Resolved strange clicking

have a clients machine that has me stumped. there is a clicking coming from the board when the power cable is connected. dont even have to push the on button to hear the clicking. have disconnected everything and still a clicking the power light on the board is also flashing. dont think ive heard anything like this before. tried using my pci post tester but its lights just flash again just with the power cord plugged in.

anybody heard this before ???

 

If it sounds like a spark arc, be careful, it could start a fire or give you quite a jolt.

 

actually when i first heard the clicking to me it does sound like a short circuit of some sort.

sounds like the board is fried would be my guess.

 

Try it in a completely dark/black room and you might be able to see the spark. But again, don't hurt yourself ... or anyone else.

 

fortunately its still early here so my office with lights off is pretty dark. i dont see any arching nor do i smell anything. the clicking is constant along with the power light on the board flashes at the same rate as the clicking there is also a red light fairly close to the power light that flashes. have never seen that red light on any board before. didnt know there was another light on the board besides the green power light. everything is unplugged and its definitely coming from the board but no arching or smell of anything burning.

 

If it's clicking in unison with the light, it's probably something to do with that circuit.

Usually, the red light on the motherboard is to simply let you know that the power cord is plugged in and the power supply switch is On. It's powered by a small, separate, "standby" section within the power supply.

 

honestly i dont know if ive ever seen the red light on the board before and i have looked at a lot of boards. yep it is in unison and the psu tested good so it does appear the board is fried. well guess time to get him a dell. was able to back up the data as a usb device so at least his data is okay. thank you. ill close this call now.