Overheating of ReadyNas RN104 power adapter

[rajamani_v]

Hi,

I have been using ReadyNAS 104 for more than 4 years now. Of late, the power adapter gets over hot and the unit shuts down automatically. If switched on after a while, it works perfectly, but it again gets hot and shuts down. Interested in knowing what causes this and how to avoid it. Will replacing the power adapter help?

I have been using the following hard-disks, just in case.

1. Seagate 4TB ST4000VN000
2. WD 4TB WD40EFRX
3. Seagate 4TB ST4000DM000
4. Seagate 10TB ST10000VX0004

Thanks in Advance!

[Retired_Member]

Hi @rajamani_v, you wrote "Will replacing the power adapter help?". If your current one is broken, the new one will most probably help.

However, your more interesting question is "Interested in knowing what causes this and how to avoid it.".

Let me list some "dont"s and you could check, whether some of them might apply to your situation.

(1) Do not expose the power adapter to direct sunlight.

(2) Do not keep it close to other objects emitting heat in general

(3) Especially, Do not keep it within a hot airstream exhausted by another device too close to the power adapter

(3) Do not for what reason ever cover it with something.

Let me also mention some "do"s and you can try whether there is something, which helps:

(1) Put it on a tin box to let that act as some kind of heat pipe

(2) Put it in a way maximizing airflow around it, eg put it on two pens in a way that fresh air can not only flow over but also under it.

Happy testing and kind regards

[StephenB]

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@Retired_Member wrote:

(1) Do not expose the power adapter to direct sunlight.

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Where did this one come from?  AFAIK there is no harm in putting an AC power adapter in the sun.  Though you will see advice not to put lithium batteries in direct sunlight.

@rajamani_v :  What firmware are you running?  Is your NAS still under warranty (3 years for the original purchaser)?

Your system should be using about 30 watts of power in normal operation (based on the normal power use of your specific drives + 9 watts for the NAS chassis).  The RN104 adapter should be able to provide about 45 watts, so there should be enough margin to handle spinup, etc.

Are you certain that the thermal shutdown is caused by the power adapter?  It is possible that that NAS itself is overheating (and drawing enough power to heat up the adapter).  Try downloading the log zip file, and see if you can find any clues related to the shutdown events.  You can also send a private message (click on the envelope icon on the upper right of the forum) to one of the mods ( @JohnCM_S or @Marc_V ) and ask them to analyze your log zip.  Put the zip into cloud storage (e.g. ,google drive, dropbox, etc), and include the link in the PM.  Don't post it here.

You could also try monitoring the NAS temperatures on the performance tab of the web ui, and make sure that the disk and CPU temps aren't climbing too high.  It might also be useful to pull out the drives shortly after the thermal shutdown, and see if one is particularly hot.  (Put them back in before powering up the NAS).

If the power adapter itself is overheating/failing (but the NAS chassis is not), then you can replace the adapter. 

[Retired_Member]

@StephenBwrote: "

@RolandWausE wrote:

(1) Do not expose the power adapter to direct sunlight.

Where did this one come from?"

The adapter is black and gets warm/hot during operation. Exposing it to direct sunlight will increase probability, that adapter gets warmer/hotter. Not exposing it to direct sunlight is just simply minimizing the risk of overheating. ...and we might not talk about the summer on iceland, but 45C° in India without air-conditioner, which is already 5C° beyond the maximum often recommended temparature for electronic devices. Depending on the circumstances @rajamani_v is operating the device, it might be a good idea to avoid direct sunlight. I would call this common sense, sanity and reason, or simply a no-brainer, sorry.

Kind regards

[rajamani_v]

@Retired_Member - No, none of the first four points are applicable, as I am having it in a well ventilated area without any exposure to direct sunlight.

Will try the last two points (do's) and check if that helps.

Cheers! 

[rajamani_v]

@StephenB  - It has been more than 4 years, so am assuming it will not be under warranty.

The adapter (attached in picture) is the one that gets over heated. After close to 30 mins of use it gets very hot that I can't even touch it.

Meanwhile, I will check tonight if the NAS itself is heating, get the log file and check if any of the hard disks are getting hot.

Cheers!

[rajamani_v]

6.10.1 is the firmware in the system

[rajamani_v]

Hi, attached is the screenshot of the CPU's temperature when the fan setting was "Quiet",changed it to "Cool" then the temperature dropped.

Had a thermal shutdown after having the NAS working for close to an hour. Checked the harddisks, none of them were hot, they were lukewarm, nothing noteworthy.

[StephenB]

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@rajamani_v wrote:

It has been more than 4 years, so am assuming it will not be under warranty.

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Yes, it is out of warranty

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@rajamani_v wrote:

6.10.1 is the firmware in the system

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Thx.  There was an issue with the NIC in the NAS overheating and shutting down.  But Netgear made a driver change, so 6.10.1 shouldn't have that problem.  Plus no one reported an overheated power adapter.

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@rajamani_v wrote:

Checked the harddisks, none of them were hot, they were lukewarm, nothing noteworthy.

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The disk temps look ok to me too.

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@rajamani_v wrote:

Had a thermal shutdown after having the NAS working for close to an hour.

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The NAS log says that it is doing a thermal shutdown?  Or did it abruptly shut down, or give some other reason?

The NAS can't monitor the adapter temp.  So if the adapter is at fault, then I'd either expect the NAS to shut down abruptly (with no indication of why) or perhaps shut down due to an out-of-spec voltage threshold.  Either way, I'd just replace the power adapter.

But if there is a thermal shutdown in the NAS, then that suggests the NAS is drawing too much power from the adapter.  That seems unlikely given the temps image you posted, but worth double-checking.  Though it might be still possible that the issue is the adapter itself.

Perhaps @Sandshark has some thoughts.

[Sandshark]

Assuming for a minute that it really was a thermal shut-down of the NAS, it would be hard to dignose which is the symptom and which the cause for a power supply overheating.  An overstressed DC=DC converter in the NAS or a partially shorted capacitor could draw too much power or an overstressed external power brick could be delivering insufficient voltage to allow the DC-DC converter to work efficiently.

It's critical to know if it really was an overheat shut-down or perhaps a voltage out of tollerance.  But even with that information, it's going to be hard to diagnose without measuring the voltage and current the brick is supplying, and possibly the internal voltages.  Just swapping out the brick could be a better step, since few have the equipment for the other.  I've seen compatible supplies listed on eBay (12V, 7.5A, 4-pin DIN connector).

[rajamani_v]

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@StephenB wrote:

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The NAS log says that it is doing a thermal shutdown?  Or did it abruptly shut down, or give some other reason?

The NAS can't monitor the adapter temp.  So if the adapter is at fault, then I'd either expect the NAS to shut down abruptly (with no indication of why) or perhaps shut down due to an out-of-spec voltage threshold.  Either way, I'd just replace the power adapter.

But if there is a thermal shutdown in the NAS, then that suggests the NAS is drawing too much power from the adapter.  That seems unlikely given the temps image you posted, but worth double-checking.  Though it might be still possible that the issue is the adapter itself.

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The NAS log doesn't have anything related to the shutdown, it abruptly got shutdown.

Think, I mis-understood the term Thermal shutdown as shutdown due to overheating of the Power adapter while it actually is shutdown due to the overheating of harddrives / NAS. 

In my case, the NAS & harddrives are absolutely fine. So, will replace the adapter and check.

Thanks for all your help!

[rajamani_v]

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@Sandshark wrote:

Assuming for a minute that it really was a thermal shut-down of the NAS, it would be hard to dignose which is the symptom and which the cause for a power supply overheating.  An overstressed DC=DC converter in the NAS or a partially shorted capacitor could draw too much power or an overstressed external power brick could be delivering insufficient voltage to allow the DC-DC converter to work efficiently.

It's critical to know if it really was an overheat shut-down or perhaps a voltage out of tollerance.  But even with that information, it's going to be hard to diagnose without measuring the voltage and current the brick is supplying, and possibly the internal voltages.  Just swapping out the brick could be a better step, since few have the equipment for the other.  I've seen compatible supplies listed on eBay (12V, 7.5A, 4-pin DIN connector).

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Most of it went over my head But understood that external power brick could be delivering insufficient voltage. Will try compatible brick and let you guys know. Anything in particular that you recommend.

Cheers!