Melted 4pin CPU cable

[mDust]

I woke up the other morning to a strange silence that I haven't heard in over a month...my computer was turned off. I thought it was odd as it was on and folding when I fell asleep. After it failed to post I noticed only 1 led was lit on the board and it happens to signify a CPU issue. I was about to pull the mobo when I noticed some rather naked pins when I disconnected the cpu power line off the mobo. Apparently the plastic has melted off the cable and is still stuck in the mobo connector.
I've been using the same PSU for many years and a several mobo span. The first mobo only had a 4pin connector so the 8pin cable got chucked in a box somewhere and forgotten. The 4pin is rated to 192W (16A) max which I've never come close to with any OC. (My 1090t was at 177W (14.7A) when this occurred...which is the highest draw I've ever personally experienced.) I never felt the need to dig it up after buying boards with 8pin connectors...in hindsight I wish I had.
Well, I dug it out and tried to plug it in, but there is just too much melted plastic in the holes. So, does anyone have any suggestions to get that plastic out or to replace that power connector? I don't have any way of testing the components so my first goal is to fix that power connector and make sure power is getting to the CPU...through an 8pin line this time! If it still doesn't work after that, then I suppose I'll be upset.

[xr4man]

i have the desolder equipment and skills to remove and replace the connector, but unfortunately that would require the board being shipped to me.

all i can think of off the top of my head is to start digging in there with an exacto knife and some dental pics.

[diluzio91]

get a cheap 8pin extension and solder the wires directly to the mobo, and plug the connector into the extension?

[mDust]

i have the desolder equipment and skills to remove and replace the connector, but unfortunately that would require the board being shipped to me.

all i can think of off the top of my head is to start digging in there with an exacto knife and some dental pics.

I could *probably* desolder it myself, but it would be a little risky as I'm not very experienced. I've only desoldered a few caps, but I'm a little more confident in the resoldering department. This will be a secondary option if I can't clean up the current connector.
I have picked at it a little with some plastic pics but they are mostly useless. I have an awl but I haven't tried that yet...when I get home I'll work on it a bit.

get a cheap 8pin extension and solder the wires directly to the mobo, and plug the connector into the extension?

Thanks, that's probably where I'll get a new connector, as I haven't found any spare parts for sale anywhere. Or I might be able to cannibalize another board...

[Kayin]

Replace the board. I wouldn't trust it after that, even if I could get it cleaned up. However, for the enterprising soul, those 8-pin sockets are removeable and replaceable.

[xr4man]

I could *probably* desolder it myself, but it would be a little risky as I'm not very experienced. I've only desoldered a few caps, but I'm a little more confident in the resoldering department. This will be a secondary option if I can't clean up the current connector.
I have picked at it a little with some plastic pics but they are mostly useless. I have an awl but I haven't tried that yet...when I get home I'll work on it a bit.

Thanks, that's probably where I'll get a new connector, as I haven't found any spare parts for sale anywhere. Or I might be able to cannibalize another board...

the real risky part about desoldering multi-pin connectors like that is to not rip out the plating in the through hole when you actually remove the connector.

barring the mobo itself being damaged, i like the idea of just soldering an extension cable to the board itself. before you do that, i would carefully examine the board to make sure there are no other signs of things being burnt up, like caps, resistors, or circuit traces.

[mDust]

Replace the board. I wouldn't trust it after that, even if I could get it cleaned up. However, for the enterprising soul, those 8-pin sockets are removeable and replaceable.

Do you think the board would have been damaged? Also, do you know where to get the sockets? I'm not sure if I have any dead boards with 8 pin connectors, so as long as they're only a few bucks, I'd rather just get a new part.

[Kayin]

Digi-Key, I would think.

[mDust]

A safety pin was able to get enough of the plastic out to allow a secure but 'unlocked' connection. I got everything put back together with the 8pin , crossed my fingers, hit the power button, and am writing this post on it now. Everything seems to be fine. Prime is testing my new OC as I had cleared cmos during a fruitless troubleshooting session. I should be folding again within a couple hours if all goes well.

I'm going to chalk this incident up to:
50% my fault for using an inadequate number of power lines to an OC'd 1090t.
50% someone else's fault for whatever they did to cause this.

Thank you for the suggestions xr4man, diluzio91 and Kayin! +rep to each of you

[AmEv]

The Force was simply against you.