F5F Stay Refreshed Hardware Desktop Investigation assistance: Dead MoBo, faulty PSU (higher voltages), or another cause?

Investigation assistance: Dead MoBo, faulty PSU (higher voltages), or another cause?

Investigation assistance: Dead MoBo, faulty PSU (higher voltages), or another cause?

T
TheWheatherMan
Member
160
01-10-2023, 12:54 PM
#1
Hey everyone, my little Rig stopped working after I returned from the holidays. He hasn’t been responding at all—no sounds, no lights, no fan activity, and nothing when I try to start him. More details are available here: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/KKfXZw. What I’ve noticed is that when I press power, there’s no beep, no lights, and the fan doesn’t spin up. The GPU lights came on at first but then disappeared after several tests. I tried a few things without changing anything: I flipped the power switch pins on the motherboard, swapped out the CMOS battery and reset the BIOS using the reset pins, removed the GPU, all front-panel connectors, and USB devices. Then I connected pin 15 to ground on the PSU’s 24-pin connector—once it worked, I checked pin voltages with a multimeter. The readings went up, like from 3.3V to 3.8V and 12V to 13.8V. Probably just a measurement issue, but I’m not sure. I think the board might be dead, but I’m hesitant to replace it just yet because if the CPU is also gone, it could cost a lot. Any suggestions? Is it normal for PSU voltages to be slightly higher? And how likely is it that the motherboard is failing if the CPU stops working too? Thanks for your time and help!
T
TheWheatherMan
01-10-2023, 12:54 PM #1

Hey everyone, my little Rig stopped working after I returned from the holidays. He hasn’t been responding at all—no sounds, no lights, no fan activity, and nothing when I try to start him. More details are available here: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/KKfXZw. What I’ve noticed is that when I press power, there’s no beep, no lights, and the fan doesn’t spin up. The GPU lights came on at first but then disappeared after several tests. I tried a few things without changing anything: I flipped the power switch pins on the motherboard, swapped out the CMOS battery and reset the BIOS using the reset pins, removed the GPU, all front-panel connectors, and USB devices. Then I connected pin 15 to ground on the PSU’s 24-pin connector—once it worked, I checked pin voltages with a multimeter. The readings went up, like from 3.3V to 3.8V and 12V to 13.8V. Probably just a measurement issue, but I’m not sure. I think the board might be dead, but I’m hesitant to replace it just yet because if the CPU is also gone, it could cost a lot. Any suggestions? Is it normal for PSU voltages to be slightly higher? And how likely is it that the motherboard is failing if the CPU stops working too? Thanks for your time and help!

M
MasterHD7
Senior Member
340
01-10-2023, 03:29 PM
#2
These readings suggest your PSU may be defective, possibly damaging the motherboard. You could replace it with a new power supply and test this unit. Alternatively, you might measure another one to confirm. Such failures at higher voltages are uncommon but do occur.
M
MasterHD7
01-10-2023, 03:29 PM #2

These readings suggest your PSU may be defective, possibly damaging the motherboard. You could replace it with a new power supply and test this unit. Alternatively, you might measure another one to confirm. Such failures at higher voltages are uncommon but do occur.