Fuel does not power up

smith1908

New member
Oct 11, 2022
5
0
1
Denver, Colorado
I know something about PC Hardware, but nothing about the Silicon Graphics Fuel I have other than nothing happens when I turn on the power, and it has a date code of 7/29/02. If you are in the Denver area and would like to take a look at it sometime please let me know and I can bring it over. Apologies if this is not an appropriate entry for this forum; advice for where is a good place for help would be appreciated. Thanks, Jim Smith
FuelBack.JPG

FuelInside.JPG
FuelBack.JPGFuelInside.JPG
 

Elf

Storybook / Retired, ex-staff
Feb 4, 2019
792
252
63
Mountain West (US)
This is a great place to post about it! :)

You might try testing the power supply outside of the computer. It is similar to an ATX supply but with a different pin configuration on the connector. See resources like: https://tips.graphica.com.au/sgi-fuel-power-supply/

You can ground the PS-ON line and it should start up, and you can use loads on the various rails to test the voltages. The power supply may or may not be the issue, but it is a good starting point for troubleshooting.
 

weblacky

Active member
Jan 13, 2020
181
45
28
Seattle, WA
If you get no LEDs whatsoever...it's the power supply. If you get some LEDs then it turns off, it still could be the PSU but it's also the mainboard. Often these systems do require some mainboard repair once their PSUs go bad.

Also, if you're interested in a quick sale AS-IS, no specs given I'd be interested in gambling on it. Please let me know if you're interested if you decide not to pursue repair any further.
 

megaimg

Member
Nov 24, 2021
32
18
8
If the PSU is not giving the right voltage, the main board will power down....This PSU have to be service...specialy replacing the Capacitors...test the unit outside the unit and check the power rails...it maybe need to be recap.
 

weblacky

Active member
Jan 13, 2020
181
45
28
Seattle, WA
My offer still stands, please PM me I’d you want to talk about a quick sale.

Normally when the PSU goes it shorts out certain small ICs in the mainboard on the 5v standby line (power becomes dirty). So the boards often need a small amount of rework after a new PSU. It’s call environmental monitoring disease (common on Fuels only due to design flaw of not using a VRM to power the 5v ICs and instead run them right off the PSU).

I specialize in that repair service so I can repair the board (if this is the case). But it’s often a series of issues after that.

The reason these are rare is because most customers threw them away when they failed early. Most modern SGI’s are still around but fuels are the exception because their power supplies were extra cheap and their boards weren’t well-designed against this cheapness. Its counterpart, the Tezro, has a larger power supply and uses many many VRMs to try to buffer the power and limit short circuiting.

You’re welcome to see my long repair thread for a Fuel I got last October on IrixNet: https://forums.irixnet.org/thread-3185.html

I’d basically be doing the same thing, again. It’s a fun read, but you’ll likely need to send out board(s) for repair once you buy a retrofit PSU and adapter. The original power supply is not good. I don’t even repair them and I do power supplies. Retrofitting a better power supply is better.

Let us know what you decide.
 

Elf

Storybook / Retired, ex-staff
Feb 4, 2019
792
252
63
Mountain West (US)

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