Noticeable, regular clicking sound from new AX1200i

[GPU]

I bought a new AX1200i from a UK retailer 3 months ago, but only got round to installing it 3 days ago. One of the main reasons I got it was for the silent mode since I've built my PC for quietness which is really important for me, as well as serious gaming power. Even running demanding and power hungry stress tests such as Furmark didn't spin up the fan either in the short time I ran them, which is fantastic.

It worked fine, an absolutely awesome PSU just like all the reviews, but today, it started making a regular clicking noise - a soft, but very noticeable "k" sound - every 10 seconds or so once the fan stopped spinning at power on. In my quiet environment it's very annoying indeed and defeats the whole purpose of buying it, so I've had to put back my HX850W v1 which has worked flawlessly since I bought it 5 years ago.

Looking at this forum and this thread from November 2012 in particular, it's not clear if this is a design issue or a manufacturing fault, possibly with the fan control circuitry. I'm also surprised to see this problem in a unit made so much later, expecting a niggly issue like this to have been ironed out. Either way, I don't want to live with this problem and feel very disappointed right now with Corsair. To be fair though, I've bought many different types of Corsair products over the years and this is the only one I've ever had a problem with. They've all been high quality, so Corsair is a top brand for me.

As a test, I tried lightening the load on it by removing the graphics card, disconnecting all the drives and booting the PC to the BIOS, but the problem remained.

I fear that if I RMA it with the retailer, I may get a replacement unit that does the same thing and they won't refund it due to the length of time since I bought it, so I would really appreciate help from the Corsair reps on here.

PC specs as in my profile.

[GPU]

Thankyou very much, I will do that.

I'm going to wait for ram guy before I do though, as he might be able to give me some useful info to help with the RMA. I expect he'll probably reply on Monday when the office opens.

[wytnyt]

Almost all vendors only have a 30 day return policy in order to exchange,so you would need to fill out a rma located below,however Id wait until jonnyguru reply's and advises on this PSU particulars.

https://corsair.secure.force.com/

[GPU]

Thanks, will do.

[GPU]

Damn, I've just realized that ram guy is no longer posting on this forum, the last post being in February. Anyone know what happened to him?

Is there any other Corsair rep who can discuss this with me here before I RMA it?

[Technobeard]

Originally Posted by GPU

Damn, I've just realized that ram guy is no longer posting on this forum, the last post being in February. Anyone know what happened to him?

Is there any other Corsair rep who can discuss this with me here before I RMA it?

Ram Guy = the TS team. The TS team have separate accounts, but the forum's a user forum largely. You can ask questions in the ticket itself.

[GPU]

Ok, thankyou very much.

[jonnyguru]

So.... the problem is that the fan "checks itself before it wrecks itself".... to make sure there isn't something blocking the fan, it gives itself a little kick and if it moves, even a little bit, it says "I'm good". If it doesn't move, it assumes there's something stuck in the fan and the PSU will actually shut down.

Obviously this is a good feature for if your fan fails, but it's a nuisance when the fan is supposed to be altogether off. So in later revisions of the AXi, they removed delivering any power to the fan at lower loads. If the fan isn't supposed to spin, it doesn't bother to check to see if the fan is spinning. If the fan is supposed to spin and it doesn't, then it will do the check and if it fails, it'll shut off the PSU.

I'm getting the lot codes for when the change to the PSU's circuitry was changed from the former to the latter. Stay tuned.

[GPU]

Originally Posted by jonnyguru

So.... the problem is that the fan "checks itself before it wrecks itself".... to make sure there isn't something blocking the fan, it gives itself a little kick and if it moves, even a little bit, it says "I'm good". If it doesn't move, it assumes there's something stuck in the fan and the PSU will actually shut down.

Obviously this is a good feature for if your fan fails, but it's a nuisance when the fan is supposed to be altogether off. So in later revisions of the AXi, they removed delivering any power to the fan at lower loads. If the fan isn't supposed to spin, it doesn't bother to check to see if the fan is spinning. If the fan is supposed to spin and it doesn't, then it will do the check and if it fails, it'll shut off the PSU.

I'm getting the lot codes for when the change to the PSU's circuitry was changed from the former to the latter. Stay tuned.

Ah, that makes sense. I've seen your PSU reviews and know what an expert you are on these things, so I really appreciate your insight. Still, I wonder why did it take three days for it to start doing this? Also, every 10 seconds seems a bit too frequent to me, plus I did look for some motion of the fan, but it doesn't move at all, so it must be a very light push.

I'll be happy to give you the lot code for it and will wait for your reply before RMAing it.

Thanks for flogging me old stock, Ebuyer.

[jonnyguru]

It's a VERY light push. The audible click is from the fan motors lamination (the surface they put on the motor's coils). When the PSU was brand new, the lamination had pretty good seal, but after a few days of use, high temperatures and constantly being nudged every 10 seconds, the lamination degraded enough to start making the clicking noise.

Yeah... if you have a lot number, that'll be great.

[GPU]

Unbelievable design choice with the constant nudging. So the fan is effectively slightly damaged after only a few days use and it didn't even spin!

YGPM for the numbers, for privacy reasons.

[jonnyguru]

Well... I wouldn't call it damage. It's a laquer laminate coating that all magnetics get. It's not a poor design choice as much as it's a poor choice for this design. The fan is an off the shelf model and this behavior, as opposed to having a Zero RPM mode, is normal for it. In other words: the fan was never designed to have a Zero RPM mode and still receive power so its logic still functions.

[GPU]

OK, so it looks like I should do one of two things:

1 RMA it with Corsair and ask for a brand new PSU ie sealed box of the latest revision which doesn't have this problem.

2 RMA it with Ebuyer and ask for a refund under the Sale of Goods Act as unfit for purpose due to a severe annoyance issue that wasn't disclosed at the time of sale. I bet they fight this, though. I will then buy another one from another seller, likely Amazon who were long term out of stock at the time and I thought they wouldn't be getting any more of them. Heck, I may just get the new AX1500i which I can't see as having this problem.

Just a thought: is this something which could be fixed with updated firmware from Corsair to not send the power pulse and programmed through its Link interface? I'd be perfectly happy with that and much less hassle than getting it swapped out.

[jonnyguru]

Yeah.. they'll fight #2.

And this is something that "should" be fixed with firmware, but they didn't allow for any way for users to flash firmware via I2C or USB.

I'd stick with #1, but wait for me to get lot codes first.

[GPU]

That's a silly restriction with the firmware flashing when you think about it, because the only user that's going to spend so much money on a PSU like this is an enthusiast who knows what he's doing. There are also ways of guarding against a bad flash, too.

Thanks again for your help Jonny, I'll wait for you to get back to me first as advised.