PC upgrade mobo started smoking!

[soulvoid]

Hi all, new here, nice site btw. A little about my history, Im an aspiring hobbyist that has built many systems and repaired quite a few over the course of 20 years and also studying for an A+ cert for the fun of it! I recently was doing a PC upgrade(used PSU/used GPU) and after the new hardware placement my mobo started smoking very badly (below a DIMM socket and traveling up to the bios chip) and almost had a fire on my hands before yanking the power cord! The place on the board is black and I can now see some of the copper/gold relays. I am unsure of what has happened. The new PSU has a greenlight for indicating it is ready and I believe it was working when pulled from another PC case. On the otherhand I'm not certain of the GPU being a good unit or not and was hoping for the best that it would work. Details on items below with picture of aftereffect. After placing the original PC parts back together everything is working fine but im afraid of it now being a fire hazard!! After 30 minutes of being apart from the system the GPU card has the same burnt smell that the mobo produced in heavy white smoke(no smell was present on the card before hand) and the PSU appears to only have a very very little smell aftereffect. My question is would a bad graphics card cause the mobo to fry or has my mobo malfunctioned with an increased supply of power running through the board or maybe im missing something here in the parts placed together??

My old PC specs are as follows:

Win 7 64
ECS IC780M-A Mobo
AM2+ AMD Phenom x4 9750 quad core
PSU Coolmax V-500
HD Sata seagate barracuda 7200(ST3500418AS)
GPU EVGA GeForce GTS450
RAM Patriot Signature 2048 DDR2 800MHZ x 2

attempted upgrades:

PSU Thermaltake Toughpower XT 575W
GPU Radeon HD 6870 PowerCooler

 

[Eroticus]

Something wrong with PSU ... the area that burned is where the main connector of MOM < PSU (Over Voltage)

 

[soulvoid]

hmm that is strange, even tho the PSU ready light is green when plugged in? Also can you explain what MOM is? haha I am not familiar with that term. Thanks

 

[Sasqui]

Something wrong with PSU ... the area that burned is where the main connector of MOM < PSU (Over Voltage)

I dunno, did you see the metal case looking like it's touching the MB? Even the trace leads from the AMIBIOS chip look fried.

I say it's a massive short circuit to the case.

 

[soulvoid]

I dunno, did you see the metal case looking like it's touching the MB? Even the trace leads from the AMIBIOS chip look fried.

I say it's a massive short circuit to the case.

no the board I installed with spacers and the mobo itself is not touching the back of the case plate. I had however only placed the new PSU on top of the metal casing away from everything and then connected it all for a test run(did not remove old PSU from the slot other than disconnecting all the wires from the old PSU.) I have done this in the past with no incidents could this be the cause?

 

[4ghz]

You have mobo on standoffs, were any of the screw that hold mobo to standoff in place? If not and the mobo is slightly off center, the standoff could have shorted something. Also count the number of screw holes on the mobo and compare to installed standoffs, if you have more standoffs than there are screw hole, extra one could have done the deed.

Shit happened. I've smoked a few parts myself by accident.

 

[TheMailMan78]

Two things.

1. How hard did you pull off the old PSU connectors. A losen port on the mobo from a stress pull can cause a short circuit on a PCB. I've never had it happen on a mobo but I have had it happen on other things.
2. That smell is going to be on EVERYTHING. Its not really a smoke you saw in the traditional sense but a gas (Yes I know all smoke is gas) but circuitry smoke has a higher synthetic make up than say wood smoke. Its the nature of the fuel. With that being said it tends to saturate materials more (including your lungs). I would check that GPU in another computer you don't care about. But, I don't think its your GPU. My guess is you botched something up in your upgrade.

It happens to the best of us.

 

[soulvoid]

You have mobo on standoffs, were any of the screw that hold mobo to standoff in place? If not and the mobo is slightly off center, the standoff could have shorted something. Also count the number of screw holes on the mobo and compare to installed standoffs, if you have more standoffs than there are screw hole, extra one could have done the deed.

Shit happened. I've smoked a few parts myself by accident.

Yea thats never fun especially if your running for a fire extenguisher! Good point and thanks for bringing that up, the board is ATX form and installed in a budget diablotek case. 5 of the 6 called for screws are installed. The top right screw (directly above 24-pin power connector located 2" away from top of block) had no placement hole for a stud/screw and it is just hanging but it appears to be sturdy enough.

 

[soulvoid]

Two things.

1. How hard did you pull off the old PSU connectors. A losen port on the mobo from a stress pull can cause a short circuit on a PCB. I've never had it happen on a mobo but I have had it happen on other things.
2. That smell is going to be on EVERYTHING. Its not really a smoke you saw in the traditional sense but a gas (Yes I know all smoke is gas) but circuitry smoke has a higher synthetic make up than say wood smoke. Its the nature of the fuel. With that being said it tends to saturate materials more (including your lungs). I would check that GPU in another computer you don't care about. But, I don't think its your GPU. My guess is you botched something up in your upgrade.

It happens to the best of us.

when removing the old 24 pin connector it was fairly stuck in place well but i was careful to wiggle it from side to side length way of the connector to loosen it tho I do believe a minor amount of stress was applied to the board upon this process. The new 24pin connector went in easily. I spose a new tip for myself would be to place a small wooden block cut to size under this area from now on. Great point and tip again. Hey im liking this site you guys are very insightful

 

[4ghz]

Now that would be a disaster!

Check the PSU wires, do any of the end look browned or blackened? Do you have a decent PSU tester that can show reading of all the important numbers?

 

[soulvoid]

Now that would be a disaster!

Check the PSU wires, do any of the end look browned or blackened? Do you have a decent PSU tester that can show reading of all the important numbers?

no i sure dont just a digital meter which i have used to test PSU's in the past would that suffice? WOW.. thats a bad VCR! Bet it plays all the best movies now!! lol. Also no connectors on the new PSU and old PSU plastic or metal or the connector on the mobo are brown or discolored.

 

[Sasqui]

no the board I installed with spacers and the mobo itself is not touching the back of the case plate. I had however only placed the new PSU on top of the metal casing away from everything and then connected it all for a test run(did not remove old PSU from the slot other than disconnecting all the wires from the old PSU.) I have done this in the past with no incidents could this be the cause?

I'm seeing a metal bar along the edge of motherboard (on the top), what is that?

No, what you describe about using a different PSU not in the case shouldn't have cause a problem. Just make sure the other one is completely disconnected.

 

[TheMailMan78]

when removing the old 24 pin connector it was fairly stuck in place well but i was careful to wiggle it from side to side length way of the connector to loosen it tho I do believe a minor amount of stress was applied to the board upon this process. The new 24pin connector went in easily. I spose a new tip for myself would be to place a small wooden block cut to size under this area from now on. Great point and tip again. Hey im liking this site you guys are very insightful

Count the pins on the 24 and give each a lil wiggle. If you are missing any check your old PSU.

 

[xorbe]

Once this happens you've got fire hazard parts on your hands. Not worth the liability and peace of mind.

 

[soulvoid]

I'm seeing a metal bar along the edge of motherboard (on the top), what is that?

No, what you describe about using a different PSU not in the case shouldn't have cause a problem. Just make sure the other one is completely disconnected.

are you describing the blurred image above the pc bios speaker?? thats the structure for the hard drives to be installed. the other bar type like image that I can see is where the metal structure of the case rises up away from the lowered space for the mobo. Im not certain which you mean ill upload another image maybe to help. Also i dont believe this may have occured but considered the possibility if perhaps a connector from the new or old psu was touching or sitting on top of the DIMM socket would this problem have occured?

 

[soulvoid]

Count the pins on the 24 and give each a lil wiggle. If you are missing any check your old PSU.

i gave a good snug on all the wires that connect to the pins on both PSU's and all are intact and firm. I also noticed that on both PSU power connectors there are only 23 pins on both with both having an empty slot but no loose wires or pins to be found.

 

[Steevo]

Yeah, either a short in the board or a PSU issue, most modern PSU's won't turn on when there is a short though, so either way I woudn't trust it again.

 

[4ghz]

I googled for Coolmax power supply and I got some less than flattering reviews from them. One forum member called it a step above pure junk.

So it could be your PSU is the cause. Get a new one, get a quality one and don't rely on online store reviews/rating since they are often done when user gets the PSU and never followed up when the PSU goes out in flaming wreck a year later.

 

[xrM]

Check out this review of your PSU. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Coolmax-V-500-Power-Supply-Review/1366/7

 

[xorbe]

Check out this review of your PSU. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Coolmax-V-500-Power-Supply-Review/1366/7

lol at the last line in that review, "A perfect weapon of mass destruction. Stay away."

 

[4ghz]

lol at the last line in that review, "A perfect weapon of mass destruction. Stay away."

They haven't tried JPac 550w power supply. It came free with a nice looking case I got long ago but i didn't let that PSU touch my computer. It felt very light and cheap and when I opened it, it looked like they were built with bare minimum. just for kicks, I tested it by powering a single 100w peltier on 12v line, the PSU sparked and smoked quickly. Last I saw, they were selling new for almost the same price as scrap metal price.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Check out this review of your PSU. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Coolmax-V-500-Power-Supply-Review/1366/7

Junk, not worth the metal it is made out of.

 

[Sasqui]

are you describing the blurred image above the pc bios speaker?? thats the structure for the hard drives to be installed. the other bar type like image that I can see is where the metal structure of the case rises up away from the lowered space for the mobo. Im not certain which you mean ill upload another image maybe to help. Also i dont believe this may have occured but considered the possibility if perhaps a connector from the new or old psu was touching or sitting on top of the DIMM socket would this problem have occured?

Where it says "THIS" (That may be the tray under the MB?)

 

[Aquinus]

That looks strangely unusual. I think we're not being told something. I've seen power surges hit computers that aren't on a power strip that don't look that bad.

Either way, I would consider the entire thing toast.

 

[soulvoid]

Where it says "THIS" (That may be the tray under the MB?)
View attachment 54264

Thats the computer case itself and the board is raised from that surface I think its just the way the light that I was shining was reflecting in the case casting shadows. Ive since figured out the culprit. Posting new pics and answer to problem shortly. Thankyou for taking such a close look at things!