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cooler failed


incredibleRoach

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Hi,

 

Seems like my worst fears have come true. I live in Bangalore and today woke up to find my computer was not showing up anything on the display. Just pulled the case forward to check if the cable was in place and found the floor covered in yellow-green liquid. At first I couldn't figure what it could be, but then I opened the case and found that my 8 month old H100 had leaked all over my GTX 670 DC II.

 

This is a really expensive build I put together very painstakingly just 8 months back, and I can't tell you how disappointed I am that a Corsair product has not just failed, but probably killed a bunch of other expensive components.

 

Here's a picture:

http://theincredibleroach.com/Pictures/IMG_7810.JPG

 

I really don't know what I should do now - today being a Sunday. What's the process I need to follow?

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OUCH!

First thing looks like you got the pump out and I would assume you got the coolant cleaned up from your system.

 

Then read a book, go to the movies etc and on Monday Call Corsair directly when they open.

 

At least that's what I would suggest to do.

 

I wouldnt turn it on till I called them first!

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OUCH!

First thing looks like you got the pump out and I would assume you got the coolant cleaned up from your system.

 

Then read a book, go to the movies etc and on Monday Call Corsair directly when they open.

 

At least that's what I would suggest to do.

 

I wouldnt turn it on till I called them first!

 

Yup, dismantled it and tried to wipe off most of the coolant. It's a little greasy though, so doesn't come off easily. Unfortunately it's dripped through the back-plate on the GTX 670 onto the board and into the heat sink, which I can't reach. Just letting it all dry out till someone at Corsair tells me what to do.

 

Not sure what the coolant is made of, but I think it gave me quite an allergy too - was sneezing hysterically for a couple of hours post my encounter with the stuff.

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submit a rma with corsair and in the comments section explain what happened

 

Thanks. I've raised a support ticket (is that the same thing?) with case # 5609450. Put in a long, detailed account of what happened. Surprisingly, no confirmation email once I submitted it, but it seems to have registered because it returns me the number on mail when I say I forgot my ticket number :):

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incredibleRoach, really your best bet is to call CS by phone. Otherwise it could potentially take a few days until you get something moving waiting on emails.

 

You can find the number on the main website page at the bottom under contact. If you happen to be out of the US you can instal and use SKYPE to make the call to the toll free number for nothing.

 

Not sure what the coolant is made of, but I think it gave me quite an allergy too - was sneezing hysterically for a couple of hours post my encounter with the stuff.

It's just water and a glycol mixture.(antifreeze). So there shouldn't be anything in there to cause an allergic reaction unless you are allergic to car anti-freeze which is basically the same thing.

Yup, dismantled it and tried to wipe off most of the coolant. It's a little greasy though, so doesn't come off easily. Unfortunately it's dripped through the back-plate on the GTX 670 onto the board and into the heat sink, which I can't reach. Just letting it all dry out till someone at Corsair tells me what to do.

You can use rubbing alcohol or even purchase an electrical cleaner to clean the GPU and then let it dry real good before trying to see if it is damaged or not. If it would happen to be bad then you also need to ask for a damage claim form too. Same goes for the MB and anything else that might be damaged.

 

Just looking at your pictures the only thing that looks to be in the direct line of fire would be the GPU.

 

The CPU should have shut itself down when it reached TJMax so your MB and CPU should be fine as long as the liquid didn't short anything out.

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incredibleRoach, really your best bet is to call CS by phone. Otherwise it could potentially take a few days until you get something moving waiting on emails.

 

You can find the number on the main website page at the bottom under contact. If you happen to be out of the US you can instal and use SKYPE to make the call to the toll free number for nothing.

 

 

It's just water and a glycol mixture.(antifreeze). So there shouldn't be anything in there to cause an allergic reaction unless you are allergic to car anti-freeze which is basically the same thing.

 

You can use rubbing alcohol or even purchase an electrical cleaner to clean the GPU and then let it dry real good before trying to see if it is damaged or not. If it would happen to be bad then you also need to ask for a damage claim form too. Same goes for the MB and anything else that might be damaged.

 

Just looking at your pictures the only thing that looks to be in the direct line of fire would be the GPU.

 

The CPU should have shut itself down when it reached TJMax so your MB and CPU should be fine as long as the liquid didn't short anything out.

 

Thanks peanutz94! Looks like they've already responded. Finding it hard to get good alcohol here - I bought a bottle of Surgical Spirit (that's what they call it here) and tried it out on a pair of glasses to check for residue and it was terrible. Need to visit a chemical dealer I think, though they usually sell the stuff in liters!

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I am sorry for what has happened. We've replied to your case #, we'll make sure that you'll be taken care of. Just reply to the message and we can take it from there.

 

Hey thanks RAM GUY. I got a message from Tech Support, but it mentioned an attached form that I couldn't find. I've replied to the message informing them of the same.

 

I have not yet tried to put on my computer after the incident. I have wiped off most of the coolant with tissues, but not yet cleaned the motherboard and GPU with alcohol like others are suggesting. Just wanted to check with you if I should clean them (especially the GPU since that drank most of the liquid), or if your team would like to see it in its current state to see if it is indeed damaged.

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coolant is distilled and non-conductive, parts should be ok after drying.

 

True. Unfortunately the chemical composition of the coolant is not PH neutral. That in more than 80% of the cases goes into chemical reaction with the solder (Pb/Sn alloy) and the result is a CONDUCTIVE oxide ... which is bad juju ...

Cleaning IS mandatory.

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coolant is distilled and non-conductive, parts should be ok after drying.

 

i mean sure that would explain the previous rmas for fried components...

 

if it's not conductive out of the factory, it sure is once contaminated with dust and debris that occur naturally in a case.

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i mean sure that would explain the previous rmas for fried components...

 

if it's not conductive out of the factory, it sure is once contaminated with dust and debris that occur naturally in a case.

again, they should be fine as long as it's dried and cleaned. but it's not going zip pop and fry the second it leaks. clean it up, make sure you don't have any desoldered points, move on.

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You should be able to find electronics cleaner i a spray can. That might be easier than trying to wipe everything down.

i used to use trichlorethane 111, but that epa made it illegal to sell. stuff was great too. i used to submerge electric motors in it while they were running.

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again, they should be fine as long as it's dried and cleaned. but it's not going zip pop and fry the second it leaks. clean it up, make sure you don't have any desoldered points, move on.

 

he woke up to it off according to the OP. Assuming it was on overnight when it leaked, so drying wont really help what has already caused the short.

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he woke up to it off according to the OP. Assuming it was on overnight when it leaked, so drying wont really help what has already caused the short.

 

Actually the machine was off for a couple of days as I was out of town. When I got back, I started it up and found it was not giving me any display and failing to boot. I restarted it once more, and when it failed to boot, I shut if off and pulled the cabinet forward to check the cables at the back and open it up. That's when I found a pool of coolant on the floor under the cabinet, and on the video card inside.

 

The machine must have been on for about 2-3 minutes while I was trying to make it boot before I discovered the leak - I'm worried that is probably long enough to have fried things, but I'm still hoping it has somehow escaped permanent damage.

 

I haven't given it another shot yet - will probably try this weekend. This doesn't look like a good sign though:

http://theincredibleroach.com/Pictures/IMG_7827.JPG

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i used to use trichlorethane 111, but that epa made it illegal to sell. stuff was great too. i used to submerge electric motors in it while they were running.

 

I still can get my hands on it. The only bad thing about trichlor is it WILL eat anything that may be rubber and also disolve any oil in things like bearings that would be in those motors like GPU fans and such. So a complete tear down and lube would be in order.

It is one heck of a degreaser and cleaner. I've even used it to pull ink out of carpets before and it does wonders from removing road tar from your car! :D

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  • 9 months later...
incredibleroach , is this the first contact you have had since february?

 

No, thanks to Corsair's great customer support, I have received a replacement cooler and was supposed to be compensated for my GPU as well - it's this compensation bit that has not happened yet.

 

I've not been getting replies to follow-up emails for the past couple of months, so thought I'd try my luck here.

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