Burnt molex!!!

[kallenin]

Hey all,

So this is really funny. I have an ATI AIW Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB, so it has the small 4-pin molex connector on the side. After a while, the molex connector...well...chars around the 5V line. I pull off the connector and i can actually see the entire inside of the 5V connector is browned, as well as a bit of browning on the connector on the card. This has happened...say three or four times over the course of two years, and I guess it's only now that it occurred to me to "seek help". None of the system that I've had it in were overclocked or had any issues with heat (it ran hotter than normal, but within limits - like 45 C idle and 60 C busy worst case). Any takers? The only guess I could come up with is some sort of lousy connection. Oh yeah - the first time it happened, I only noticed because when I booted up the compie it gave me the warning message that the power connector wasn't plugged in.


-Kallenin

 

[Lan]

I had an ATI 9800 AIW and this happened to me too. I ended up changing to a new connector and it never happened again. What kind of power supply do you have? Replacing my power supply was going to be my next step. Also maybe try and get more air circulation in the case by adding a case fan or two.

 

[ProHandyman]

Sounds like you are having a power load higher then that particular connector lead/supply cable can handle (think of hot wires in your home just before a fuse or circuit breaker trips). I would get a new connector/addapter (any molex to floppy will work), and try to distribute the loads between your card, HDDs, optical drives, and lights/etc. between the different connector "supply branches" you have. Having almost all of your devices on one supply branch, is asking for trouble. You also may just have a power supply that is marginal, and you may need to get a higher powered unit. Sometimes using "Y" adapters at the connector closest to the power supply, instead of at the end of the supply cable, will alleviate this problem too.