Strong odor from the computer

#1 Brailer

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Posted 12 July 2011 - 04:13 PM

Hello everyone,
When I booted up my desktop this morning it started making a strange noise and within 10 minutes I smelled melting rubber. Everything is working normally and when I removed the side panel to look around everything seems fine (other than being very dusty). I've looked at all the wires I could find and didn't notice any fraying, where is the smell likely to be coming from?

Thanks

#2 Blade

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Posted 12 July 2011 - 05:01 PM

Hello Brailer.

The first thing I would do is clean your PC out thoroughly.

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/cleaning-the-inside-of-your-pc/

During the cleaning process keep an eye out for any signs of heat damage.

If everything appears pristine. . . very carefully try using the PC again after you've gotten it clean, and see if the issue recurs.

~Blade

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#3 Brailer

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Posted 14 July 2011 - 01:24 PM

Ok, so I started cleaning the computer today and I think I found the problem. There's a good size puddle of something on the memory modules(?). It smells kind of like maple syrup, is this something melting or is liquid leaking out of the thing above it?

Liquid.jpg (301.96K)
Number of downloads: 22

Thanks again.

This post has been edited by Brailer: 14 July 2011 - 01:27 PM

#4 Eyesee

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Posted 14 July 2011 - 02:13 PM

Is the liquid on top of the heat sink?
Looks like something there to me.
The memory modules are to the right of the heat sink & CPU fan.

What is the device with the hoses on it above the heat sink?
Thats an odd setup.

The CPU cooling fan looks pretty dirty.
You might want to take it out & clean it with a small brush.
Wont solve your intitial problem though

In the beginning there was the command line.

#5 Brailer

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Posted 14 July 2011 - 02:38 PM

Sorry, I have a hard time knowing what's what on the inside heh. It's on top of the heat sink. Not sure what's above the heat sink I thought it was something to help keep the system cool but I can't find anything in the manual describing what it is.

#6 lti

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Posted 14 July 2011 - 02:55 PM

That is a liquid cooling system for the CPU. It seems to be leaking.

#7 Brailer

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Posted 14 July 2011 - 05:27 PM

That's definately the trouble. I booted it up again after cleaning out the dust and after about 5 minutes it just shut down and there was a new puddle on the heat sink. Would that be an easy fix? It's still under warranty so I can exchange it for a new system but I was told it will take 2 months to get here so I'd be stuck using library computers.

#8 lti

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Posted 14 July 2011 - 08:11 PM

What processor does the computer have? What speed does it run at? If you do not know, right-click on the My Computer shortcut and choose Properties. It should show the CPU type and speed.

You could replace the water cooling system with a standard heatsink or a new water cooling system.

#9 Blade

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Posted 14 July 2011 - 11:18 PM

This is just me. . . but I don't think it's a good idea to be booting a computer with a leaking liquid cooling system. First, computer's not getting the cooling it needs. This means heat damage to components. Second. . . you've got liquid on electrical components. . . which is just asking for trouble.

Honestly I'd get the system replaced. . . two months is two months, but it's under warranty. That's free repair. To be honest the leaking coolant very well may have damaged other components too.

~Blade

#10 killerx525

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Posted 14 July 2011 - 11:53 PM

Is this a Alienware desktop? I saw a white alien symbol on the motherboard.

>Michael
System: CPU- AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Oc'ed to 3.8GHz, CPU Cooler- Noctua NH-D14, RAM- G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8G Kit(4Gx2) DDR3 1600, HDD- Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATAIII, GPU- Asus EAH6950 1GB Crossfire Oc'ed 900/1310mhz, MB- Gigabyte 990FXA-D3, Case- Coolermaster HAF 932, PSU- Corsair TX-750 V2, Soundcard- Realtek High Definition Audio Sound, OS- Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-Bit

#11 Brailer

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Posted 15 July 2011 - 04:07 PM

Yes, it's an Alienware, Dell seems to share Blade's opinion that it's probably damaged other parts by now. It was 2 months until they send me a whole new desktop, not just repair this one so I guess I'll do that.

Thanks for the help everyone.

#12 MrBruce1959

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Posted 15 July 2011 - 04:39 PM

Yes, there is definitely no doubt the coolant has also made its way onto the video card where it is causing stray capacitance through out the video card circuitry.
Liquids can conduct electricity and that is defiantly what is happening with your video card with the way things presently are.

Bruce.

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