PSU died after cleaning !!!

[vkarakostas]

Yesterday i cleaned up my friend 's desktop .After reassembling the pc he took it to his home.When he tried to turn it on flames came out from the power supply.Is it my fault?Why the psu died? I used a compressed air can to clean the pc.
Thanks in advance

 

[Puffnstuff]

Well if you introduced moisture into his PS then you should've let the thing dry out for several hours before attempting to power it up.

 

[vkarakostas]

it was dried

 

[Ketchup]

Did you do any more than blow air through it? What brand is the power supply?

 

[vkarakostas]

thermaltake is the brand ,the pc was 7 years old

 

[JeffMD]

I can see a jostle break apart something on a 7yr old psu. Esp since thermaltake disnt make good ones then.

 

[VirtualLarry]

7 year old thermaltake? It was its time to go. Though I don't think it should have flamed out.

You didn't drop a screw in the PSU by accident, did you?

 

[DigDog]

thermaltake from years back were below-average psus, you should be glad it's gone.

 

[vkarakostas]

no

 

[vkarakostas]

before the psu died ,i tried to power it on but every time the pc shut itself off after a couple of seconds..

 

[piasabird]

There is a good chance the power supply was ready to go anyway. The electric components do not last forever.

Well compressed air can sometimes cause some moisture like sweating to appear. However, it can also move some of dust around or push dust into certain places. Often over time dust accumulates inside the power supply clinging to the air vents and if you blow compressed air on it, the dust can be pushed onto the cooling fins inside the power supply. Dust is very combustible. Just a little heat and spark then poof. This is one reason when when you do a new build it is a good idea to use a new power supply. Also the hotter a power supply gets often the more a power supply fan runs and the more dust it pulls in.

 

[Ketchup]

before the psu died ,i tried to power it on but every time the pc shut itself off after a couple of seconds..

As it should. Your friend needs to replace it with a quality unit. A can of compressed air would not have enough pressure to damage a quality unit (from the air itself).

However, here is one way that I can of compress air damaging a good power supply:
- You take the power supply out of it's case and place it on it's side. You keep a constant hold on the can of compressed air, to the point that liquid forms on the outside of the can. Liquid drops into the opening on the side of the unit. The power supply is sent 120v from the wall before the liquid evaporates.

If I were in the situation with a good friend, I would at least offer to split the cost of a replacement unit. Whether or not you were the cause, you were the last one to touch it before the burn.

 

[vkarakostas]

ok, thanks for the advice

 

[thesmokingman]

before the psu died ,i tried to power it on but every time the pc shut itself off after a couple of seconds..

That's definitely a sign that it was not happy.