PSU Problem??

[dfgh11]

Hi,

Tonight I came home to find my power out. I had left my computer on like I usually do, encoding some video and gone out to work. After some inspection, I found that the mains had tripped due to my computer, the odd thing however, is whenever I plug my PSU in the the wall ( and no even press the power on the computer), there's a loud pop/clap sound seemingly coming from the PSU and out goes the power again.The PSU itself is a 620W Enermax Liberty Modular Series and is only about 4 months old, I know it has a 3 year warranty, but I thought I'd ask here to see if anyone had any theorys as to what had happened and if you think it would have damaged anything else in my computer( Hard to say I know), before I explore that. The computer was on a surge protector along with many other electrical goods, which were on at the time and are operating fine.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, I appreciate any input anyone might have

[redwudz]

That sounds like the wires immediately inside the PS are shorted. I wouldn't plug it in again. Pull it out of the computer and go to the manufacturers site and see if they will issue a RMA so you can send it back.

Every electronic part made has some failure rates. Hopefully it hasn't damaged the computer.

[dfgh11]

If the computer is damaged hopefully I'll be able to claim from them. But I'm not holding my breath

[Skith]

Might be worth while investing an an UPS (battery backup) with automatic shutdown software. If your circuit braker tripped once, it is bound to happen again.

[dfgh11]

I plugged it into an old board and the PSU just popped/flashed again and tripped the trips

[gadgetguy]

Might be worth while investing an an UPS (battery backup) with automatic shutdown software. If your circuit braker tripped once, it is bound to happen again.

Not a bad idea but it won't have any effect on this problem. A short in the PSU is causing the breaker to trip, and would cause an overload on the UPS. Just because a breaker trips, it doesn't mean it will again, it just means it did it's job. If you have a breaker that trips often then you probably have too many things plugged into that circuit and are overloading it. It is possible to have a faulty breaker, but it's actually pretty rare.

[redwudz]

If the computer is damaged hopefully I'll be able to claim from them. But I'm not holding my breath

Good luck on that. It would depend on the warranty. I have my doubts they will cover anything but damage to the PS.

Circuit breakers are devices that react thermally to overloads. When they get hot enough, they trip. Continued tripping can cause the original settings to go out of spec as the breaker wears out. It takes quite a few cycles or loads near the breaker rating to wear it out. Most household breakers are rated at 20-30 Amps. A standard outlet is usually rated at 15 Amps.

A quick acting fuse is a better choice than a breaker as it usually reacts quicker to an overload. And this can cause less damage. PS's usually have an internal fuse that is on the primary side of the PS. (AC in) For a breaker to trip usually means that the short is before the fuse and as such a manufacturer defect such as a bare wire is more likely the cause in this case. Just speculation, though.

[Firiebob]

I've had the same problem, found a dead bug in there. Through a new PSU in, and all was well.

Best of luck anyway,
Bob.