Core Reactor 650W unusual clicks

[matpc]

Hello

I have a 650w core reactor connected in a good surge protector (iclamper)

It was everything good so far until i had a power lapse in my house

Lights would lose strength ( they became very dim , usual of power lapse ) my tv turned off and so on

But my pc and monitor (both connected to the surge protector ) remained On with the PSU making some clicks ( it is the same click operation of the relay when i turn the PC on and off )

But it is weird that i had some clicks and my pc remained ON

I´ve managed to turn it down but still kept it at the power outlet

Then the power was really cut and it was coming back intermittently ( like low power , throughout my whole house )

Everything was in the wall and even the PC being off ( stand by after safely turning it off before hand , just connected to the wall i mean ) i´ve still heard some clicking coming from the PSU

it was so fast , i couldn´t do much , the only thing i´ve managed was to safely turn off windows

So , i´ve got these clicks while it being in stand by and during normal operation while it was ON ( i´ve never had any additional relay clicks more than turning ON and OFF the PC , the normal behavior )

Now i´m wondering , was this some kind of short or damage to the psu or components ? i have this PSU for a fair amount of time and like i´ve said , never heard any clicks beyond ON OFF operation , let alone it being in stand by

my surge protector did not switch it to OFF as well ( the protection if it detects "risky" power )

but i found it very weird that it was clicking while ON and in standby ( the pc remained ON when everything in the house was running dim / low power )

So , is this normal behavior or some damage was done during this ?Like i´ve said , couldn´t do much except turn it off , happened very fast

Everything is working for the matter

Thanks !

Hello

I have a 650w core reactor connected in a good surge protector (iclamper)

It was everything good so far until i had a power lapse in my house

Lights would lose strength ( they became very dim , usual of power lapse ) my tv turned off and so on

But my pc and monitor (both connected to the surge protector ) remained On with the PSU making some clicks ( it is the same click operation of the relay when i turn the PC on and off )

But it is weird that i had some clicks and my pc remained ON

I´ve managed to turn it down but still kept it at the power outlet

Then the power was really cut and it was coming back intermittently ( like low power , throughout my whole house )

Everything was in the wall and even the PC being off ( stand by after safely turning it off before hand , just connected to the wall i mean ) i´ve still heard some clicking coming from the PSU

it was so fast , i couldn´t do much , the only thing i´ve managed was to safely turn off windows

So , i´ve got these clicks while it being in stand by and during normal operation while it was ON ( i´ve never had any additional relay clicks more than turning ON and OFF the PC , the normal behavior )

Now i´m wondering , was this some kind of short or damage to the psu or components ? i have this PSU for a fair amount of time and like i´ve said , never heard any clicks beyond ON OFF operation , let alone it being in stand by

my surge protector did not switch it to OFF as well ( the protection if it detects "risky" power )

but i found it very weird that it was clicking while ON and in standby ( the pc remained ON when everything in the house was running dim / low power )

So , is this normal behavior or some damage was done during this ?Like i´ve said , couldn´t do much except turn it off , happened very fast

Everything is working for the matter

Thanks !

and i´ve wanted to know , wouldn´t the surge protector take place if it was dangerous in the first place ? thanks

 

[Bill_Bright]

Well it does appear you discovered one of the greatest weaknesses of surge and spike protectors - they do absolutely nothing for abnormal "low-voltage" events like dips (opposite of spikes), sags (opposite of surges) or brownouts (long duration sags). And for excessive high-voltage events (surges and spikes), if lucky, they just kill power to your equipment which still is not really a good thing as that can result in data corruption.

This is one of the main reasons I always recommend all computers be protected by a "good" UPS with AVR.

So for the future, I recommend you look into that. A good 1500VA UPS with AVR will protect most computers, one or two monitors and typical network gear too (modem and wireless router). But now that's for a different discussion.

Now i´m wondering , was this some kind of short or damage to the psu or components ?

Most likely (fingers crossed) the connected components (motherboard, CPU, drives, RAM) are fine though you may have some data corruption on your drives resulting in lost or damaged files or even an unbootable operating system. I hope you keep good backups of all the data you don't want to lose.

I recommend you try to find another, known good PSU - a spare or temporarily borrow one from another computer, perhaps from a friend or relative. Then swap that in there and see what happens. Hopefully it will boot up fine, indicating your components are fine too and all that was damaged was the PSU.

And for sure, next time you see your lights dim, you need to IMMEDIATELY shut down (I would unplug) ALL your sensitive electronics (computers, TVs, even refrigerators and freezers). And I would suggest you get an outlet power monitor (often called kill-a-watt meters). These are nice because they show your mains voltage but also tell you how much power connected devices are demanding. Even something like a simple outlet voltage meter (that price is for 3) is handy. I bought several of these to put throughout my house after the tap on the transformer feeding my house failed and I have 146VAC at my outlets instead of the expected 120VAC. Not good. But also for a different discussion. Note both of those devices are available for different types of outlets and mains voltages. Check your local Amazon or home improvement center.

I also recommend every computer user have access to a AC Outlet Tester to ensure the wall outlet is properly wired and grounded to Earth ground. I recommend one with a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupt) indicator as it can be used to test bathroom and kitchen outlets (outlets near water) too. These testers can be found for your type and voltage outlet, foreign or domestic, (like this one for the UK, or this one for German outlets) at most home improvement stores, or even the electrical department at Wal-Mart. Use it to test all the outlets in the home and if a fault is shown, have it fixed by a qualified electrician.