PSU noise: plastic isolation sheet

[TechKitchenandLife]

Hi all,
I'm having trouble with an Enermax NoiseTaker PSU on an old Intel D930.
I intend to use this pc for audio, so I want it to be as silent as possible.

All fans have been checked and are ok, but I'm having this rattling noise inside the PSU.
I suspect it's generated by a this transparent sheet of plastic that serves as insulation on one side of the PSU.
I thought about glueing it down with a couple of strategically placed drops of hot glue (easy to remove in case something goes wrong), but the nearest part I could glue it on is the removable part of the PSU's chassis.

Please don't lecture me with stuff like "don't open PSUs, it's dangerous", I know my way around electric/electronic devices.

Any hints/tips?
Thanks in advance

 

[hans_pcguy]

I wouldn't use hot glue on a psu. They can get a lot hotter than the glue and it will just run out. If you have the psu open, just hunt down that bad boy study the problem and fix it without any glue. Just inspect it really well. You may see that you can just fold the plastic a little better or trim it etc. You are aware that the psu's capacitors and coils can store a wopper of a spark even when it's off, right?

 

[TechKitchenandLife]

I wouldn't use hot glue on a psu. They can get a lot hotter than the glue and it will just run out.

Hmmm you have a point, even though it's rattling because it's directly in the airstream of two badass fans...

You are aware that the psu's capacitors and coils can store a wopper of a spark even when it's off, right?

Yep, thx, I've taken all the required precautions.

 

[reedo_43]

I believe hot glue is used all of the time. It shouldn't melt if you decide to go that route.

 

[hans_pcguy]

No the hot glue that is used is not the same as the craft glue we use to stick glue things. Believe me, It will get hot and just run out. Probably stink bad too. The PSU overall temp isn't that high but some of the components get pretty darn hot. Even the special glue they use in manufacture gets brown and deteriorates after a while. I have rebuilt hundreds of PSU's. I wouldn't use ANY glue inside of them.

 

[TechKitchenandLife]

I've opened it again.

The plastic sheet can't be bended (and I fear I might breaking it, it looks 1. quite brittle and 2. difficult to replace).
I tried putting a layer of elastic glue (dampens vibrations, rated up to 120°, which should be plenty) on the outside of said sheet (so away from direct heat), hoping to eliminate the rattling against the metal case.
It reduced the noise but didn't eliminate it completely.

I don't know at this point if it's vibrating against the outer case or against one of the pcbs, since apparently the fans create a depression strong enough to suck it towards the airflow and make it rattle against something...
Will need to look some more into it.

 

[reedo_43]

No the hot glue that is used is not the same as the craft glue we use to stick glue things. Believe me, It will get hot and just run out. Probably stink bad too. The PSU overall temp isn't that high but some of the components get pretty darn hot. Even the special glue they use in manufacture gets brown and deteriorates after a while. I have rebuilt hundreds of PSU's. I wouldn't use ANY glue inside of them.

Thanks for the knowledge!

 

[TechKitchenandLife]

After some more looking into it, it turns out that it wasn't the plastic sheet after all, but the main (cheap-@$$ Taiwanese) transformer's laminated core...

Guess I'll just have to live with it... (facepalm)