H170i LCD 'red exclamation mark' leads to iCue CPU overheat

[Dalriadaman]

Just built a new system, got it to post (after a BIOS update) and installed Window 11 with no drama. Only issue was the LCD goes through the Corsair animation, displays 'Liquid Temp 0' for a split second and then show the dreaded 'red exclamation mark'.

Not a problem, i thought, i'll just download iCue and see if it's a firmware update issue. No sooner than iCue is installed and opened than all my fans start ramping up and the CPU temp display on the motherboard starts increasing. Within about a minute or two  the temps have hit 100C and the computer freezes. iCue sees my Commander Core and Core XT but NOT the H170i, however if i go into 'Devices' in Windows it show both cores and 'LCD cap for Elite Cappelix'. By removing all three from devices I could stop the overheat and temperatures would go back down to 30-40ish. Curiously the red exclamation mark would dissapear and 'Liquid temp 0' would display. Even stranger, I fired up World of Tanks (a not too intensive game to 'stress test') and it sounded almost like the pump was trying to work, there was some noise and the instant i alt-tabbed out/in the game it stopped/started.

CPU contact and thermal paste coverage is good ( I checked),  pump cables are secure (I guess verified by the fact that all three showed up in devices) and what was the latest version of iCue 4 is now (after several attempts) uninstalled. Probably worth noting that at one point i did spot a 'coolant temp' display in iCue, it was up in the high 50's/60's.

Build is:

i5-13600k
MSI Z690 Unify
Corsair DDR5 32GB
Aorus Waterforce 3090 Ti
H170i LCD
HX1000i PSU

Did a clean install of iCue to test again and same thing, the moment iCue is opened, everything ramps up. Took as many screenshots as i could before removing the devices to prevent my computer dying! As you can see, the moment iCue is started things start getting fruity. Did i simply get a bad pump or is there more to it?

 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Dalriadaman

[Dalriadaman]

Ignore the pump sounding like it works, that's just the GPU pump as it's a card with attached rad. Not being able to see that pump allowed me to forget it.  Does make me lean more towards a bad pump. iCue cooking everything still makes zero sense though.

[c-attack]

There are a lot of threads discussing this this type of issue and some long discussions. Unfortunately the cause can vary and the behavior not always consistent. If you are overheating, the pump is not running and CUE has no way to turn it off deliberately. Power chain is from the SATA to Commander Core to pump And LCD top. The SATA is ok since there is power to fans, so that leaves the other two. 
 

In your cue screenshot it shows “Commander Core” when it should show the LCD pump top. This suggests the problem is in the power/communication line between the Com Core and lcd top. 
 

Standard first step for this is to shutdown and flip the PSU off. Then go to the Com Core to pump wide power connector. Disconnect it and then reconnect making sure the white stripe is lined up. Then take the lcd top off its base and remount it. The problem could be at either connection point but since it only appears to drop off once CUE loads, that suggests the problem may be on the lcd top. Now flip the PSU back on and restart. The PSU power cycle forces the Com Core and LCD top to run another detection cycle. 
 

If you want to check power chain vs some type of CUE initialization error, stop in the bios on the next boot. If you can see the cpu temp ticking up fairly quickly (40..45..50..55…. 70..80..etc) then the pump is not running and I would return the unit or RMA through Corsair. If it’s steady in the bios, exit out and boot normally. If still goes crazy when CUE loads, then we have a complicated issue. 

[Dalriadaman]

Did the unplug/replug and no change. Still an exclamation mark and overheating when iCue is opened (or does a background update check), disconnecting stops the overheat and the cap goes to '0 degree liquid'.

CPU temp is a steady 30 C whilst in BIOS. My thinking is that the pump is running but there is a fault which prevents it from 'reporting in', this fault causes something to go nuts when iCue tries to talk to its products. Perhaps when iCue detects no pump, the pump actually stops working. I dunno but i guess i'm stripping my PC to return this AIO.

It just had to be a unique problem, it couldn't have been identical to someone else's. That would have been to easy!

 

[Balsagna]

On 12/29/2022 at 11:08 AM, Dalriadaman said:

Did the unplug/replug and no change. Still an exclamation mark and overheating when iCue is opened (or does a background update check), disconnecting stops the overheat and the cap goes to '0 degree liquid'.

CPU temp is a steady 30 C whilst in BIOS. My thinking is that the pump is running but there is a fault which prevents it from 'reporting in', this fault causes something to go nuts when iCue tries to talk to its products. Perhaps when iCue detects no pump, the pump actually stops working. I dunno but i guess i'm stripping my PC to return this AIO.

It just had to be a unique problem, it couldn't have been identical to someone else's. That would have been to easy!

 

I have the exact same issue my man. It's garbage, shoulda stuck with a full loop instead.

[Dalriadaman]

Been ignoring this problem for too long as my other PC still hasn't died/burst into flames.

Fired up the 'new' PC and updated iCue, which has led to the system not overheating and crashing. LCD pumpcap still not recognized and shows 0 degrees. Now i just need to motivate myself to take the damn thing apart to RMA the cooler.

Thought i'd post this update as there was definitely some wierd software shenanigans going on.