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I have 4 Cointerra 1.6 TH units. And plugging it in resulted in it exploding. The capacitor exploded.
These came from the datacenter. What am I doing wrong? I still have a non plugged one. Is it due to a power supply settings?
If so, how do I change the settings? It mined at the datacenter.

It seems to repeat as well, I tried another one and it exploded as well. With flames coming out of the unit, and the same capacitor
going from being fine to being melted. I had thought it was just one unit being faulty, and proceeded to the 2nd one, but that is gone as well.

Any clues?  

http://s28.postimg.org/pk5pe8tbx/image.jpg
http://s28.postimg.org/v9lxyjzi5/image.jpg
http://s28.postimg.org/5s3jeyhrx/image.jpg

1) Image 1 (http://s28.postimg.org/pk5pe8tbx/image.jpg)
2) Image 2 (http://s28.postimg.org/v9lxyjzi5/image.jpg)
3) Image 3 (http://s28.postimg.org/5s3jeyhrx/image.jpg)

AFAIK TerraMiner IV has 2 separate PSUs. It seems that on your 'Image 2' you have circled 2 capacitors, does that mean that both exploded at the same time, and that you plugged in both power cables to the mains at the same time?

And do you confirm that it occurred when the PSUs were connected to the mains, and not when you attempted to power on the unit? What voltage are you using, I assume datacenter means 220V? Did you test the resistance between the neutral and live pins of the C13 connector?

Blowing 2 units in a row leaves little chance for a coincidence... good luck!

Only thing I can think of is that you are using 220V power and they were set to run on 120V

Oh,that's on the breakout PSU board & not the actual ASIC miner boards.

I don't see a 110/220 switch on the back of the PSU,so must be auto sense (or is that what that little switch with the squiggly line means).I'm sure you can bypass or get a board from sidehack maybe.

This isn't the thread I was looking for,but you can still ask if he can help  ;)

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=940317.0

Maybe. I don't have a board to compare to (I own zero Cointerra gear) but it might not be hard to fashion a replacement. Or at least take a look at it.

On the little tag attached to the handle of the power supply, what does the rest of the tag say?   I can zoom in on 50-60hz.

I am using 120V outlets


100-240V
12A-5A
50-60hz

If that PSU has active PFC (which I certainly hope it does, over 1KW output rated) the input voltage should have zero effect on the output voltage with no external interaction required. The active PFC pulls current from the AC line approximating a resistive load and internally boosts it to a ~350V internal DC bus (pretty much regardless of input voltage) which gets switched down to the high-current 12V output.

So is this the first time you have plugged them in yourself? 

Yes, I like to find the root cause, before all of them are toast.

Chances are with datacenter it mined at 220.  Are you able to take PSU's out of miner and look at them?

It is rare but I did have different brand miner (A2 30 MHz) that the 110/220 switch was against case and you could not see it unless psu was taken out.

I taken the PSU out and looked at them.

The model is: PFE1100-12 054RA
I don't see any 110/220 switches at all.

i think that orange cap is a smd fuze!

check with a multimeter for shorts.

the washer on the ground screw is way to close to the orange fuze,could cause arcing!

im guessing during shipping the washer could shift.

got my idea from searching this thread!

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=638180.20

you may just have to replace the fuze and fix the short.


best regards

b_man_4

There is voltage problems with cointerra units.  If you connect an amp meter up to them they draw way over power on start.  If you are plugging them into a 120v outlet it could probably cause that.

Just a few thoughts that might help. Check the thing that blew, if its a capacitor it's probably the filter. It is placed in most electronic equipment between the positive and negative inputs.
It's fairly easy to burn it if you switch the inputs or have a short somewhere, so just like others have said check the cables with a probe or a multimeter and look for loose screws. The miners should still work, just replace the burned cap and clean the board.

those Power-One 12v power supplies are super high quality (platinum standard, 94% efficiency) power supplies.. they're auto voltage and can take anything from 100-250 volts a/c, without manual switching required.

since you say the systems were working at the datacenter, and then blew them up when you got home, it seems likely that there's something wrong with your power wiring at home.  maybe your sockets or cables are miswired.


i wouldn't plug in any more units til you've had your electrics and cables checked out by an electrician.   luckily, these power-ones are available at retail so you can replace them with identical units.

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/PFE1100-12-054NA/179-2421-ND/2627912

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/291367839266



in case you weren't aware, i would remind you that you must use two separate power spurs - one for each power supply, since at 1100 watts (output power, thus 1200+ watts potential power draw), for each one, they're already drawing near the max that you can safely draw from any one power outlet, in the home.  you must not plug the two power cables into the same AC socket or power strip in your home...!   you need to have one plugged into two different circuits running off different breakers.   these systems weren't designed for home use, as the power requirement(at 120 volts) is high and if you intend to use them in a US home, you need to ensure you don't draw too much power from each circuit.   This becomes less of a problem with 220 volts, because the power draw is less.


looking at your photos it not clear to me what bit your looking at.  is that the power supply itself, or is that the connector on the system side that mates with the power supply?  if its the latter... then thats gonna be hard to replace without cointerra's help or get some spares from someone else.

Is the socket you're plugging them into good?  Pull the receptacle and make sure no wires are crossed or loose.  I had a loose wire on my 220v for my laundry dryer and we fried a dryer when we plugged it in.

I remember when people looked at Cointerra's pedigree and thought they would take over the mining world, basically decimate all other mining manufacturers...

It has nothing to do with the AC input voltage to the PSU, as sidehack said. I just looked at an HP server supply, and it says 100-240V input, 47-63 HZ autoranging.   You may want to check the PSU voltage out and make sure it is 12V DC, otherwise the problem is not related to the PSU.

Is it single phase or 3-phase AC power in the DC?