unexplained ticking noise from my avalon unit

[tarui]

decided to start a new topic, maybe it's more appropriate.

just noticed there's a ticking noise probably near the top of the avalon b1 unit. (where PSU is at the top but it's placed outside)

it's a ticking noise, like if you drop a screw on the aluminium body. happens once every 1-2mins. cant hear it while it is on load, not sure if it's there or i cant hear it.
but it's definitely there during idle.

i've spent 2-3hrs looking and any loose screws, wires, fans,etc nothing seems to be out of the ordinary.

though i seem to be missing 1 of the nuts from the casing when i was dismantling it but the noise happened before i lost it.

http://youtu.be/m5VXSCVYoi4?t=45s

recording of the noise.

happens around 47sec mark.

[MiningBuddy]

From the video I would say that definitely sounds like a metallic object hitting a fan. It's weird how its so intermittent though, I would have thought if something was fouling the fan it would happen more often though.
I would have another good look around the inside and try and find that loose nut/bolt, you don't want it coming loose and falling on anything conductive  

[tarui]

From the video I would say that definitely sounds like a metallic object hitting a fan. It's weird how its so intermittent though, I would have thought if something was fouling the fan it would happen more often though.
I would have another good look around the inside and try and find that loose nut/bolt, you don't want it coming loose and falling on anything conductive  

if i want to dismantle it for a thorough inspection, what do i need to take note of?

[MiningBuddy]

From the video I would say that definitely sounds like a metallic object hitting a fan. It's weird how its so intermittent though, I would have thought if something was fouling the fan it would happen more often though.
I would have another good look around the inside and try and find that loose nut/bolt, you don't want it coming loose and falling on anything conductive  

if i want to dismantle it for a thorough inspection, what do i need to take note of?

Careful you don't drop anymore of those little nuts into your case, they are a pain in the ass .
Also before you do take it apart, try turning it off and giving the case a little shake to see if you can hear anything loose inside.

[01BTC10]

I take a guess and say it might be one of the fan that is loose and hitting the case.

[tarui]

From the video I would say that definitely sounds like a metallic object hitting a fan. It's weird how its so intermittent though, I would have thought if something was fouling the fan it would happen more often though.
I would have another good look around the inside and try and find that loose nut/bolt, you don't want it coming loose and falling on anything conductive  

if i want to dismantle it for a thorough inspection, what do i need to take note of?

Careful you don't drop anymore of those little nuts into your case, they are a pain in the ass .
Also before you do take it apart, try turning it off and giving the case a little shake to see if you can hear anything loose inside.

Could it be due to the power board or controller making that noise?

[pikeadz]

decided to start a new topic, maybe it's more appropriate.

just noticed there's a ticking noise probably near the top of the avalon b1 unit. (where PSU is at the top but it's placed outside)

it's a ticking noise, like if you drop a screw on the aluminium body. happens once every 1-2mins. cant hear it while it is on load, not sure if it's there or i cant hear it.
but it's definitely there during idle.

i've spent 2-3hrs looking and any loose screws, wires, fans,etc nothing seems to be out of the ordinary.

though i seem to be missing 1 of the nuts from the casing when i was dismantling it but the noise happened before i lost it.

http://youtu.be/m5VXSCVYoi4?t=45s

recording of the noise.

happens around 47sec mark.

All of mine do that periodically.  I noticed they stopped when I set my fans to 100% in the cgminer command line.  I have no idea what is making the noise either.

[Deafboy]

You said it's doing it when it's idle. So, isn't it just the sound of shrinking metal while cooling?

[davewr2013]

Three things I would consider... (It really is not obvious from the noise)

Bearing noise -- imminent failure?
High voltage snap -- faulty component -- or see below.
A loose component -- wire -- swinging into fan path occasionally.

Because there are so many renewables available now in the power system you really do have to consider a sharp voltage swing -- up, or down, or both. Power is much nosier now than in the days of coal and hydro power -- i.e. reliable systems. (At least that's what I think when I put my designer hat on...)

[Photon939]

You said it's doing it when it's idle. So, isn't it just the sound of shrinking metal while cooling?

That's what I was thinking, perhaps through the random thermal cycles of the unit, some metal somewhere (probably the heatsinks against the case) expands or contracts at a different rate and causes a sudden pop

[Ytterbium]

Why are you leaving it idle anyway?

[Humax]

Maybe it's the fan. Try to swap fans and see what happens.

I got a very very loud squeezing noise above 120 dB! Happens when fans go above 3000rpm.
Impossible to leave it running. So it was idle for over a week.
Then I got my new fan. Replaced the fan and problem solved.
Those fans are hard to get and expensive here, so I ordered a 3250 m3 (kitchen) extraction fan 
(Sorry, I don't know that word in English.......)

[tarui]

oops sorry.
forgot to update this thread.

problem has been well..located.

it's not the fans

[01BTC10]

oops sorry.
forgot to update this thread.

problem has been well..located.

it's not the fans

What is it? A short?

[KS]

oops sorry.
forgot to update this thread.

problem has been well..located.

it's not the fans

What is it? A short?

Shorted.

From another thread:

I'm screwed. I incorrectly thought the ATX main cable was the only one needed (since, unlike a normal PC where the modular devices need to be powered individually and don't even work otherwise, the Avalon modules all connect directly to the board). I've had power supplies in the past that supported both ATX and AT and I thought this was similar.

I plugged it in yesterday, had a little trouble with the USB not being connected, but after a few times taking it apart and putting it back again, I got it working. It ran great all last night and this morning. When I got back after a meeting, this is what I found:

[img]http://s24.postimg.org/3mgzefuoh/image_1.jpg[/i mg]

[img]http://s22.postimg.org/4k68pmthp/image_5.jpg[/im g]

[img]http://s17.postimg.org/58b8hi923/image_7.jpg[/im g]

I emailed Avalon, and they asked me to post here. Talking with the vendor of my power supply (OCZ ZX Series 1250W), he said 600W is too much to go through one wire, but it wouldn't trigger any concerns on their power supply as it doesn't measure power output per wire. The wire itself just melted.

What do I do now? I'm starting the RMA process for the power supply but as for the miner... I don't know where to begin.

I feel discouraged. I feel like an idiot.

i did the exact same thing.

but lucky for me, i detected a burning smell and heard a ticking noise.

i eventually found the atx cable's wires had melted and caused arching, probably causing the noise.

only damage was the atx cables and the atx port (wire insulator) melted into the pins so i had to replace it.

decided to scavage it from my old spoilt atx motherboard.

the bigger problem is new atx power cable. down here, ocz psu arent very common so i couldnt find the replacement cable and i didnt want to risk it and i was forced to buy a new psu today.

[CoinHoarder]

Well this is not reassuring at all.  All 5 of mine make a ticking noise.  And it sounds kind of similar, but hard to tell.  I've inspected all of them and found nothing odd.  Nothing visually wrong, no odors or anything.  I am going to keep an eye on them, but even the ones that were assembled by Avalon with PSUs do it so I'm still thinking it's normal.

What mhz you running at for the ones with Avalon provided with PSUs?

[pikeadz]

Well this is not reassuring at all.  All 5 of mine make a ticking noise.  And it sounds kind of similar, but hard to tell.  I've inspected all of them and found nothing odd.  Nothing visually wrong, no odors or anything.  I am going to keep an eye on them, but even the ones that were assembled by Avalon with PSUs do it so I'm still thinking it's normal.

What mhz you running at for the ones with Avalon provided with PSUs?

I only have 3-module batch 2 styles that came with PSUs, and those are all at 350 too.

I would be scared to run the batch 3s at 350 with the PSUs they shipped with, but I know you have with good results.

[CoinHoarder]

Well this is not reassuring at all.  All 5 of mine make a ticking noise.  And it sounds kind of similar, but hard to tell.  I've inspected all of them and found nothing odd.  Nothing visually wrong, no odors or anything.  I am going to keep an eye on them, but even the ones that were assembled by Avalon with PSUs do it so I'm still thinking it's normal.

What mhz you running at for the ones with Avalon provided with PSUs?

I only have 3-module batch 2 styles that came with PSUs, and those are all at 350 too.

I would be scared to run the batch 3s at 350 with the PSUs they shipped with, but I know you have with good results.

I would by lying if I said I wasn't worried about them, but yes they have been running fine. I am going to try and get approval from the investors in my group buy to get some quality PSUs. The thing is.. the ROI is so slim, that buying new PSUs might kill any profit that is left. 

Decisions, decisions..

[dogie]

Well this is not reassuring at all.  All 5 of mine make a ticking noise.  And it sounds kind of similar, but hard to tell.  I've inspected all of them and found nothing odd.  Nothing visually wrong, no odors or anything.  I am going to keep an eye on them, but even the ones that were assembled by Avalon with PSUs do it so I'm still thinking it's normal.

What mhz you running at for the ones with Avalon provided with PSUs?

I only have 3-module batch 2 styles that came with PSUs, and those are all at 350 too.

I would be scared to run the batch 3s at 350 with the PSUs they shipped with, but I know you have with good results.

I would by lying if I said I wasn't worried about them, but yes they have been running fine. I am going to try and get approval from the investors in my group buy to get some quality PSUs. The thing is.. the ROI is so slim, that buying new PSUs might kill any profit that is left. 

Decisions, decisions..

Nothing wrong with the stock PSUs. Power problems will be visible by instability. If the PSU dies, it dies - but its not dead yet.

[tarui]

at first I thought it was due to the PDB not being properly connected.

now with the proper 12v rails connected i still get the same ticking noise

i put my ears as close as possible and waited for the noise and 1 of them seems to be coming from the ethernet port (with the PCB)

i cant be sure as the whole aluminum case echoes the noise so cant really tell where the noise is coming from.

edit: now i know where the ticking noise is from. the damn fan and maybe the ethernet port's pcb?

i placed my phone's sound meter near the ethernet port for as long as i could (side panel open) and it registered some spike in noise.

but for the fan, my phone couldnt register the ticking noise on the meter despite hearing the ticking noise so i decided to use the vibration meter and placed it on the fan.
lucky for me, the fan gave 3 ticking noises soon after and registered nicely on the meter and my hands too (felt it through the phone)

yes there are apps for everything these days