Cooling First time watercooling - problem!

Just connected up my first watercooling setup and turned on the pc, only for it to turn back off again at the POST screen. I touched the cpu block to check it was working, and damn near melted my finger off.

The pump is vibrating, so i assume it's working, so what do you think is most likely to be the problem?

The loop has an aquatube res - DDC pump - thermochill 360 rad - aquacomputer cuplex HD cpu block - EK 8800 ultra block

 

I'm no expert, but how does the res look? If it's your first build I'd expect some bubbles coming through etc; did you run it with the PC off to get all the air out of the system?

And can you see any signs of water actually flowing, as that's the only thing I can see failing to cool the CPU

 

I'm with ElThomso on this one.
When you first fire up a newly set up WC-loop you have to run it with the computer off for a while to flush all the air out, and, perhaps even more importantly, to check for leaks. Take it from a guy who, when he first went the WC way eight years ago, burnt a SCSI-board, a graphics card and a sound card due to leaks and a poorly set-up and planned loop.

Anyway, you've got to get all the air out of your loop before you start the system, and make sure the water is flowing. If you're running a fully closed loop, I'll imagine you'll need a bleed valve of some sort so the air has somewhere to go. Otherwise the pump will stand and try forcing the water around, but the air will push back ... or something along those lines. I've never run closed loops myself (my current is an outdoor, 20-gallon open loop), so I can't say for sure. It does seem like the logical explanation though; that the water is not actually circulating.

 

It's just that the pump's head is not optimized for air - hence it won't circulate at all. And it also uses water as it's lubricant and/or cooling fluid and will overheat and melt if run with air.

 

Managed to get it sorted by turning the case upside down and filling from the bottom two ports of the graphics card, so now the loop is working great... unfortunately the pc won't work now

All the fans turn and the lights come on, but nothing shows up on screen. I've tried using a spare graphics card and still nothing.

 

On a similar note, how do you get the loop to run without turning on the PC? Especially if the pump has a 3-pin connector that gets power from the motherboard?

 

4pin->3pin adapter, and the paper clip trick on your psu.

 

I figured you'd say that. If only they'd include a 4->3-pin adapter when you buy pumps...

 

Just did a couple more tests...

All the voltages from the PSU are fine, and changing the graphics card over made no difference. I tried turning it on without the pump running and felt the cpu block, but it didn't get hot at all even after a few minutes, so I assume the CPU isn't being turned on.

It was working earlier before i fully filled the loop, but it did get very hot. Is it likely i destroyed it?

 

Try to reset your CMOS.

How long did you have it running for? Heh, I find it kind of funny that you started your computer essentially without cooling.

My MCP655 has a 4 pin, I did the PSU jump and ran it until the bubbles ran out. If you can't run your pump with out hooking it up to your motherboard, install a heatsink and run the loop uninstalled.

Hopefully you didn't damage any hardware.

 

Nah it's virtually not possible to overheat an Intel since Pentium III's. There was some video posted a few years back where they tested what happens to different CPU's when gaming and the heatsink is removed.

A PIII just locked up, and a reboot was the only thing to do to get it working again.
A P4 throttled, and when the cooler was put back, you could just continue playing!
The two Athlons burned themselves and even the motherboard...

I think it was Tom's Hardware who made that video.

 

I remember these; and there was even a vid of a guy who cooked an egg and a couple of slices of bacon on a bowl-shaped piece of aluminium foil set on the CPU. Can't remember what chip he used though...

 

only ran for about 10 seconds before I noticed I'd used about 1/4 as much fluid as I should have

 

I thought they literally exploded.

Here's the video you guys are talking about.

 

classic, by the sounds of it you didn't even leak test!

 

I did leak test for a few hours, just didn't realise there was no flow until I actually ran the pc! The pipes came in opaque black so it was impossible to see anything in there.

More helpful comments would be appreciated!

 

I would of went with clear tubes and black coolant.

If you do it again, or for others:
-Make sure the pump is always primed, and has water being supplied to it.
-On the first fill, fill it up to the top, close it, then tilt the case.
-Fill it again until tipping the case doesn't lower the water level.
-Start the pump and turn it off. Fill and repeat. Don't let the pump run dry.
-Once the the water level doesn't go down anymore and the pump has constant supply of water, leave it running. Keep an eye on it, you will need to fill it more. You might also have micro bubbles, they will get trapped in the res.
-Leak test for 24 hours
-Start overclocking!