ClickRight
Member
- Reaction score
- 18
- Location
- BC, Canada
Hi All,
I ask for advise in the forum all the time and often don't spend enough time on here to read, reply, follow up, or contribute. Today I ran across an interesting issue I haven't seen before and I must share it in attempt to give back.
Client came in complaining that their iMac would not start up properly.
While diagnosing it, we observed that the system would shut down when moved slightly, or upon removal or insertion of any USB devices.
I removed the screen, and hard drive for testing outside of the system. The hard drive had been upgraded from the original 500GB drive to a 1TB. Whomever did the replacement used an OWC temperature sensor.
Upon removing the power cable from the OWC sensor, I noticed a tight fit. One of the molex connectors appeared loose, but it may have been from my removal.
Testing the machine with no HDD or RAM, it appeared to function normally, with the usual wails for memory. Checking the USB ports, the machine was no longer shutting down upon insertion or removal. All ports tested at 5v.
Prior to reassembly, we inspected the OWC temperature sensor. There was a small wire (~2mm) that was half embedded in the power connector. We removed it with tweezers and reassembled system with the HDD and display.
The system now power on and stays on. It appears the tiny wire was causing a short and therefore, the machine to shut down.
I ask for advise in the forum all the time and often don't spend enough time on here to read, reply, follow up, or contribute. Today I ran across an interesting issue I haven't seen before and I must share it in attempt to give back.
Client came in complaining that their iMac would not start up properly.
While diagnosing it, we observed that the system would shut down when moved slightly, or upon removal or insertion of any USB devices.
I removed the screen, and hard drive for testing outside of the system. The hard drive had been upgraded from the original 500GB drive to a 1TB. Whomever did the replacement used an OWC temperature sensor.
Upon removing the power cable from the OWC sensor, I noticed a tight fit. One of the molex connectors appeared loose, but it may have been from my removal.
Testing the machine with no HDD or RAM, it appeared to function normally, with the usual wails for memory. Checking the USB ports, the machine was no longer shutting down upon insertion or removal. All ports tested at 5v.
Prior to reassembly, we inspected the OWC temperature sensor. There was a small wire (~2mm) that was half embedded in the power connector. We removed it with tweezers and reassembled system with the HDD and display.
The system now power on and stays on. It appears the tiny wire was causing a short and therefore, the machine to shut down.
