Power Supply Problem

dark_shard · 02-24-2007, 10:55 AM

PSU: Apevia ATX-AS500W-SV

Recently it's sounded like a fan in my case was going out so today I opened it up and powered up to see which it was. Anyway, All the fans seemed to be working fine, but just in case I messed with the speed control on my PSU to see if those fans might be the problem. They sped up and down like they were supposed to, but then after setting them back to the full setting the LED in the PSU turned off and the fans stopped. I turned the computer off and turned it back on to see if the fans would start up again but they didn't. Everything runs normally on my computer other than the two PSU fans. I was wondering if the fans only come on once a certain temperature is reached, or did they die on me? Should I risk running the system until I can get it sent in to be RMA'd if the fans died? I just bought the PSU on 12/27/2006.

**manic** · 02-24-2007, 01:15 PM

you didnt tell us what power supply you have. It sure doesnt sound good
to me. Might be a matter of time before you hear a pop, then who knows
what the damage will be. I take that back you did mention psu model.
Let me look at specs and see what I can dig up.
It sure is a pretty psu,,lol but from what ive seen, if the lights arent
coming on I would not use the psu. You could fry mobo, and who knows
what else...

dai · 02-25-2007, 09:38 AM

some power supplies use thermostatically controlled fan that come on when required

dark_shard · 02-26-2007, 12:05 PM

I know that some do as I said in my post, I just wondered if anyone knew if this specific model of PSU had that. Even if my PSU did have that for the fans wouldn't they spin at bootup?

**manic** · 02-26-2007, 12:13 PM

When you messed around with the fan speed control knob. When you
turned the fans all the way down did the led lights stay on. I would
think the led lights would stay on all the time whether the fans spinning
or not. So that leads me to believe something is awry with the psu.
Unless you are in a meat locker those fans/fan should start to spin in
at least 5 minutes of startup, at least briefly.

**linderman** · 02-26-2007, 01:29 PM

dont quote me or nail me to any wooden crate, but I dont think I have ever seen PSU fans completly stop

my current unit (enermax EG-710) spins faster when hot, but never completely stopped!

Apevia is a known low quality unit, I would rethink your selection.

read the Power Supply Link at the top of this forum section

**Kalim** · 02-26-2007, 03:50 PM

Apevia are aka Aspire - in the PSU world reknown as A$$fire

You are risking every component with this PSU - it will die or burn out and take along other components with it. It always does and usually the HDDs first. It doesn't even have PFC let alone Active PFC. Its not thermo controlled but has a fan speed adjuster for its dual fans. Basically I would advise you to change this immediately like manic and linderman above.

Take a read of what linderman advised and if you are then stuck or need suggestions, just post back

Tumbleweed36 · 02-26-2007, 04:06 PM

Hi,

I agree also with linderman on this one. While some have thermo controlled fans, I don't know of any that shuts both of them off at the same time. The ones who have that feature (Some Antecs), just shut the one down, but the other one is constantly running. That tells me something is amiss and needs taken care of immediately or something other (motherboard, memory, etc) than your power supply will be taking a very long vacation if you run it this way.

dark_shard · 02-26-2007, 04:43 PM

I haven't been running the computer with the PSU in it. I figured that it would risk harming the other components. I guess this is learning the hard way that I need to look much deeper into PSUs than just product reviews on sites. Unfortunately I have to stick with this model since it's been more than a month since I bought it and Newegg only offers RMA service for the part. I guess I'll just have to hope that the new one they send will work better than this one...

02-24-2007, 10:55 AM	#1 (permalink)
dark_shard Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 38 OS: WIN XP PRO	Power Supply Problem PSU: Apevia ATX-AS500W-SV Recently it's sounded like a fan in my case was going out so today I opened it up and powered up to see which it was. Anyway, All the fans seemed to be working fine, but just in case I messed with the speed control on my PSU to see if those fans might be the problem. They sped up and down like they were supposed to, but then after setting them back to the full setting the LED in the PSU turned off and the fans stopped. I turned the computer off and turned it back on to see if the fans would start up again but they didn't. Everything runs normally on my computer other than the two PSU fans. I was wondering if the fans only come on once a certain temperature is reached, or did they die on me? Should I risk running the system until I can get it sent in to be RMA'd if the fans died? I just bought the PSU on 12/27/2006.

02-24-2007, 01:15 PM	#2 (permalink)
manic Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 3,263 OS: xp	you didnt tell us what power supply you have. It sure doesnt sound good to me. Might be a matter of time before you hear a pop, then who knows what the damage will be. I take that back you did mention psu model. Let me look at specs and see what I can dig up. It sure is a pretty psu,,lol but from what ive seen, if the lights arent coming on I would not use the psu. You could fry mobo, and who knows what else... __________________ Last edited by manic : 02-24-2007 at 01:19 PM.

02-25-2007, 09:38 AM	#3 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 42,106 OS: vista 32x ultimate retail	some power supplies use thermostatically controlled fan that come on when required __________________

02-26-2007, 12:13 PM	#5 (permalink)
manic Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 3,263 OS: xp	When you messed around with the fan speed control knob. When you turned the fans all the way down did the led lights stay on. I would think the led lights would stay on all the time whether the fans spinning or not. So that leads me to believe something is awry with the psu. Unless you are in a meat locker those fans/fan should start to spin in at least 5 minutes of startup, at least briefly. __________________

02-26-2007, 01:29 PM	#6 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14,067 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	dont quote me or nail me to any wooden crate, but I dont think I have ever seen PSU fans completly stop my current unit (enermax EG-710) spins faster when hot, but never completely stopped! Apevia is a known low quality unit, I would rethink your selection. read the Power Supply Link at the top of this forum section __________________ If you cant be polite and friendly; then please be silent.

02-26-2007, 12:05 PM	#4 (permalink)
dark_shard Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 38 OS: WIN XP PRO	I know that some do as I said in my post, I just wondered if anyone knew if this specific model of PSU had that. Even if my PSU did have that for the fans wouldn't they spin at bootup?

02-26-2007, 03:50 PM	#7 (permalink)
Kalim Roaming To Help Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 5,609 OS: Many	Apevia are aka Aspire - in the PSU world reknown as A$$fire You are risking every component with this PSU - it will die or burn out and take along other components with it. It always does and usually the HDDs first. It doesn't even have PFC let alone Active PFC. Its not thermo controlled but has a fan speed adjuster for its dual fans. Basically I would advise you to change this immediately like manic and linderman above. Take a read of what linderman advised and if you are then stuck or need suggestions, just post back

02-26-2007, 04:06 PM	#8 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 14,184 OS: XP Professional	Hi, I agree also with linderman on this one. While some have thermo controlled fans, I don't know of any that shuts both of them off at the same time. The ones who have that feature (Some Antecs), just shut the one down, but the other one is constantly running. That tells me something is amiss and needs taken care of immediately or something other (motherboard, memory, etc) than your power supply will be taking a very long vacation if you run it this way. __________________ ----------

02-26-2007, 04:43 PM	#9 (permalink)
dark_shard Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 38 OS: WIN XP PRO	I haven't been running the computer with the PSU in it. I figured that it would risk harming the other components. I guess this is learning the hard way that I need to look much deeper into PSUs than just product reviews on sites. Unfortunately I have to stick with this model since it's been more than a month since I bought it and Newegg only offers RMA service for the part. I guess I'll just have to hope that the new one they send will work better than this one...