Question Power cable melted ?

[JackFive]

Hello everyone
I've been facing an issue which i was ignoring at first but now it has caused almost a severe damage to my system ...it was suddenly turning itself off causing pc to just shutdown with orange light on the power button...(crash)..today it was happening and i found that my power cable and extensions were really hugging tightly with each other (they melted a bit and didn't cause much damage..cable can be still used but i won't) saw them and disconnected everything in time...now im confused if its my power supply or just the power cable..i suspect its the cable..gonna change it but not sure so any advice is much appreciated...

Pc specs:
i7-3770
16gb 1600mhz
HIS RX 570 4gb(8PIN)
500W chinese psu(sus) and an old cable from years ago
(other stuff:2hdd 1ssd kb mouse speakers ...etc)
Psu and other components in the picture below... THANKS!

https://imgur.com/QMKg8Qj

View: https://i.imgur.com/QMKg8Qj.jpg


PS...im having exams and have unity engine assignment work to do ..i was playing some game during free time but this thing ..

 

[bignastyid]

Buy a good quality PSU and it will come with a good cable. You are risking losing your whole system by using some cheap generic PSU.

 

[JackFive]

Buy a good quality PSU and it will come with a good cable. You are risking losing your whole system by using some cheap generic PSU.

How do i make sure if the PSU has caused this because i had another extension with which the plug of the extension sparked everytime i pushed the button on...could it just be faulty cable ? I bought this psu about less than a month ago..

 

[USAFRet]

How do i make sure if the PSU has caused this because i had another extension with which the plug of the extension sparked everytime i pushed the button on...could it just be faulty cable ? I bought this psu about less than a month ago..

You need a new PSU.

 

[SkyNetRising]

i found that my power cable and extensions were really hugging tightly with each other
(they melted a bit and didn't cause much damage.

Can you show photo of the melted cable?

 

[JackFive]

Can you show photo of the melted cable?

https://imgur.com/rRTfUeb

View: https://i.imgur.com/rRTfUeb.jpg


Ambient temperature of my room is about 35+ and the extension was laying under the desk...the other side of the cable which connects the psu is 100% okay ..

 

[DSzymborski]

Whether or not the junkiness of the PSU is the direct cause here, this PSU should absolutely have *never* been used with this GPU in the first place, so replacing it with something *far* better than it was absolutely necessary whether or not you have a problem with a power cable melting.

A couple years ago, a raccoon broke into my attic and the next day, I had a power outage. The raccoon wasn't the cause of the power outage -- a wind storm was -- but whether or not the raccoon caused the power problem, the raccoon had to be removed from my attic.

Of course, in my case, I didn't invite the raccoon in. You invited a junk PSU into your computer. Hopefully the rest of it still works.

 

[JackFive]

Whether or not the junkiness of the PSU is the direct cause here, this PSU should absolutely have *never* been used with this GPU in the first place, so replacing it with something *far* better than it was absolutely necessary whether or not you have a problem with a power cable melting.

A couple years ago, a raccoon broke into my attic and the next day, I had a power outage. The raccoon wasn't the cause of the power outage -- a wind storm was -- but whether or not the raccoon caused the power problem, the raccoon had to be removed from my attic.

Of course, in my case, I didn't invite the raccoon in. You invited a junk PSU into your computer. Hopefully the rest of it still works.

The thing is...im in middle of exams and im really out of cash after spending my money buying/upgrading this pc ...psu including ..the person i bought this psu from said it'd be fine , you can use rx570 on it no problem...other brands like evga thermal take etc are really really expensive here where i live...for reference this psu costed me 20 dollars+old 275w dell psu and other PSUs cost like 75$ used (more than price of my gpu 65$ i bought lol)....
Im really screwed with this all mess... please any other advice beside changing psu?

 

[SkyNetRising]

https://imgur.com/rRTfUeb

View: https://i.imgur.com/rRTfUeb.jpg

Just replace the cable.
It costs like 3€.

 

[USAFRet]

The thing is...im in middle of exams and im really out of cash after spending my money buying/upgrading this pc ...psu including ..the person i bought this psu from said it'd be fine , you can use rx570 on it no problem...other brands like evga thermal take etc are really really expensive here where i live...for reference this psu costed me 20 dollars+old 275w dell psu and other PSUs cost like 75$ used (more than price of my gpu 65$ i bought lol)....
Im really screwed with this all mess... please any other advice beside changing psu?

We all understand "budget".
We also understand "crappy parts"
We also understand "Person selling crappy parts telling you it will be fine."

Who do you want to believe...the person with a vested interest in you buying it, or us out here?

 

[JackFive]

We all understand "budget".
We also understand "crappy parts"
We also understand "Person selling crappy parts telling you it will be fine."

Who do you want to believe...the person with a vested interest in you buying it, or us out here?

Obviously i trust you guys more that's why im here and as SkyNetRising said, I'd buy a good quality cable and try it..if it didn't work then I'd probably go and hunt for a deal for psu

 

[kerberos_20]

his ground is melting, that doesnt looks like PSU problem, PSU might be garbage tier, but this is house wiring related and yes you do need new cable and new outlet

 

[USAFRet]

his ground is melting, that doesnt looks like PSU problem, PSU might be garbage tier, but this is house wiring related and yes you do need new cable and new outlet

The cable, obviously.
But the PSU is a dumpster fire in waiting.

 

[DSzymborski]

The thing is...im in middle of exams and im really out of cash after spending my money buying/upgrading this pc ...psu including ..the person i bought this psu from said it'd be fine , you can use rx570 on it no problem...other brands like evga thermal take etc are really really expensive here where i live...for reference this psu costed me 20 dollars+old 275w dell psu and other PSUs cost like 75$ used (more than price of my gpu 65$ i bought lol)....
Im really screwed with this all mess... please any other advice beside changing psu?

The person you bought it from is, unfortunately, an idiot.

Whether a quality PSU costs $1 or $200, a junk PSU remains dangerous. You could've instead gotten a used 1050 Ti and used it with the old Dell PSU and been a lot safer than you are now at the sacrifice of a bit of performance. But you got greedy and gambled because you prioritized fun over safety. Time will tell if your gamble pays off.

We deal with a lot of junk PSUs here. Junk PSUs are one of the most expensive things you can buy for a PC.

 

[JackFive]

Yes you are right...psu is garbage but my gut sense is telling me its the cable because when i had that other extension..it was sparking the plug of the extension when i turned it on with the cpu power cable ..

 

[sitehostplus]

How do you think the power cable melted in the first place?

This stuff does not happen in a vacuum. You should change that power supply too.

 

[JackFive]

How do you think the power cable melted in the first place?

This stuff does not happen in a vacuum. You should change that power supply too.

Weather is too damn hot here , Reaching Upto 48°c and 37 at night ...and that cable is too old something like 4 5 years because it was fine and had no issues so i never thought of it getting rekt like this all of a sudden..i noticed some dust and dead thin hair like stuff in the extension where the plug was attached..and please tell me how much amps volt cable should i get? It had 16amps rated lol...
Idk much about these electric stuff but the cable only melted from where the hairy stuff was ..other side was okay but whole plug was hot..
Please forgive me ...its gross but you'll have to see it..

https://imgur.com/G2Q6DvG

View: https://i.imgur.com/G2Q6DvG.jpg

 

[kerberos_20]

Weather is too damn hot here , Reaching Upto 48°c and 37 at night ...and that cable is too old something like 4 5 years because it was fine and had no issues so i never thought of it getting rekt like this all of a sudden..i noticed some dust and dead thin hair like stuff in the extension where the plug was attached..and please tell me how much amps volt cable should i get? It had 16amps rated lol...
Idk much about these electric stuff but the cable only melted from where the hairy stuff was ..other side was okay but whole plug was hot..
Please forgive me ...its gross but you'll have to see it..

https://imgur.com/G2Q6DvG

View: https://i.imgur.com/G2Q6DvG.jpg

id blame that extension

 

[rolli59]

That damage is from a bad connection to the extension so replace both!

 

[JackFive]

So is the psu still needs to be replaced?..if yes then I'll do it as soon i have the money

 

[kerberos_20]

So is the psu still needs to be replaced?..if yes then I'll do it as soon i have the money

replace melted socket extension, preferably with power surge protector rated for atleast 2000 joules
PSU wasnt cause of this issue, but since that PSU is low quality unit, you should replace it anyway, new PSU will have its own power cord

 

[rolli59]

So is the psu still needs to be replaced?..if yes then I'll do it as soon i have the money

PSU is far from being a quality unit so it would be wise to replace it with a quality unit.

 

[sitehostplus]

his ground is melting, that doesnt looks like PSU problem, PSU might be garbage tier, but this is house wiring related and yes you do need new cable and new outlet

That power supply has a direct short to the case (earth ground) which results in waaaay to much power going from the hot side to earth ground, and that is why that ground plug is melting.

Replace the power supply!

 

[BFG-9000]

That is not the ground that melted. In European plugs the ground either goes into the hole on the plug if it's a type E outlet commonly used in France, Belgium, Czechia, Poland & Slovakia, or along those two side slots if Type F in the rest of Europe and Russia.

The plug can fit either type outlet with the unique characteristic that the plug can be reversed (that is, fit either way) in a Type F outlet so hot and neutral get switched depending on which way you plug it in.

The moral is don't use a cheap extension cord for a high-wattage appliance, as a single bad connection is high resistance and therefore generates heat.

 

[Deleted member 2838871]

Moral of the thread... new system or old... don't go cheap mode on the PSU. I see it so often on PCPP... people going with cheap bronze certified PSUs that barely meet wattage requirements on expensive systems just to save $50.