Strange ticking/clicking noise coming from Simucube power supply

Simucube 1
1

Hi guys, so yesterday i went to turn off my simucube and slightly ‘miss-flicked’ the on/off switch at the rear of the case. I believe this caused the simucube to momentarily switch off and straight back on again, although there was no device removed/plugged in windows sound. I didn’t think anything of it at the time and just switched it off.

Today i switched it on and noticed a ticking/clicking sound coming from the simucube. I took off the outer shell of the CM110 case to listen closer and im positive the sound is coming from the PSU (Meanwell-SDR-480). I had never heard this sound before and im wondering if the ‘missflick’ has caused an issue with the power supply.

Here is a recording from my phone - may need to use headphones to hear it.
Simucube ticking noise

Does anyone know if this sound is normal, or has anyone had the same issue ?

Its a Large mige kit from simracingbay, SDR-480p-48 PSU.

Thanks for your help.

2

That is indeed strange. If there is a fan in the CM110 case, you could try to disconnect it also temporarily, to exclude it.

3

Ah yea sorry i forgot to mention i did disconnect the case fan when i removed the shell, thats what made me sure it was coming from the PSU.

4

meanwell has 2 or 3 years warranty , why don’t you contact the vendor ?

5

Was hoping someone here would say its normal. but yea i shall contact the vendor after a couple days, just thought i’d try here first.

6

Listening to that, it sounds like either over-voltage or over-current triggering on the psu, but it can be caused by a failed electrolytic capacitors on the psu.

If it is under warranty, which I think it may be, just gave it replaced. I would not use it like that.

Is the system still powering on though?

7

Yea it powers on normally, i did start up ACC and sat in the pits and moved the wheel left and right a bit to see if the motor was acting normally and that seemed fine too. Wasn’t comfortable enough to drive with it making that noise though so cant be certain.

I’ll get on to Tomo tomorrow to see what can done. Cheers for the response though, i appreciate it.

8

Interesting to read this.
I have noticed that I need to press the power switch in the back of the CM110 firmly as it has a ‘springy’ resistance and can bounce back to on position if I don’t apply enough pressure, which isn’t probably good for the PSU to go off and then back on within a split second.
I just have made it a habit of pressing the switch firmly.

9

Yea thats exactly what happened here. Doesn’t help that i need to lean over my rig + monitor to blindly find the power switch on the back of the case. I think i’ll rearrange my desk now to prevent that happening again.

10

Spoke to Tomo @ simracingbay ealier today, and he believes that this sound is normal and i can continue to use it as normal. He also sent me a clip of one of his units making the same noise. He did say i can still send mine back to him if need be though.

Not really sure what do now. Im positive it wasn’t making this noise before the missflick becuase i think i would of noticed, as its quite a concerning noise to hear coming from anything electrical. Sounds almost like a gas hob ignition stuck on. However i do trust Tomo’s advice as hes’ a hell of a lot more experienced then i am at this stuff.

Couple of questions for you smart people out there -

Is there anyway i can test the power supply to make sure its fully functioning still, other than just driving ?
i.e any way to test or monitor it through granity ? or maybe even just using a multimeter ?

Is there anyway this could cause collateral damage to the simucube board or motor ?

Again, if anyone can have a listen the next time you power on your simucube, just let me know if you hear any kind of clicking noise, i’d love to know.

Thanks for your help guys.

11

I would exchange it if Tomo has offered - great guy with superb customer service.

If it never clicked before, then whether or not Tomo says it’s ok, in my opinion something has changed and that’s surely not normal.

There’s no clicking sounds from mine or the 3 people I know who have the exact same setup.

2 Likes
12

Like I said, I believe an electrolytic cap on that psu has been damaged, get it replaced under warranty. That is not normal for a (good quality) SMPS.

Cheers,
Beano

1 Like
13

Thats the answers i wasn’t hoping for, but kind of expected tbh. Cheers for the replys @GlobeSpy @phillip.vanrensburg, appreciate it.

14

All good Mate, hope you’ll get it sorted soon!

1 Like
15

There is a good chance for false alarm. Here is a video which i made yesterday on new unit with SDR 480, same clicking sound is heard. If you can play it on phone, just lean its speaker to ear:

Update:
I have sound tested 6 new Simucube units (in acrylic case) which i have ready for packing. 4x SDR (one of them was already tested yesterday) and 2x NDR. All 4 SDRs have this clicking sound and none of NDRs.
To hear it, i needed to open front of acrylic case only and lean my head close to 10cm or less from PSU. For comparision - that sound is at much lower volume than fan sound. I am unable to hear it with acrilic case closed (even if i lean my ear on it). Note, those are all new practicly untouched PSUs ordered directly from official Meanwell distributor in Slovenia.
@Luke (Beas), do you hear this sound even with case closed and you are at normal distance from it ?

I will write email to Meanwell Slovenija and my guy there from will forward it directly to Meanwell Taiwan, so we can have tech explanation about this…

2 Likes
16

video link

17

Hey Tomo, interesting that the SDRs do it and the NDRs dont. Yea i can hear the sound with the case closed.
Heres a video i just recorded - Simucube PSU Clicking
The video doesn’t really capture the sound too well as its quite a high frequency noise, but i can certainly hear it in person from about a foot away. Can faintly hear it from my rig which is about 4ft away.
Having said that, the CM110 case does have a vent on the side which may be why i can hear it, and you cant with the acrylic case. I’m very interested to hear what the guys at meanwell make of it.

@GlobeSpy Do you know which PSU you and the 3 people you know have ?

18

This is from my order:

PSU: Mean Well 480W/720W peak (Noiseless) 30Nm

19

Yea, thats the same as mine.

Cheers for the info.

20

Hi Luke,
yes, your sound seems to be louder than i can hear it on new power supplies. Its hard to be 100% but we will know soon :slight_smile: I will send you additional instructions for shipping over email.

1 Like