Rant: Took me two years to figure out this one power supply trick

I kept getting random shutdowns on refurbished builds at my shop in Portland. Tried swapping ram, drives, even motherboards before I realized the 24-pin ATX connector just needed a good reseat with a plastic spudger. Has anyone else dealt with intermittent power issues that turned out to be a loose connection?

3 comments

3 Comments

colethomas2d ago

@fiona_kim97 you really think a whole housing swap is necessary for that lol

fiona_kim972d ago

Trick is moisture from condensation on the pins, always happens near the edges where air hits it. But the real fix is replacing the connector housing, not just reseating it.

felixhenderson1d ago

Man that condensation thing makes sense actually. I had a similar issue with a custom loop build I did for a friend up here in the PNW. Kept getting random crashes only when it was rainy out. Drove me crazy for like three months. Turned out the PSU was mounted upside down so the fan was pulling in humid air from the floor. Flipped it around and the problem went away completely. Never even thought about the connector housing until reading your post.

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