Somethings burning, smoke coming out from MP 2008 3,1 What to do?!

Hey guys, this morning when i powered my Mac Pro 2008 (3,1) lots of smoke coming out from the DVD drive area, i was in total shock, and quickly unplugged the power cable from the MP. I removed all HDDs, optical drive, GPU and can't find where the problem came from, so i assembled everything back and tried to power it on, then again, turns on and smoke comes out from the drive area, I removed the DVD drive and tried to power it on again but it never shows sign of life anymore. I tested the DVD drive and its in working order. What can be toast here? When i press the Diagnostic LED, it shows STBY on but in yellow color. Nothing else lights up, press power button nothing happens. Possibly power supply?

Wardenski said:

The power supply is at the top so it would make sense that it is the power supply that is dead. Open it up and have a peak.

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I took the PSU out, how to physically test whether the PSU is faulty? From the outside it looks good.

Warranty is obviously over, don't bother asking Apple Care. Will this be sort of covered under some type of custom warranty? Considering that it obviously smells like something is burning inside.

Most important thing is, I have RAID on it, some 8TB of data in the RAID. Damn Mac Pro T.T, don't tell me the logic board is fried. How to retrieve my RAID now, without the Mac Pro. If its the PSU, i could just buy one off eBay which is fairly cheap now 100+/-

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shoulin333 said:

Might want to check out this older thread on how to test the PSU.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1082046/

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I can't check the voltages without the Mac Pro being powered on right?

Spacedust said:

Remove the optical drive bay with all stuff in it. Then power on and you will see what's going on.

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Tried that, almost NOTHING is inside. All HDD were removed, riser B was removed, optical drive bay & graphics card all removed.

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notjustjay said:

Smoking (especially lots of it) often comes from failed capacitors. The largest of which would be in your PSU, so I agree that's the first place to look.

It's also the cheapest and easiest part to replace to start your diagnostic.

Remove your optical drive and HDDs before you continue testing, that way you reduce the risk of any damage to your data in case it wasn't the PSU.

Here is what a smoking capacitor looks like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03J1yWwM5zg

Does that resemble what you see?

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OMG.. THATS exactly how the smoke comes out from the optical drive bay, only difference is i don't here any poping sounds.! Im buying a PSU off eBay to test but before that any chance i could some how change the capacitors without replacing the entire PSU? Ill be taking pictures n upload them here.

SandboxGeneral said:

Take a look at all the capacitors on any and all PCB's for evidence of burning, or breaking open.

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Still trying to pry open the PSU, not as easy as i expect. As for the logic board, no sign of any blown/swollen capacitors. I really hope its not the logic board, i wanted to keep the system until 2013/201x Mac Pro comes out & don't wish to pay too much for the repair cost. Maximum $200 is what i can afford/willing to pay. PSU cost $150 from eBay. Unfortunately, in the country im living, theres no Apple Store, only authorized Apple Service Provider which is charging roughly $30 just for diagnostic.

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DanielCoffey said:

Keep us informed about if the replacement PSU was the culprit.

Have you asked your local Apple Store if they would mind giving the machine a good-will inspection and test after you have replaced the PSU? It sounds like you are a committed user of your Mac Pro and if you impress them with your professionalism, they may agree to give it an inspection to restore your confidence that the machine is now in full working order.

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Unfortunately, the country im living in does not have an Apple Store. Only AASP which is charging $30 just for diagnostic & it takes 1 week to diagnose Can't afford to wait that long, data in there is important.. Anyone has any idea how i could possibly extract the data in the RAID without the Mac Pro? I have 3 x 1.5TB drives in RAID 0.

notjustjay said:

Is it possible to power up the PSU on its own?

If so, disconnect PSU from computer, plug it in, see what happens. If you get smoke again, then you know for sure it was the PSU

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Tried that, don't how how to power on the PSU without the Mac Pro. For a generic PC PSU, i know how to short it to power on. on the Mac Pro PSU, no idea whats the pin out.

TWEO said:

Might not be your healthiest option, but have you tried using your nose to check if the PSU is smelling oddly ?

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Nope. Not at all..

EDIT: Finally manage to crack the PSU open (took so long cuz one of the + screws stripped). From what i can see no caps were blown etc

Sent to Apple Service Provider, as it turns out, its not the power supply but the logic board. What do you guys recommend?