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Power & Energy
Forum Why did my 10A fuse blow?
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Forum Thread Details
  • State Verified Answer
  • Replies 10 replies
  • Answers 2 answers
  • Subscribers 287 subscribers
  • Views 4111 views
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  • fuse
  • dc power supply
  • switch
Related

Why did my 10A fuse blow?

be.mihai22
be.mihai22 over 7 years ago

Hello everyone!

 

I had a really strange incident yesterday. I was playing a game on my desktop PC yesterday and suddenly I heard something blowing up from my computer.

 

The control panel went off for all sockets in the house. Moreover, the 10 Amp fuse from my power supply power cord blew too.. Unfortunately that was not everything.

 

I changed the fuse and tried again. Nothing. I disassembled my power source, shorted all capacitors to make sure I don't fry my fingers and while doing so, I saw a black piece of silicone falling of. Little did I know it was from an AC/DC Off-line switch.

After visual analysis it was clear, the switch blew and left smoke on the nearby components.

 

I took of the switch today and I am expecting a new one from farnell in a few days.

 

My question is: How did this happen? Is it because I had a 10Amp fuse for a 750W power supply and there was a high current from outside which blew it up... or... the other way around?

 

Thank you in advance.

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  • jw0752
    jw0752 over 7 years ago +3 suggested
    Hi Mihai, The most likely culprit was poor contacts in the switch itself. Poor contacts equal resistance. Voltage across resistance means heat which just makes the poor contact situation worse. Over time…
  • jw0752
    jw0752 over 7 years ago in reply to be.mihai22 +1 suggested
    Hi Mihai, Your power analysis is good. One consideration on choosing a proper fuse is that many power supplies have a higher current draw as they turn on. This is caused by capacitors which have to charge…
Parents
  • be.mihai22
    0 be.mihai22 over 7 years ago

    Hi.

    I love that you always respond really fast. I have been notified by email about your reply and tested immediately. I have tested the diodes. 4 of them are dead (checked both poles) other than that, I've discovered a popped capacitor (not the very big one, but a smaller one).

     

    Because this problem goes further and further with damaged components, I will just remove all the components from it and keep them for scrap. I can see that there is no point to repair this PSU. I strongly hope there is no damage on the motherboard.

     

    Although I am using the affected computer just for recreational activities (i.e games, design and photoshop), I would be very disappointed if the components (e.g i7 3820, gtx 1060) would have suffered any shocks. From a visual inspection there is no sign of damage on the motherboard, but as you said, this might be misleading.

     

    To tie this up, in the past I've received some warnings that this OCZ (which translates to Toshiba) psu is a petard and would eventually blow up, but I refused to accept that. I will probably go to the nearest shop that offers amazon-like prices and test another PSU and if everything works good, I will buy another one.

     

    In the end, do you recommend a lower current fuse than 10Amp on the plug's head?

     

    (i.e :this: image

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  • jw0752
    0 jw0752 over 7 years ago in reply to be.mihai22

    Hi Mihai,

     

    It is your call on the fuse size in the cord. The fuse is really to protect you from fire and 10 amps is a good round number and probably relates to the safe capacity of the cord. The fact is if a fuse is blowing some damage has already been done in the equipment. The fuse just stops the damage from becoming a fire or a greater catastrophe. I endorse your idea to salvage parts and get a new power supply. I hope your computer is OK and I suspect that it is.

     

    John

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  • jw0752
    0 jw0752 over 7 years ago in reply to be.mihai22

    Hi Mihai,

     

    It is your call on the fuse size in the cord. The fuse is really to protect you from fire and 10 amps is a good round number and probably relates to the safe capacity of the cord. The fact is if a fuse is blowing some damage has already been done in the equipment. The fuse just stops the damage from becoming a fire or a greater catastrophe. I endorse your idea to salvage parts and get a new power supply. I hope your computer is OK and I suspect that it is.

     

    John

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