

That said, the power supplies protections did exactly what they were designed to, and protected the power supply from damage. I would say it is still reliable.

[tomoyo]

Aren't you glad to have a psu that actually protects itself from dying? Sounds like the psu should be fine and even if it does fail in the future, I'd expect it'll shut down safely over anything else. Definitely sounds like a short circuit situation at worst as everyone has stated.

[Bun-Bun]

Would corsair still replace it? It is a 4 year old unit.

And ok I will leave it be. I know it has never been any where near capacity, maybe 180watts total system draw. Just being paranoid lol.

[rafal_iB_PL]

AFAIR, warranty of first HX models was 5 years, so it still should.

[Tator Tot]

As Raf said, HX620, HX520, & HX1000 all have 5 year warranties. Though the first units shipped came with a 3 year warranty (on the packaged / documentation) that was later upgraded to 5 years.