Sparks flew from PSU powercord socket, PSU/PC still works after using a new cable

[Bing Chilling]

The other night i slid my pc slightly and sparks flew from the psu powercord socket
within half a second i unplugged it (pc shut off of course instantly)

after it was un plugged and switched off, i inspected the cord
and it seemed there was (somehow?) abit of liquid inside the end of the cord
none seemed to be inside the PSU however.

After having a slight panic attack, i decided to try another cord that i had lying around
and the pc turned on and seemingly is working fine
that said i have not played any games on it or stressed the PSU

how concerned should i be to do so and should i buy a new PSU before even attempting

i wasn't able to find alot of info regarding this specific issue, only completely dead
powersupply/pc threads

[󠀡󠀡]

good to go!

[Bing Chilling]

Originally posted by Tyrant:

good to go!

so you don't think any permanent damage occurred to the psu and only the cord died?

[r.linder]

I wouldn't continue using a power supply that had that happen without verifying that it's safe to use, that's a stupid idea because you don't know what damage could have been incurred to the unit, and if you're really particularly unlucky (like to the point that God woke up today and said "♥♥♥♥ this guy") and the power supply blows, it could possibly dump everything in the capacitors into the motherboard and everything else connected to it if you're using a PSU with crap isolation or the isolation just fails to do its job. You don't take chances with things that can burn your house down if you're not around.

[_I_]

its probably a problem with the power cord itself, replace it

liquid is from its plastic melting and re-solidifying

[Bing Chilling]

Originally posted by _I_:

its probably a problem with the power cord itself, replace it

liquid is from its plastic melting and re-solidifying

i did replace the power cord with a brand new one, and i also checked inside the socket of the psu, it didn't look fried or discolored. the pc is working fine from what i can tell.

I've only been casual watching youtube videos and google searching though.
i haven't attempted to play games or anything that would pull more wattage then it's currently at
more or less idle (about 50w on the gpu and 15-20w cpu, then prob another 50 or so from fans,drives and some RGB lighting i have on the mobo)

[Viking2121]

As mentioned, get a new cord, they are cheap, some mom and pop PC stores might even just give you one at no charge, Sparking from the socket usually happens when the power cord is worn out or wasn't plugged in fully and just every so slightly making contact, 120v will spark, 240v countries, they will definitely spark and pop when the caps fill with a loose connection.

[PopinFRESH]

Originally posted by Wynters:

Originally posted by PopinFRESH:

^ posted 1hr ago

^ posted 6hr ago

This can get you banned from the community...

Press X to doubt. Pointing out that they've already said they've done what is being suggested isn't against the steam discussion guidelines. But knock yourself out reporting it if you think that offends you.

[_I_]

its common for users not to read the entire thread and just post their thoughts

i missed that you replace it already too, but also had other info to include

[GOD RAYS ON ULTRA™]

Originally posted by Bing Chilling:

The other night i slid my pc slightly and sparks flew from the psu powercord socket
within half a second i unplugged it (pc shut off of course instantly)

after it was un plugged and switched off, i inspected the cord
and it seemed there was (somehow?) abit of liquid inside the end of the cord
none seemed to be inside the PSU however.

After having a slight panic attack, i decided to try another cord that i had lying around
and the pc turned on and seemingly is working fine
that said i have not played any games on it or stressed the PSU

how concerned should i be to do so and should i buy a new PSU before even attempting

i wasn't able to find alot of info regarding this specific issue, only completely dead
powersupply/pc threads

It depends, a lot of the cheap PSU only offer one-time protection. This means the over current protection will only kick in one time. Next time is complete failure and possible PC damage.

I would listen to post #3.

[_I_]

no, what the op did was wiggle the power cord connection while in use
which causes intermittent opens and shorts, spikes that make sparks when reconnecting
the psu has caps to level out the input power for very short time, they need to be recharged again, during the 50/60hz wave
as long as the wave isnt missing for much longer or the pc is not at much load it will not turn off due to missing power

it has nothing to do with the quality of the psu itself, just the quality of the c14 connector on the psu and c13 connector on the power cable

ac undervolt will not trip any protection on the psu, until its average is well under 80vac
iv seen some run at under 50vac and still work fine

the psu main protections are one time, for over voltage, and over current, over voltage will cause its mov to short across the mains inside the psu, and blow the psus main fuse
and the psus main fuse itself, will blow if the psu tries to draw too much current (over power)

[plat]

There's no odor if you sniff near the power supply after the cable was replaced? Why not amp up the use and see what happens? I would even run a mild benchmark like Geekbench and see what happens.

https://www.geekbench.com/

I mean: you won't know if you don't push it a little bit. It seems a shame to get rid of a psu if it was confined to the cord. Also, I would install someth. like HWiFO and look at the rail voltages just for a vague general sense of the situation.

[Kobs]

Personally if any sparks flew out of somewhwere in my PC I'd replace the part. I've invested way too much on the damn thing to let it fry because of a faulty cheap part. I'd count myself lucky it still works

[Bing Chilling]

i am replacing the psu when i get paid
atm just casually browsing, not going to play games

thanks for everyones help.

[Bing Chilling]

Originally posted by plat:

I mean: you won't know if you don't push it a little bit. It seems a shame to get rid of a psu if it was confined to the cord. Also, I would install someth. like HWiFO and look at the rail voltages just for a vague general sense of the situation.

i do have HWINFO and hwmonitor but what are regular rail voltages?

this is what they say tho https://i.imgur.com/DHCgkdk.png

[_I_]

the psu is most likely fine
they are designed to filter out spikes like that and protect hardware connected to it

voltage tolerances are +/- 10%
no worries there
if it was too far out of spec the board would not turn on
and hopefully the psu would not give it the pwr_ok signal

what brand/model/age psu?