An ASUS ROG Strix 850W power supply reportedly came back from an RMA repair with its internal safety fuse bypassed by a piece of soldered wire, raising concerns about the quality of the repair and the potential electrical risk.
The issue was reported by a Reddit user who said the repaired PSU ran for around two hours before tripping the room’s main circuit breaker. After resetting the breaker and trying the PC again, the breaker tripped a second time.
The owner then opened the PSU and found what appeared to be a wire soldered directly across the fuse contacts instead of a normal fuse replacement.
What reportedly happened
| Detail | Reported information |
|---|---|
| PSU | ASUS ROG Strix 850W |
| Situation | Returned from RMA repair |
| Reported problem | Internal safety fuse bypassed |
| Method | Wire soldered across fuse contacts |
| Initial runtime | Around two hours |
| Failure symptom | Room circuit breaker tripped |
| Second attempt | Breaker tripped again |
| ASUS response | Owner contacted ASUS USA |
| Status | Based on user report, not independently confirmed |
A fuse inside a power supply is designed to interrupt the circuit when excessive current or another serious fault occurs.
If that protective component is bypassed, the PSU may no longer disconnect internally when expected. In the reported case, the home circuit breaker appears to have interrupted power instead.
That does not establish exactly what internal fault caused the excessive current draw, but the reported bypass itself is the main concern.
The home breaker reportedly became the last protection
According to the account, the PSU did not shut down through its internal fuse because that component had allegedly been bridged.
Instead, the room’s main electrical breaker tripped.
That happened once after around two hours of operation and then again when the owner attempted to power the system back on.
The owner subsequently opened the unit and found the modification.
Opening a PSU is dangerous because capacitors inside can retain hazardous voltages even after the unit is unplugged. It can also affect warranty coverage, so this is not something owners should normally attempt themselves.
RMA repair quality is the bigger issue
If the reported repair is accurate, the concern goes beyond a normal component failure.
Power supplies contain several protection mechanisms because faults involving high current can damage PC components or create electrical hazards. A repair that intentionally bypasses one of those protections would defeat part of the PSU’s safety design.
The owner said warranty service had already been denied before the PSU was opened, although the exact sequence of the RMA dispute and ASUS’ internal repair process has not been independently verified.
The user has reportedly contacted ASUS USA following the discovery.
ASUS has not provided a confirmed explanation
The available information comes from the PSU owner’s account and images posted online.
There is no confirmed explanation from ASUS in the supplied report describing who performed the repair, why the fuse was bypassed or whether the unit went through additional testing before it was returned.
That makes it important to treat the incident as an individual reported case rather than evidence that other ROG Strix power supplies have the same problem.
Still, if the bypass is confirmed to have been part of the RMA repair, it would raise serious questions about repair procedures and quality control.
For anyone experiencing repeated breaker trips or unusual behavior from a power supply, the safer response is to stop using the unit and seek professional service rather than continuing to power the system or opening the PSU enclosure.
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