burnt PSU out cable and Hashboard connectors

[sagars209]

was getting smoky smell from my S9i, switched it off and checked it closely and spotted the PSU connector was melting... though it was mainly 1 connect that was melting, i am unable to remove most they are not coming out.. anyone faced this type of issue?


https://imgur.com/a/pCKnLXt

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[DaveF]

Sadly yes, it's quite common. A bit of bad contacts on one of the pins, so more power is pushed through others, which put them over limit, which cause them all to short / burn.
If you do not have the skills & tools & parts most better electronic repair places can replace the PCIe sockets.

-Dave

[sagars209]

thanks a lot that helps.. i have been moving the s9 from 1 place to another in my apprtment until if figure out a fix place and i guess one of the days i had the window open and it was quite windy i am wondering if the force of the wind might have moved the connectors .. i have now sent it for repair

[sagars209]

One more followup on this issue, I am using a PSU which is 2300 watts but S9i consumes only 1320 watts, will that be a problem?  do i need to change the psu with a smaller one?

[o_solo_miner]

That is not a problem, if you use a less powerfull psu , that would not be good.
Please check also your data cable on the hashboards, some time the ground wires get burnt there also.
This is caused by a high resistant ground connector (Black wire) and the power then run through the data cable.
I had 2 hashboards where the trace for the data cable where burnt and open.

[BitMaxz]

One more followup on this issue, I am using a PSU which is 2300 watts but S9i consumes only 1320 watts, will that be a problem?  do i need to change the psu with a smaller one?

Your PSU is fine as the above said sometimes it happens if the PSU male connector is not connected properly or bad connection between the PSU and hashboard.

It might be also because of the rust and corrosion cleaning the terminal both male and female connectors shouldn't experience this issue.

[NotFuzzyWarm]

Something to keep in mind - do NOT plug/unplug PCIe connectors a lot! Even the best available are only rated for 25 mating cycles. After that the silver and/or gold plating is worn off and at that point they are more on-par with the el-cheapo connectors BM uses. Maybe the PSU has better connectors but don't bet on it. In any case, when moving miners around, try to keep the PSU connected to it. If any PCIe connector has been plugged/unplugged more than a few times you need to keep an eye on them, any white ones that start showing brown areas must be replaced immediately!

[mikeywith]

it was quite windy i am wondering if the force of the wind might have moved the connectors .. i have now sent it for repair

No chance in heaven that any wind will be strong enough to move those connectors if they are tightly plugged in, a strong wind might be able to move the whole miner a few meters and still won't move those connectors, I still remember unplugging about 50 miners straight and my fingers kept hurting for a few days, those connectors are pretty tight unless they go through a dozen plug/unplug attempts which makes them loose.

One more followup on this issue, I am using a PSU which is 2300 watts but S9i consumes only 1320 watts, will that be a problem?  do i need to change the psu with a smaller one?

I tend to believe that your PSU is of bad quality and it was the reason why the pins were burnt, I have tested over 5 different brands of Chinese PSUs, the only "ok" brand was Lianli although I would still rate it at 6 over 10, get the original bitmain PSU as it's rock-solid, if not, then get an EVGA or one of the good PC brands PSUs, avoid the cheap Chinese PSUs at all cost.