H115i Pump RGB Not Working

Built my PC roughly two weeks ago and since day one my pump head RGB has not turned on, I have tried swapping SATA cables to see if that might help, unplugged and reconnected certain wires, nothing. Fans/fans rbg work fine but it's just the header RGB that isn't working, even went into icue and messed around to see if i could trigger anything but no luck. Currently chatting with Corsair through email to possibly get a replacement but I was wondering if stuff like this happens often. Because this isn't the first instance I've heard of pump RGB not working with this specific model, makes me think its a common issue. could it possibly be as simple me having something plugged into the wrong slot on my motherboard? because my aio pump slot on my mb is free but i have no available wires to plug into that. (its my first build) platinum model

Edited August 12, 2020 by FlowZaa
left something out

Is that a H115i Pro or Platinum? It's hard to tell from visual only.

 

There are several posted issues regarding the Platinum/XT cooler LEDs out/frozen. I have only seen one post for the Pro series coolers and the cause is unknown.

my fault, its the platinum

OK, see the thread below and the further linked threads. There have been several complaints on the Platinum coolers this week.

 

https://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=199010

 

 

One thing I am curious about with these is if the lighting on the pump comes back on when you are in the boot state, pre-OS load.

I don't know how accurate this is but this morning my friend told me to send him my specs because his brother wants to build a computer and for him to go based off of my stuff but he said he looked up a video that said I needed an 850w power supply in order for the cooler head RGB to work and I've watched a few videos on my cooler and I never heard of anything like that, but it doesn't sound like it's that much of a reach. The only part I don't understand is that I have a 650w PSU and according to multiple websites I'm not pushing out more than 450

The pump LED itself uses a menial amount of watts, more specially on the 5v rail. Most 600-1000W PSUs will all have the same 5v current rating (20-25A), so that is not likely to matter. Where you might get into trouble is if you have a lot of 5v RGB fans and other hardware like HDDs that use all voltage rails, plus the cooler and they run on the same SATA ribbon. A few people have had dimming or selective PSU shutdowns. Simply not turning on or responding to controls is something else. There have been several reports of this issue on Plat/XT coolers this week, so more likely there is common link between users.

make sure your psu supports 15pin sata cable (5 wires go to the connector, not 4)

I feel your pain buddy, but I just fixed mine and feel like I can help now. Take a took at the 24 Pin connector that leaves the pump. Look for the wire that is by itself with a space from the other group. If you see any silver on top that means the pin pushed its way out of the connector as you plugged it in. Be careful and unplug the 24 pin from the hub and push just the single wire back in until its seated and reinstall carefully making sure it doesn't come free again. Hopefully this fixes your problem.

Having owned Corsair CPU water coolers for many years, I should mention also that the pump/hose/radiators can get blocked. Especially if you move the case as stuff can get dislodged.

 

I was just re-assembling my PC after an international move and was getting high idles of 40+ degrees C, and during any load it would hit 80 to 100 degrees C (I didn't notice until the radiator fans started howling!). You can also tell because one hose is warm/hotter and the other one is cooler. So a blockage of some kind.

 

Anyway, if you aren't in warranty (I was 4 years but cannot find my original receipts unfortunately) what you can try is to remove the CPU cooler (you'll need some new thermal paste before you do this) and give it numerous solid taps with the screwdriver handle end around the sides of the cooler, on the hose intakes on the cooler and radiator side as well as on the radiator itself.

 

Give it 2 rounds of tries... and if you're lucky the blockage will be dislodged and your temps will normalize and both your hoses will be the warmish and differing only by 1 or 2 degrees C. In case you're wondering I use the 5 point approach to re-applying thermal paste.

 

Is the H115i or Corsair CPU water coolers a flawed design? I think any product that is mechanical and involves heat is going to be a challenge, and I've got at least 4 years out of both my Corsair coolers. With the 5 year warranty (look after your receipt!) I'll still buy this brand as I don't think that other brands will be necessarily more reliable.

 

Anyway, hopefully this helps someone who was otherwise going to throw away their Corsair CPU water cooler.

Edited March 21, 2021 by JasonXR