CPU overheating. Is my H100i to blame?

Hey Corsair forums. I am new to the forums, but I have long been a dedicated fan of Corsair and their products. I really hope that you can help me with my problem, as I am getting desperate.

Few days I assembled my new gaming rig, which includes a i5-4670k from my old PC and new H100i as well as a brand new Asus Maximus VII Hero. After getting all the part together, building my PC and getting Windows 8.1 installed and other software, I started noticing some important issues right away.

First of all, Corsair Link v2 (I got newest version from 30/9/2014) can't detect my H100i nor the dual SP120 fans that I have mounted on its radiator. Secondly, but also most important, Corsair Link was telling me that my idle temperatures of my CPU is between 40 - 50 degrees celsius, and the indicator will occasionally start blinking red and show 0 degrees in the program. Furthermore, temperatures will surpass 90 degrees under load, which will make my PC automaticly shut down to prevent damage to vital components.

During this time, the fans on my radiator and the pump on the H100i seems to be working without any problem (there are no strange sounds coming from the unit and the LED on the front of the pump is working as it should). In an effort to try to solve this I remove the pump itself, got rid of the old thermal paste on the CPU as well as the pump using rubbing alcohol, qtips and paper and applied some new thermal paste on the CPU. However, the problem still persists.

I have theories regarding the reasons behind the problem, and been reading alot of posts from people who seems to be experiencing the same issues as me. One reason could be a defect sensor on my motherboard, which interprets the temperature on the CPU much higher then what is really is. I can see this as Corsair Link tell me, that the temperature of the CPU and motherboard itself is very. However, I don't think this is the case as Corsair Link cannot, as I said before, detect the H100i unit nor its fan and the top of the radiator and area around the CPU and pump feels much cooler than what Corsair Link tells me.

All of this lead to one question: Is problems with overheating of my CPU due to my H100i, or it is something else entirely like the motherboard or perhaps the CPU itself?

It should be noticing that in lack of proper judgement I decided to remove the plastic insulator on the backplate for the mounting bracket of the H100i, before I installed on my motherboard. I dunno if this is a problem or not. See the attached picture if you are unsure about what I mean.

I really hope you guys can help me.

is your back plate fitted like this?

http://cdn.overclock.net/a/a7/500x1000px-LL-a71b1057_backplate.png

Just took a look. No, it isn't. Could that really be such a big deal?

only a difference between cooling and overheating if it isnt properly mounted;):

yes its needed so the block can mount flush..

Yes! It actually worked. I turned the backplate in the right direction and now my idle temperature is down to 26 - 30C. Success! :biggrin:

However, It still have a problem with Corsair Link. It won't detect my H100i or its fans and the temperature for the CPU is still ccasionally blinking red.