Power supply made a white flash when i turned it on

Dazzeerr

New Member
After quite a long gaming session i turned off my PC, and for some reason can't remember why now I turned off the PSU, then turned it back on and a white flash went off inside. It never usually flashes and when i turned it off and on again the flash didn't occur.

The back of the PSU to touch was pretty warm too, i'm wondering if it can't cope or is on it's way out. It's a:

Octigen 500W Power Supply (It must be pretty old because it has the red voltage switch on the back)

What do you guys think?
 
it could be on its way down. it could be like when a blb goes out. you tun on the light, then the bulb flashes and it goes out.
 
I wouldn't want to mess with a faulty PSU, as it seems like you have. You may want to look into replacing it rather soon.
 
It's a switch, all switches spark. It could've been you just pushed it slowly and the electricity started jumping. If it's still working then ignore it, it's probably nothing
 
its just the capacitor discharging but be warned they can carry high amperage with them i think 80 milliamps is enough to send a person into cardiac arrest
 
Odd...I've *never* seen a good, solid PSU do that in all my time working with them.

But what do I know...

If you started your car and the alternator sparked with a white flash, would you still drive it?
 
i doubt an alternator could spark with a white flash maybe if the battery sat there for a while and the hydrogen accumulated under the hood and the alternator made a spark, i suppose it could happen, sorry if your trying to be sarcastic, you cant tell over the internet unless you have a microphone :S
 
I know for certain on the railways with diesel trains if you do get a flashover quite a lot of damage can be dealt to the alternator(s), I'd try and avoind using it if at all possible.
 
Back
Top