Psu not working after clicking sound

[pb18]

Hello,

in my pc i had an alpine 600w psu installed in my system, i decided to dust out the whole of my computer (psu being most dusty), however after cleaning out all the dust from the computer and psu, the psu now seems to be making a clicking/ticking noise, i have opened up the psu (unplugged) and checked the fan blades arent hitting any wires or anything else inside the psu, I definately know its the psu making the sound as i had unplugged everything from the motherboards such as sata power, molex, cpu power, fans etc and only had the 20+4pin mainboard connector connected to the motherboard.

however earlier the psu was making a clicking sound when booting windows and then just automatically switched itself off & now i cant get the psu to switch on with the 20+4pin motherboard connection, is my psu dead/broken? & will i need to buy a new one?

any answers/opinions would be greatfully appreciated

 

[o1die]

The "clicking sound" is also heard when hardrives fail.

 

[pb18]

Hi yeah i knew that , but as i said in the description the only thing plugged in was 20+4pin motherboard connector, everything was unplugged, molex, cpu power & sata power connectors so it wont have been the Hard drive but thanks anyway i appreciate your opinion

 

[jsc]

Well, the only moving part in a PSU is the fan.

You said your no boot problem occurred after you cleaned your system out, right? Go through and check all of the cables.

 

[Raiddinn]

If you already cracked open the PSU anyway then you can try to get some WD40 into the fan ball bearings. It may be the case that something in there got dried out from the spray air.

It couldn't hurt if the alternative is straight up buying a new PSU anyway and you happen to have some WD40 laying around.

That being said, the likelihood of long term success from something like that is probably pretty low. You are probably on your way to a new PSU regardless, you just may be able to delay that for a while with my suggestion.

 

[pb18]

If you already cracked open the PSU anyway then you can try to get some WD40 into the fan ball bearings. It may be the case that something in there got dried out from the spray air.

It couldn't hurt if the alternative is straight up buying a new PSU anyway and you happen to have some WD40 laying around.

That being said, the likelihood of long term success from something like that is probably pretty low. You are probably on your way to a new PSU regardless, you just may be able to delay that for a while with my suggestion.

Hi the PSU wont power on at all now so i cant test the fan, however i dont have any WD40 laying around but will get some, the clicking/ticking sound started when the fan started to build up speed, i looked inside the psu and there were no wires or anything else in the way of the fan. it was only a cheap PSU anways , i f i get a new PSU I might just use the 120mm fan as a case fan, if so do you know where i could get an adapter as the connector on the mainboard inside the psu is two pins & actual fan connector has two holes/sockets.

thanks for the suggestion really appreciate it

 

[Raiddinn]

I don't know. I have the same problem. I have a fan from an old PSU that I would like to use in my PC, but I don't have anything I can splice the cables onto that will further connect to the PSU.

 

[pb18]

Well, the only moving part in a PSU is the fan.

You said your no boot problem occurred after you cleaned your system out, right? Go through and check all of the cables.

hi thanks i know the fan is the only moving part and all the cables were plugged into the motherboard such as cpu power, sata power, molex & fans etc, the system did boot but when the fan ( in the psu) started to build up speed the clicking noise started & the system just shut down, i checked the inside of the psu to make sure no wires or anything was getting in the way of the fan and there was absolutley nothing in the way of the PSU fan

thanks for for you opinion i really appreciate it

 

[pb18]

I don't know. I have the same problem. I have a fan from an old PSU that I would like to use in my PC, but I don't have anything I can splice the cables onto that will further connect to the PSU.

oh yeah about the PSU fan i took the fan out the PSU and the clicking just seems to go away which is strange because theres nothing inside the psu for the fan to hit as i moved all the wires and everything else out the way lol, if the PSU is broken then at least i can make use of the PSU fan as its a pretty decent (largish) 120mm fan labelled as silent because i currently only have 80mm case fan inside rear of my pc which is an arctic f8 pro

 

[pb18]

also if I do have to replace my PSU does anyone know how I can connect the wires from the PSU fan to use it as a rear case fan? as this fan has 2 holes/sockets & a 2 pin connector on the inside mainboard of PSU & I cant plug this fan into my motherboard, are there are way i can convert the 2 pin fan connector to 3pin fan connector or molex connection?

 

[o1die]

If the shape of the connector is the same as the power supply 4 pin, then it will work ok, but most are noisy.

 

[pb18]

hi just tried connecting it to a 3 pin fan header which looks the same but the fan does nothing

thanks for the suggestion appreciate it

 

[pb18]

HI Guys from looking at all the relies above, could someone tell me whether they think my PSU is completely Dead as its still not working and yes The 20+4 pin Motherboard connector is plugged in & Sata Power, molex, CPU Power etc

thanks

 

[o1die]

Alpine is a generic brand ps. I recommend one of the following brands: antec, corsair, seasonic, enermax, xfx, or ocz. They start at around $50 at amazon or newegg. The corsair 500w builder's series is affordable. Better to get a good brand with lower wattage.

 

[pb18]

@ o1die

I replaced my generic PSU a while ago with an XFX 550 PRO Core Edition which has 44amps on 12v rail (44x12=528 watts) & also has a 5 year warranty, I also know these PSU's are made by seasonic 😀