Melted SATA Power Cable HELP

[GinjaNinja01]

There's a pretty long story behind this whole situation but pretty much what happened was one of my SATA power connectors caught fire while plugged into one of my hard drives. The hard drive and the cable are both pretty well melted and are definitely not useable anymore. However, because the SATA power connector is damaged, every time I power up my PC, the connector sets on fire again. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this? Is it possible to remove that single cable from the power supply? I have no idea what I can do. Any help would be muchly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[GinjaNinja01]

Sorry I just realised I posted this in the PC Gaming forum. Any help is still appreciated!

 

[USAFRet]

There's a pretty long story behind this whole situation but pretty much what happened was one of my SATA power connectors caught fire while plugged into one of my hard drives. The hard drive and the cable are both pretty well melted and are definitely not useable anymore. However, because the SATA power connector is damaged, every time I power up my PC, the connector sets on fire again. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this? Is it possible to remove that single cable from the power supply? I have no idea what I can do. Any help would be muchly appreciated. Thanks!

You need a new PSU.
And do not turn this one on again. Ever.

 

[GinjaNinja01]

Yeah I definitely wasn't planning on turning it on haha. Are you sure there's no way to stop the electricity from flowing through the damaged connector?

 

[azaran]

Option 1: Buy a new PSU

Option 2: Buy some marshmallow, hot dogs and some long sticks while browsing partpicker for a new damn computer.

Seriously? You've had to debate about not turning on your computer because it sets FIRE TO ITSELF. Go get a new PSU. And not a crap one this time.

 

[USAFRet]

Yeah I definitely wasn't planning on turning it on haha. Are you sure there's no way to stop the electricity from flowing through the damaged connector?

Unless it is a modular and you can simply unplug that cable, no.

 

[GinjaNinja01]

I was only hoping it was possible to stop it from setting itself on fire because I'm dead broke at the moment and I'm not to keen on buying new parts for my PC unless it's completely necessary. Thanks for your help guys!

 

[SkyNetRising]

Is it possible to remove that single cable from the power supply?

Sure - you can remove it.

Disconnect PC from power first;
cut off that damaged connector;
and isolate wires with electrical tape.

But new PSU is better option, of course.

 

[USAFRet]

I was only hoping it was possible to stop it from setting itself on fire because I'm dead broke at the moment and I'm not to keen on buying new parts for my PC unless it's completely necessary. Thanks for your help guys!

OK, think of this.
For whatever reason, that PSU is crappy enough that it has killed itself and a hard drive.
Sure, you can cut it off and insulate it. But it is still a crappy PSU, just waiting to kill something else.

 

[GinjaNinja01]

Is it possible to remove that single cable from the power supply?

Sure - you can remove it.

Disconnect PC from power first;
cut of that damaged connector;
and isolate wires with electrical tape.

But new PSU is better option, of course.

Is it safe to just tape up the wires? I'm forever paranoid that something is going to set on fire haha

 

[SkyNetRising]

Is it safe to just tape up the wires?

If wires are isolated properly, then why wouldn't it be safe?

 

[GinjaNinja01]

Is it safe to just tape up the wires?

If wires are isolated properly, then why wouldn't it be safe?

Ok I'll give it a go. Thanks

 

[SkyNetRising]

But I must agree with @USAFRet -
if PSU allowed fire in your PC, that PSU is definitely a crap ( without any standard protections built in).
You better replace it as soon as possible.

 

[GinjaNinja01]

OK, think of this.
For whatever reason, that PSU is crappy enough that it has killed itself and a hard drive.
Sure, you can cut it off and insulate it. But it is still a crappy PSU, just waiting to kill something else.

The reason it set itself on fire is because the hard port on the hard drive was damaged, so I attempted to fix it with what I thought was electrical tape. But, apparently it wasn't. So the PSU isn't at fault.

 

[Onus]

I was only hoping it was possible to stop it from setting itself on fire because I'm dead broke at the moment and I'm not to keen on buying new parts for my PC unless it's completely necessary. Thanks for your help guys!

OK, think of this.
For whatever reason, that PSU is crappy enough that it has killed itself and a hard drive.
Sure, you can cut it off and insulate it. But it is still a crappy PSU, just waiting to kill something else.

This. Even a half-decent PSU has sufficient protection circuits to shut off if an output is shorted. For this one to be missing that basic protection suggests it's really a PSU-shaped object, unfit for purpose. It is not safe, and should not be used.

 

[Darkbreeze]

The PSU is STILL at fault, no matter what else might be wrong with the system. If there are not sufficient protections built into the unit to stop current from flowing due to your problem with the drive, or anything else, then either it's a POS junk unit or is no longer working as it was designed. Either case warrants replacement. Plus, having ALREADY shorted to the drive badly enough to catch fire, it's likely that even MORE damage has occured inside the PSU, so even if THAT wasn't the problem to begin with, it is NOW.

 

[Onus]

The PSU is STILL at fault, no matter what else might be wrong with the system. If there are not sufficient protections built into the unit to stop current from flowing due to your problem with the drive, or anything else, then either it's a POS junk unit or is no longer working as it was designed. Either case warrants replacement. Plus, having ALREADY shorted to the drive badly enough to catch fire, it's likely that even MORE damage has occured inside the PSU, so even if THAT wasn't the problem to begin with, it is NOW.

This, mostly (but there's a specific exception...). The PSU may not have had anything to do with a failure of a drive connector (this happened to me once; I entered a server room full of smoke due to such a failed connector).
If you have a high wattage, single-rail PSU, the failure may not have been a dead short, just a low enough resistance to look like the sort of heavy load the PSU was designed to handle. This is why I discount any claims that a single-rail PSU is better than a multi-rail design, and cases like this prove my point. Of course, if it is a low-wattage PSU, or is multi-rail, then it indeed ought to have shut down, and that it didn't clearly indicates it is unsafe to use, and must be replaced before it sets anything else on fire (like the whole building).