Power Supply hdplex 400 problems solved

mijffs

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Aug 20, 2019
28
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well had my replacement hdplex arrive today quick test and its failling across 2 different systems at approx 230 watts,using 2 different new genuine dell powerbricks,the first one failed at 220 consistently across 3 different systems.

dont know if its related but i noticed on the first the pcb is warped under the 24 pin and when the second one turned up it was the same,no one else having this problem or seeing warped pcb?
 

princess_daphie

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jan 26, 2019
209
193
i will try to check my unit to see if it has this warping problem. i also had issues with mine not keeping up to its rated power, but in my case, i blamed it on my brick since it's not a 100% genuine one.
 

mijffs

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Aug 20, 2019
28
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The default position seems to be to blame the bricks but I've seen a couple of threads where people got a second brick and had the same problem which is also my experience.

they had their problem solved when they got a good Plex but I've received a second one but it's faulty too (apparently another users"spare"so basically secondhand).

unless I received two faulty brand new genuine dell bricks both failing at exactly the same wattage which I find unlikely.

do you know what wattage yours fails at?
 

princess_daphie

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jan 26, 2019
209
193
so i took pictures of my unit. i think it's okay, as far as PCB straightness goes, i don't see any warping. i don't know if i have a unit that has known issues.


i tried to recreate the scenario that made my setup crash when i had my PC running off the hdplex + "330w" power brick and with my current PC (same everything except fans and PSU) running a 80+ Bronze PSU, my PC draws 310W off the wall. with the hdplex, that might've been around 290w off the wall, so it's still close to the limit of the brick. it's probably the brick and not the hdplex. can't say for sure, but it would be complicated for me to recreate the setup!
 

grant

Cable Smoosher
Jan 21, 2019
8
0
How reputable are your brick manufacturer(s)? It could simply be the bricks are overrated for how they're designed.
 

mijffs

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Aug 20, 2019
28
4
you are of course right im a bit flumoxed now with no way to test dell/hdplex independant of each other im stuck.
 

mijffs

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Aug 20, 2019
28
4
finally got this sorted actually a couple of weeks ago now,still dont know which part was/is at fault.

i came across an old discussion about getting dell 330 watt bricks to work on laptops that normally run 240 watt dell bricks,that community had tried putting 240 watt "sense" i.d chips into 330 watt bricks but they would still only pull 240 watts it turned out to be something to do with them not pulling enough power (i think thro the sense line)to put the brick into higher power mode (im no electronics engineer)

basically the solution they found was to ground the sense wire which forces the brick into higher power mode,i wont give instructions here as allready stated im no electronics engineer but it seems to have been working fine for a couple of weeks for me now in my es 8700k (running stock is essentially at 8700t levels)/2060 super.i have seen slightly over 400 watts at the wall (because of the efficiency,around 85% ive been told this is only around the stock max output of the dell brick)while testing with higher clocks.

i dont know if my issue was caused by a fault in the hdplex 400 mitigation of the dell powerbricks sense chips or the sense chips in the dell bricks themselves
 
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dondan

Shrink Ray Wielder
DAN Cases
Feb 23, 2015
1,977
8,378
For the first HDPlex version years ago I worked with HDPlex on this problem and let them know to set the ID-Pin to ground. And as I know on the first 300W and early 400W version the pin was grounded on the DC-Jack PCB. Did they changed it?

I also had a problem on the v2 version of the DC-400 (you can identify it by having the one piece heatsink) where the system shuts down if I draw more than 200W power. If I used the DC-400 v1 (heatsink has two parts) with the same DC-Jack PCB that comes with the v2 it works without a problem. HDPlex told me it was a problem on the first DC-400 v2 samples. So I got a new version and it also worked on the DC-400 v2.

So maybe your DC-400 v2 was the problem and not the ID-Pin that should be grounded through all version.
 

mijffs

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Aug 20, 2019
28
4
I don't know maybe from what your saying I got sent 2 early V2's somehow or an early lead but earthing the ground pin in the dell unit solved all the problems with both the v2's I had .Tho the second one he sent to try came without leads so I used one lead on both units.I told Larry what I did to resolve it but he didn't comment
 

dondan

Shrink Ray Wielder
DAN Cases
Feb 23, 2015
1,977
8,378
Does your unit comes with this DC-Jack?



Here from the Spec page: Input Connector: 7.4x5.0mm w/center PIN (Ground) and Molex 6PIN
 

mijffs

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Aug 20, 2019
28
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yes that looks like the one,i dont have anything small enough to probe the centre pin to establish how its actually wired
 
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princess_daphie

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jan 26, 2019
209
193
this really makes me wonder if i was having the same issue with my own brick, seeing as i probably was riding on this ~240W limit when it shut down on me. i've completely changed strategy ever since though so i can't test for now. was it difficult to mod, mijffs?
 

mijffs

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Aug 20, 2019
28
4
no,i opened the brick up and soldered a link wire from the sense wire to the earth wire where the main power cable leaves the pcb,it worked for me but cant guarantee if it would work for anyone else or even if its safe!
you could probably just do it easier on the hdplex wire or the plug if you use a multi meter to establish which is sense and ground at the plex 6 pin
 

Kilrah

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 20, 2017
128
112
Does your unit comes with this DC-Jack?

I have one with this cable that I ordered about a month ago, I've cut it in 2 to connect an XT60 but I just checked the jack side and the center pin isn't connected. The 6 wires are 3 +s and 3 grounds, and there's no continuity between the pin and either of them.

I hadn't looked at it before and I now see that the center arrangement is completely off, so I guess I'm lucky that I didn't need it.

 

mijffs

Caliper Novice
Original poster
Aug 20, 2019
28
4
I have one with this cable that I ordered about a month ago, I've cut it in 2 to connect an XT60 but I just checked the jack side and the center pin isn't connected. The 6 wires are 3 +s and 3 grounds, and there's no continuity between the pin and either of them.

I hadn't looked at it before and I now see that the center arrangement is completely off, so I guess I'm lucky that I didn't need it.

so from my limited understanding with that wiring it would never pull more than 240 with a dell brick which its supposed to work with,what are you powering the plex with,a meanwell? are you powering the system in your sig with it or a second lower powered system?
 

Kilrah

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 20, 2017
128
112
A battery which will happily deliver anything it's asked for... no experience with bricks unfortunately.