After spilling a small amount of coffee near my PC, I powered it down and let it dry. When I later tried to start it, the CPU power connector caught fire. I shut off the PSU immediately and found that the motherboard had a strong burnt smell, so I replaced it. The rest of the system includes an ASUS TUF Gaming B550-Plus, Ryzen 5 5600, Radeon RX 6800 XT, and 2x16GB G.Skill Trident Z memory. The new motherboard now shows a constant yellow DRAM diagnostic light and will not boot. I have tested both memory sticks individually in different slots and waited several minutes for memory training each time. Could the CPU have been damaged when the EPS connector burned, or is there another troubleshooting step I should try?
3 Answers
Drying the spill may not have been enough because coffee leaves conductive and corrosive residue behind. The affected parts should have been disconnected and cleaned with high-purity isopropyl alcohol before testing. Given the burned EPS connector, inspect the CPU socket, CPU power cable, PSU connectors, and the new motherboard for discoloration or melted plastic, and avoid using any cable or PSU that may have been involved in the incident.
Start by testing each memory stick by itself in the recommended slot, usually A2, then try the same stick in the other slots before switching to the second module. Also make sure each module is fully seated—some newer slots can look inserted even when they are not locked properly. Memory training can take a few minutes, but if you have already tested every combination, the RAM may have been damaged.
A CPU power connector actually catching fire is a serious warning sign. The CPU may have been damaged, and a faulty CPU could potentially damage another motherboard when powered on. The RAM could also have been affected. The safest next step is to test with known-good compatible RAM and a known-good Ryzen CPU, ideally one component at a time, rather than repeatedly powering this system with unknown damaged parts.
I have already spent about an hour trying different RAM sticks and slots, waiting around three to five minutes after each attempt. I am planning to test the system with a friend's CPU and memory kit to identify which parts failed.