iMac Turning off - Power Supply?!

DeXtER1978

Hi,

Need some help please.

I have an iMac 24" Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93 GHz device(Think its 2008) and for the past 6 months or so it keeps turning off if I use the device in less than a minute and around 22mins if I just turn it on and have no applications running.

I presumed that it was the power supply as many people around the world are having the same problem. New Power Supply arrived yesterday I installed it however I still have the same problem.

Stuff Ive tried already before changing the power supply (also tried it with the new PS)

1. Cleaned all the fans
2. Ran tests on all the hardware via pressing 'D' when its booting up
3. Reset all the SMC, PRAM AND VRAM.
4. Downloaded smcFanControl.

Tried all this again with the new PS.



However I have found a solution however my fan is going to explode anytime soon. There is 3 connections at the back of the 24" iMac screen - one goes into the power supply,one goes into the logic board and one is a very small connector for the LCD fan. If I pull this out, the fan to the right of the left speaker ramps up to full speed and that solves the problem, my iMac stays on and I can use it no problem. However Its noisy and I know it will eventually go on me at full speed


I would very much appreciate any other suggestions. Apple service are terrible - they wont help me and I really need to get my iMac back up and running and cannot afford to buy another one as Ive only gone back to college to study programming.

Greentree_uk

DeXtER1978 wrote: »

Hi,
Apple service are terrible - they wont help me and I really need to get my iMac back up and running and cannot afford to buy another one as Ive only gone back to college to study programming.

Wow. this is some statement. Apple themselves may not help you directly for free, they also have a fairly extensive service provider network. I'm sure one of these will fix your machine for a fee too.

muggyog

If having the fan full on fixes your problem, heat is the obvious suspect. Sounds like you have disconnected the LCD temperature cable ( maybe faulty?).

You said you installed smcFanControl but didn't mention what settings you had chosen. If you ramp the fan speed up does your problem go away?

You might try another temperature sensing application. Would be useful to get get your readings also watch them to see do the trigger power off.

Actually now that I think of , maybe you should first run AHT ( Apple Hardware Test ) and see the results.

DeXtER1978

Greentree_uk wrote: »

Wow. this is some statement. Apple themselves may not help you directly for free, they also have a fairly extensive service provider network. I'm sure one of these will fix your machine for a fee too.

Some statement, are you kidding me Greentree, If you knew me you would know why I said this. I keep all my stuff in immaculate condition. They first told me it was not their issue, then said buy a new power supply. I just spend over €200 FOR NOTHING!! Buying a new power supply did nothing for me except give me a headache because I'm so angry at a professional telling me to buy something and it doesn't fix the problem that appears to be a manufacturing problem(I'm one of thousands of customers having this problem!!!!), I certainly didn't buy a product expecting that my machine turns off by itself in less than 15 seconds so please refrain from coming on to this thread saying my first post is some statement.

DeXtER1978

muggyog wrote: »

If having the fan full on fixes your problem, heat is the obvious suspect. Sounds like you have disconnected the LCD temperature cable ( maybe faulty?).

You said you installed smcFanControl but didn't mention what settings you had chosen. If you ramp the fan speed up does your problem go away?

You might try another temperature sensing application. Would be useful to get get your readings also watch them to see do the trigger power off.

Actually now that I think of , maybe you should first run AHT ( Apple Hardware Test ) and see the results.

muggyog having the fan at full speed does not solve the problem, i thought it did, but it doesn't. I'm back to square one even with a new power supply. If I use the i-Mac i.e. browse the internet the machine turns off in like 15secs, if i don't use it, it switches off after around 20mins.

Full speeds with smcFanControl.....still doesn't help.

Ill try another application and give the results here, however I might not get a chance to install another temp sens app....

muggyog

DeXtER1978 wrote: »

They first told me it was not their issue, then said buy a new power supply. I just spend over €200 FOR NOTHING!! Buying a new power supply did nothing for me except give me a headache because I'm so angry at a professional telling me to buy something and it doesn't fix the problem that appears to be a manufacturing problem(I'm one of thousands of customers having this problem!!!!)

You are giving some confusing information. You initially said that by disconnecting the ( LED temperature sensor? ) cable , you were not getting shut downs. In the above quote you imply that Apple support recommended replacing the PSU. I would be astonished that anyone would faultfind your problem remotely and narrow it down to the PSU. This not normally a user replacable part and cant see Apple suggesting it. Did they ask you to do an AHT test? Where/ who did you buy the PSU from? Is it the correct one?

You have two options, send the iMac to an Apple approved repair centre for repair or take a more methodical approach to faultfinding. If you choose the latter do an AHT test first( you can use the keyboard shortcut to start from your HD or use the second disk from the original instal disks.) if you get no joy with this use one of the many temperature sensing applications and see is any temperature over ranging. You could also check you Console application for the log entries around shut down times.

Greentree_uk

DeXtER1978 wrote: »

Some statement, are you kidding me Greentree, If you knew me you would know why I said this. I keep all my stuff in immaculate condition. They first told me it was not their issue, then said buy a new power supply. I just spend over €200 FOR NOTHING!! Buying a new power supply did nothing for me except give me a headache because I'm so angry at a professional telling me to buy something and it doesn't fix the problem that appears to be a manufacturing problem(I'm one of thousands of customers having this problem!!!!), I certainly didn't buy a product expecting that my machine turns off by itself in less than 15 seconds so please refrain from coming on to this thread saying my first post is some statement.

If they got it wrong then go back to them, or get onto apple that's the only way you will get it fixed. At the very least get a refund for work done