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AX1200i random shutdowns with failure to restart


Hikyuuri

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This just started happening to me yesterday after having this PC set up exactly the same for over a month now. The PC will randomly power down, then after a few seconds attempt to restart (fans start up, LEDs illuminate), but then immediately shut down again but only partially. It's almost like the 12V rail started, but then stopped within a second, but the 5V rail continues to run (2.5" HDDs keep spinning, but everything else stops). I have no fans, no lighting, nothing. The really odd part is the power button on my case will stay lit as if the computer is running, but it clearly isn't.

 

The only way to clear this issue is to turn off the switch on the PSU, wait a few seconds for the capacitors to discharge and power off, then turn it back on. It does not need to fully boot into Windows for this to happen either. I had it on the BIOS monitor screen to watch temperatures and voltages to see if I could find what the issue was, and even in the BIOS it did it after a few minutes. All voltages and temperatures looked good too.

 

I have so far found a way to keep the PC running though. If my PC does one of these faults and shuts down, but then successfully restarts without me needing to flip the switch, it will run seemingly fine as long as I want it to. But, if I have to flip the switch and restart it, it will fail within 30 minutes.

 

Load tests on my PC show no temperature issues or voltage issues, even with me pushing almost 700W through the PSU (CPU and both GPUs at full load), so it doesn't seem to be a voltage sag issue.

 

Probably going to open an RMA ticket with Corsair to swap the PSU out as at this point it seems to be the likely issue, especially since when it tries to restart my motherboard leaves the power LED lit even though there is no 12v rail. Plus, if I can make the PC reboot successfully after one of the failures it stays perfectly stable also seems to point more at the PSU than any other component.

 

Just wanted to post all that so if others are seeing similar issues, they can comment. I saw that people report similar issues in the AX860i, but not knowing exactly how similar these PSUs are (besides wattage, obviously), I didn't want to post a AX1200i issue in that thread.

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  • 2 weeks later...

It finally died today. Nothing I do will get it to power on for more than half a second.

 

Swapped it out with a spare PSU I have laying around, PC works fine. So, it is definitely the power supply.

 

I'm just going to return the power supply and go with a different company. I don't want to RMA a less than 2 month old PSU I got for $400 to get a refurbished one back (referb units are like $250, and my PSU did not depreciate $150 in 2 months).

Edited by Hikyuuri
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Who said anything about replacing it with a refurbished unit? It is always your choice to return it with the retailer but we don't replace new units with refurbished ones.

 

It was my understanding from others that Corsair replaces RMA equipment with refurbished equipment, not new. If that is not correct, then my appologies. I'm just basing off of what others have told me.

 

As for returning to the retailer, I can't do that any more, as it is outside their return window.

 

I am still waiting to hear from support on the RMA. It has been about a week now since I submitted my ticket though, and now that the system is in the process of being upgraded, I am unsure when to expect the replacement.

 

make sure your rig has adequate cooling to prevent the BIOS from thermal triggering a shutdown

 

I don't see how this can cause a power supply to straight up fail. Plus, the case is a Corsair case, which has a dedicated air intake for the PSU. Most of the time, the PSU was cool enough it didn't even need the fan, but I do know the fan worked as when gaming it did turn on.

 

 

Plus, now that I have taken the PSU out of the case in preparation for the RMA attempt, I have been able to test it with the self test button. I hear a couple relays click, and the fan twitches once, then it just stops. The test LED does not light, and nothing else happens. So, it is definitely a bad PSU.

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Just FWIW, this seems to be a recurring issue with the AX1200i. I bought five of them about two years ago, and had 100% of them fail in this manner in one year or less. I actually replaced the unit in my main desktop with the TX750 it originally replaced, and it's running fine to this day. The four I used at work died one by one between 2 and 8 months of life. Those failures caused a business policy that Corsair power supplies were not authorized and explicitly forbidden. Honestly, I'd recommend saving yourself some time and grief, buy a different PSU, and throw the AX1200i away. Don't even bother RMAing, your replacement will end up dying the same way, maybe right away, maybe in a year or two, maybe letting the magic smoke out of some of your hardware when it does (Though I will agree that none of the copious reports show that, simply a variation on "it turned off on it's own and now turns off and on over and over in a loop, and self-test fails"). A few people have said things like "This is very rare" or "the odds against this are astronomical", but if you search Google you will see great numbers of reports with the same symptoms. The AX1200i works for anywhere from 0 minutes to just over a year, and then it powers off unexpectedly. It then progresses to it happening more and more often, and then it will fail entirely, causing a boot loop and various self-test light problems. This is not an isolated incident, I cannot locate anyone with an AX1200i that has been working for much over a single year. I am serious, and not exaggerating. My sample size is only about 100 people around the world, but *EVERY ONE* has had their PSU fail in a similar way.

 

A report from 2012, along with an absurd number of failed RMA replacements; http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=112526

 

A report from 2015;

 

Another 2015; http://forum.corsair.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137874

 

Here's two guys in one thread with this issue from 2016; https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/consistent-problems-with-ax1200i-platinum-power-supply.2813875/

 

Another 2016; https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/618990/pc-wont-turn-on-fans-spin-for-1-sec/page-2

 

And I replaced my personal AX1200i with the TX750 it was supposed to replace in late 2017. I purchased it October 22, 2016. The TX750 was purchased in 2011 if I recall correctly, and is in use to this day. To be clear, I'm not saying that 100% of the AX1200i supplies in the world are bad. That's clearly not the case. What I am saying is that a statistically significant number of AX1200i units are failing in the same or very similar ways, and Corsair has had a great number "returned for analysis" and the only solution ever offered is "open an RMA and replace the supply". Did Corsair ever figure out the issue???

Edited by Forge64
Revised and added restated conclusion/call for comment.
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  • 4 weeks later...

Hey everyone, figured I'd post this warning here.

 

I would highly recommend you NOT buy Corsair products off of Amazon!

 

It all first started when I ordered a Corsair PSU off of Amazon. The first one I got was clearly not new and had been previously used (factory tape on external and internal boxes cut, resealed with shipping tape). Furthermore, the PSU was missing some parts (screws, etc). I shipped that PSU back, telling Amazon it was not a new unit, and Amazon sent me a replacement PSU, which was also not new (again, factory tape cut, but this one seemed to have all the parts). I still sent it back and got a refund, as I did not pay full price to get a refurbished or used unit.

 

I thought it might just be the Corsair PSUs, but today, I received my new H150i Pro that I ordered from Amazon, and it too is clearly used! It is missing the thermal paste on the CPU part, and there is plenty of dust and scratches around the screw holes (especially on the CPU part) that show it was not only installed in someone's PC, but also USED for an extended period!

 

Somehow, Amazon's warehouse of stock has been contaminated, or they are shipping referbished units when people are paying full price and should be getting new units. As such, I HIGHLY recommend NOT buying any corsair products from Amazon, and if you do, thoroughly inspect the product to make sure it is exactly what you ordered (new, not used, all parts are present, etc).

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I have the exact same problem with my AX1200i

 

Also have a thread about it.

 

Mine is very random.

 

Somedays it shuts down 3-12 times in a day.

Somedays it shuts down 1-2 times in a day.

And then sometimes it can work for 1-3 days without having any shutdowns. But then it happens again. And when you start it up again it just starts shutting down alot again.

 

And ye I have heard alot of people having problems with the AX models.

Maybe to much tech in there.

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I use a custom fan profile with my AX860i and it seems to solve problems I was experiencing earlier.

 

I had to use the old Corsair Link to make a custom fan profile. I believe the zero fan logic to be a bad design choice.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Two months later, Corsair finally got me a replacement PSU. Guess what, the replacement is doing the same thing!

 

First, the replacement was NOT a new unit, it was a refurbished unit. External tape on the box was cut with a new piece installed over it, and the internal serial number tape was also cut. Figured i'd still try it, as I have been running on a backup PSU for over 2 months and have an event next weekend I need my PC ready for. Guess my PC will have to get a new PSU from another company to be ready for my event next weekend.

 

Now, I have been on hold for over 30 minutes, waiting to talk to a Corsair Support rep via phone to escalate my 2nd replacement. Hopefully this one takes less than 2 months to get to me, and actually works once it does finally arrive.

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  • Corsair Employee

First, the replacement was NOT a new unit, it was a refurbished unit. External tape on the box was cut with a new piece installed over it, and the internal serial number tape was also cut.

 

That does not mean it's a refurbished unit. Corsair makes sure that refurbished units are clearly marked. It's ILLEGAL to represent refurbished product as new. A the very least, a refurbished unit would have -RF at the end of the part number.

 

The reason many of the PSUs are "resealed" is because of power cord reconfiguration. If there is an excess of a particular PSU in Europe, for example, they will open the PSU box, take out the EU power cord, replace it with a U.S. power cord, for example, and tape the box back up and ship it to the U.S. warehouse.

 

As for the issue you were having: That's really unusual that the second one is doing the same thing. And I imagine that this was an issue right out of the box?

 

It certainly sounds like the same problem people were having with the AX760i and AX860i with the damaged MLCC, but I have not heard of this issue with the AX1200i specifically. Furthermore, I've never heard of this problem happen immediately out of the box (as stated in the other thread, it usually takes for the PSU to heat up first).

 

Let us know how your communication with customer service goes.

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  • Corsair Employee
I was having problems shutting off i believe there is something wrong with the fanless mode causing the power supply to overheat im using a custom curve for my fan and i believe it fixed my shut off issues working great now!

 

Well, it sounds like there could be a batch of AX1200i's that have the same problem as the AX860i.

 

It was posted on the other thread that there was an MLCC that would lose connectivity during heat cycles. Obviously, the PSU is going to run hotter with no fan, and this could cause the break in the circuit. Cool it down with the fan and everything is fine.

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Hi jonny, I noticed you're answering AX1200i questions in this thread, and while I don't have a problem with mine, I think it runs hotter than my old HX850i did? Got a refurb from Amazon and it runs around 36c when browsing, etc. I thought my HX850i was closer to 30c. Again, it hasn't made any difference really I'm just wondering if that's like standard temps (I know ambient would factor into this as well). I suspect the operating temp range on the AX1200i is higher than the HX850i. Thanks!
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  • 10 months later...

AX 1200I - Random Shutdowns - found problem - capacitor has Bad solder points - TO FIX - capacitor behind modular plugins needs to be re-soldered - need to remove PS from case - remove 5 screws from modular plugins panel - remove 4 form top cover with fan and 2 from each side - no need to remove fan from cover - remove power switch, plug receptacle (mark wire color on switch and mylar next to receptacle so there put back same place) remove 5 screws holding down PS board, one in center and one at each corner - bend back vented end panel a little to get PS out of bottom case - use light to see capacitor behind modular plugins - locate capacitor pins passing though PS board, re-solder these pins so that the solder flows on to small solder pads next to the pins.

 

I checked to make sure this was the problem with a can of Supper Cold Spray, you can get at a electronics store or Amazon.

OR you can put your PS in the freezer for about 1/2 hour then put it back in your PC quickly, what this will do as with all metals is shrink the solder around the pins for contact, the PS will work until the solder warms up and expands. Freezing does same thing the Supper Cold does that is used to find breaks in PC board bus traces.

 

I did this to fix both of my AX 1200I PS and they both run at room temp above 90 deg. 3 days non-stop with NO Shut Downs, Before they shut down when my room temp went over 73.

That is way I checked for contact break by first putting PS in the freezer.

Edited by QCDISK
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I bought an AX760i in 2015 and it died within two months. Just shut off one day. It would not respond. I switched psu's and system was fine. I rma'd the 760i and got a new in return. It is still running fine in my current pc. Knock on wood.
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The matte finish on solder joints is not always a good indicator of a cold solder joint. The lead free solder used today never has the shine of the old 60/40.

 

And careful with condensation when doing what you suggest. Never good to mix high voltage and water.

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