Powered 16x to 16x riser just exploded and caught fire...

[gregyoung14]

Hey if anyone has ordered these "PCI-E Extension Cable 16x to 16x Slot Extender Riser Card Adapter Power Filter" off of ebay from California, they advertise same day shipping.

Please be aware, one of there cables literally just had the power filter pop, and the entire 12v yellow cable burst into flames...

Just a heads up.

Greg

[worldinacoin]

Is there any safety markings on the power filter?  Normally they should not catch fire, kinda dangerous and not within the standards.

[grue]

[...]one of there cables literally just had the power filter pop[...]

what the hell is a power filter?

[btceic]

Hey if anyone has ordered these "PCI-E Extension Cable 16x to 16x Slot Extender Riser Card Adapter Power Filter" off of ebay from California, they advertise same day shipping.

Please be aware, one of there cables literally just had the power filter pop, and the entire 12v yellow cable burst into flames...

Just a heads up.

Greg

Pics for the voyeurs?

[gregyoung14]

Is there any safety markings on the power filter?  Normally they should not catch fire, kinda dangerous and not within the standards.

I'd say very dangerous, and no safter markings at all on the "power filter"

Hey if anyone has ordered these "PCI-E Extension Cable 16x to 16x Slot Extender Riser Card Adapter Power Filter" off of ebay from California, they advertise same day shipping.

Please be aware, one of there cables literally just had the power filter pop, and the entire 12v yellow cable burst into flames...

Just a heads up.

Greg

Pics for the voyeurs?

You got it, and I don't know what the hell is a power filter either lol but thats what the ebay title calls it.

In the picture it's the little transistor capacitor that says 16v, it sounded like it popped.

You can see the cable is completely burnt out from the being on fire for a sec lol

[infested999]

In the picture it's the little transistor that says 16v, it sounded like it popped.

That's a capacitor

[gregyoung14]

In the picture it's the little transistor that says 16v, it sounded like it popped.

That's a capacitor

Sorry, software engineer, not electrical lol. I corrected it

[btceic]

being an EE, was it the volts or the amps that caused this?
Where you undervolting or overclocking your cards at all?

[worldinacoin]

You can replace it easily, capacitors are only a few cents each.  Get one and solder it on again.

[gregyoung14]

being an EE, was it the volts or the amps that caused this?
Where you undervolting or overclocking your cards at all?

That particular riser was plugged into a card, but the other end wasn't plugged into the board, card wasn't plugged into the psu either. Had been sitting like that for a while now, then on a reboot it just decided to catch fire.

You can replace it easily, capacitors are only a few cents each.  Get one and solder it on again.

Yeah capacitors are cheap to replace, that is an option. Does anyone have a good guide/link to making your own powered risers/extenders? I'd be interested to see a good close up/diagram of where the wires should be soldered on.

[worldinacoin]

To build is quite simple just that the quantity does not warrant the troubles and you wont be able to get any economy of scale.

[grue]

hint: you don't need capacitors ("power filters") for your powered riser. If you have a shitty power supply, a small 16v capacitor isn't going to help.

As for your riser, it burst into flames because the wires are too thin. Get a thicker wire and solder the wires properly.

[gregyoung14]

hint: you don't need capacitors ("power filters") for your powered riser. If you have a shitty power supply, a small 16v capacitor isn't going to help.

As for your riser, it burst into flames because the wires are too thin. Get a thicker wire and solder the wires properly.

I didn't build these, they were ordered from a vendor.

Thanks for the insight.

[mymoneyman]

I found this thread because 5 min ago on a reboot this happened to me...scared the sh out of me. The capacitor didn't pop, the wire just burnt up. seller is from Los Angeles CA same day shipping "localliquidationsales". Good thing I wasn't asleep.

[kodo]

holy shit, your lucky your house didnt catch on fire!

[gregyoung14]

I found this thread because 5 min ago on a reboot this happened to me...scared the sh out of me. The capacitor didn't pop, the wire just burnt up. seller is from Los Angeles CA same day shipping "localliquidationsales". Good thing I wasn't asleep.

Yeah that is the exact same guy, believe it or not the ones from china are built better Lol

Would you be interested in linking him to this page and asking for a refund together? Because I honestly don't want to use the other 2 I bought from him.

holy shit, your lucky your house didnt catch on fire!

I know right!! It was on a tile floor, so at worst maybe a small burning piece of cable could have fallen? But nothing flame-able nearby, and its funny because I was getting read to move these into a highly flame-able closet Lol

I got some new powered risers the other day from china, these are much sturdier and the connections look solid. The one's I got from LA though, deft. no good

[JoelKatz]

Looking at a few other images of what appear to be similar devices made by the same people (or at least the same methods), the assembly quality appears shockingly poor.



In this picture (taken from an auction), we can see bits of solder that have splattered on the capacitor due to inexcusably careless assembly practices and a complete lack of post-assembly inspection or standards. These could fall off and short out whatever they happen to land on and they are likely hiding thermal damage caused by their contact with the plastic sheath while molten. The soldering quality is extremely poor and gaps and stragglers are visible. The long parallel leads of the capacitor have been left bare, they can easily make contact with each other either directly or through anything that happens to come in contact with them. The yellow wire's insulator appears to have been torn or bitten and there are visible burn marks. The solder joint is doubling as the mechanical connection with no heat shrink tubing. Yikes!

As for your picture, I think the two bare leads shorted out, causing the yellow wire to overheat. The burn marks on the capacitor likely came from the insulation fire, not from the capacitor itself failing. If you look closely, I suspect you'll see the capacitor was just burnt a bit from the outside. It's hard to be sure though -- that would just be my guess. You were just a victim of the lack of insulation and generally abysmal assembly quality.

[gregyoung14]

Looking at a few other images of what appear to be similar devices made by the same people (or at least the same methods), the assembly quality appears shockingly poor.



In this picture (taken from an auction), we can see bits of solder that have splattered on the capacitor due to inexcusably careless assembly practices and a complete lack of post-assembly inspection or standards. These could fall off and short out whatever they happen to land on and they are likely hiding thermal damage caused by their contact with the plastic sheath while molten. The soldering quality is extremely poor and gaps and stragglers are visible. The long parallel leads of the capacitor have been left bare, they can easily make contact with each other either directly or through anything that happens to come in contact with them. The yellow wire's insulator appears to have been torn or bitten and there are visible burn marks. The solder joint is doubling as the mechanical connection with no heat shrink tubing. Yikes!

As for your picture, I think the two bare leads shorted out, causing the yellow wire to overheat. The burn marks on the capacitor likely came from the insulation fire, not from the capacitor itself failing. If you look closely, I suspect you'll see the capacitor was just burnt a bit from the outside. It's hard to be sure though -- that would just be my guess. You were just a victim of the lack of insulation and generally abysmal assembly quality.

+1   

[razorfishsl]

There is no way that any company should be producing crap like this.....

Minimum... file a complaint on Ebay

The very least there should be shrink wrap sleving around the legs, obviously this crap has been produced in some guys bedroom.

But the main issue is the lack of copper in the wire, this allows the cable to heat up to red hot rather than dissipate the power or force shutdown of the ATX supply.....


Even your house is intact...
It is still an issue.. Because the burning PVC will have coated all surfaces in the room with a layer of highly toxic chemicals, including Lead and dioxin........ (which is why PVC is soon going to be completely outlawed for cable use)

You really do not want to breathe any of that shit in....

[emunebtk]

Was about to order those risers and thankfully stumbled upon this thread..pheww Is there anyplace in Los Angeles that you can walk in and buy risers? frys,etc? or is that a online only type of purchase?