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GTX 1080 PC turning on for split second, short on 12V repair | |
---|---|
Device | GTX 1080 |
Affects part(s) | Capacitor, VRM |
Needs equipment | multimeter, soldering iron, soldering station |
Difficulty | ◉◉◉◌ Hard |
Type | Soldering |
Problem description
GTX 1080 Zotac, PC not turning on or turning on for split second then turning off when the card is inserted. This particular case concerns a Zotac AMP EXTREME GTX 1080

Symptoms
- Whole computer not starting
- Card not powering up
- Fans flinch for a split second
- Short on 12V as measured by a multimeter



Solution
Diagnostic Steps
- Start by measuring the resistance of the 12V lanes (12V_BUS, 12V_EXT)
- If you suffer from the same problem, you should measure sub 100 Ohms on one of them, follow this guide for potential shorted components
- In this case, a short was found on one of the 12V_EXT connectors (Figure 1)
- After identifying which rail is shorted, inject voltage (1V 10A) to localize the shorted component
- The most obvious suspects are the VCore VRMs/MOSFETS shown in figure 2
- However the actual shorted component turned out to be a capacitor on the other side under the Vcore VRMs. The culprit was C195. C196 looked suspicious as well. (Figure 3,4)
- However the actual shorted component turned out to be a capacitor on the other side under the Vcore VRMs. The culprit was C195. C196 looked suspicious as well. (Figure 3,4)
- The most obvious suspects are the VCore VRMs/MOSFETS shown in figure 2
Repair Steps
Simply de-solder the shorted capacitor. It is not strictly necessary to replace it. However, it's value and rating are 16V 10 uF 0603 package. If the source of the short is a VRM, then you must replace it!
After removing the shorted component, measure again to confirm the short is gone, if not, repeat the steps to find the other short.