DannyGlass Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 How to make a test psu Warning - I will not be held for any damage or accidents that occur in that making if your test psu, Also be very careful when making this test psu because even when the psu is turned off certain components inside will still hold an electrical charge which can result in injury or even death. Modding you psu in anyway will void you warranty so take that into account. So you've just got a new psu but you dont want to throw away your old psu away, well why not try this guide and turn it into a test psu, this could save you alot of time instead of setting it up on your pc. 1) The items you will need First off you will need a ATX switched PSU, philips screwdriver, Wire cutters, Wire strippers, a short length of heatshrink tubing and (Optional) Soldering iron. 2) Taking the PSU apart Remove the four small screws from underneath the psu in each corner with the philips screwdriver, then remove the psu's cover. Put the cover and screws to one side for later. 3) Removing the wires Remove the rubber grommet and wires from inside the rubber grommet that are attacted to the psu's wire slot and put them to one side. 4) Seperating the wires Now seperate the ATX connector bundle from the molex power wires by snipping off the zip ties that are wrapped around both sets of wireswith the wire cutters. Now pull apart the wires from each other and put them to one side. 5) Choosing the two correct wires Now you need to find two wires in the ATX bundle the first one is the only green coloured wire in the psu, then to the left there is the second wire which is coloured black. 6) Snipping the two wires Now snip the green and black coloured wires we just found in the part before from the ATX bundle and make them about 3inches in length with the wire cutters, now put the green and black coloured wires to one side then we shouldnt get them accidently snipped later. 7) Removing the ATX bundle Now snip the entire ATX bundle of wires from the psu, try to snip the wires as close as you can to the PCB board. 8) Stripping the two wires Now strip the green and black wires back by half an inch each with the wire strippers, cut off just over half an inch of heatshrink tubing or more if you want to, now slide it over one of the wires and twist both the wires together. Instead you can solder the wires together but this is optional. 9) Heating the heatshrink tubing Now slide the heatshrink tubing over the two twisted wires until you happy its in the exact correct placement, now get a hairdryer and apply heat to the heatshrink tubing so that it wraps around the wiring nice and tight. 10) Rewiring the wires Now put the green and black wires back inside the psu case, now reinstall the rubber grommet into the psu's wire slot hole with the molex connector wires inside it, then slot the psu's cover back on and screw the four philips screws back into place. 11) The final modification Well after all that hard modifying to your psu you have the final test psu, with this psu it has a switch to turn it on so i just plug it into a main socket and turn the test psu on. Guide Source: Xmodding.com Guide made by DannyGlass, Xmodding? 2005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metro Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 If you are afraid of getting shocked, you can also grab a paperclip, bend it out, and put one end into the plug for the green wire, and the other end into the black ground wire plug 2 wires down. Plug in the PSU, and bam, you have power running through the PSU. The green wire is a sensor that the PSU uses to check for a connection on the motherboard, while the ground helps complete the circuit trick. I would rather not take apart a PSU when I can just pop in a paperclip and get similar results without killing myself from an elecrical surge :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gowcra Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 Nice guide. Ta mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyGlass Posted July 10, 2005 Author Share Posted July 10, 2005 Yah! The first person to comment on my guide, thanks buddy :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 Thanks, love DIY :alien: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grungeisdead Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 yeh i do the paperclip thing when i have to get my watercooling running when filling it up for the first time.... alot easier but still nice one danny :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echilon Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 I thought it was kind of lethal to open up a PSU. A friend told me once that he saw a guy put a screw driver in there by accident and it welded itself because the screwdriver touched a capacitor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 Thanks Dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyGlass Posted July 14, 2005 Author Share Posted July 14, 2005 It can be very dangerous to open your psu but thats if your not careful etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OPaul Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 I don't get it, what's a test power supply? Looks just like a normal one... missing half it's cabling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 I thought it was kind of lethal to open up a PSU. A friend told me once that he saw a guy put a screw driver in there by accident and it welded itself because the screwdriver touched a capacitor. 586212721[/snapback] I did that to a lightbulb socket on my garage door opener. I fried the board. :whistle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyGlass Posted July 14, 2005 Author Share Posted July 14, 2005 I don't get it, what's a test power supply? Looks just like a normal one... missing half it's cabling. I am not explaining that question to anymore people, had to many ask now. Having a test PSU will allow you test various modding goodies. Sometimes modders get an idea for a mod and what we want is not available as a modding product. So we need to know if our computer?s PSU will power the device or not. The test PSU can be used to test your device by simply wiring a male molex to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OPaul Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 I am not explaining that question to anymore people, had to many ask now. 586213991[/snapback] No one asked here. I still don't get it.... why can't you plug into your normal power supply if you want to test something. Or why do you need to take the whole "test" power supply apart just to turn it into a "test" power supply? You could just short the 2 wires that enable it to be powered on without being plugged into a motherboard and away you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyGlass Posted July 14, 2005 Author Share Posted July 14, 2005 I don't get it, what's a test power supply? ^ Seems like a question too me... Its an ordinary psu turned into a test psu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OPaul Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 I don't get it, what's a test power supply? ^ Seems like a question too me... Its an ordinary psu turned into a test psu. 586214162[/snapback] OK, but why do you need to "turn it into a test psu".... why do you need to gut it? It'll work just fine how it is to test things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyGlass Posted July 14, 2005 Author Share Posted July 14, 2005 It means you dont have to spend your time setting up new modding items etc inside your case with all your other components, then finding out its faulty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfalcon Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 A regular PSU won't turn on unless it's connected to a mobo. A "Test" PSU does not require connection to a mobo, so you would only need the PSU and the device that you want to test. I don't get it, what's a test power supply?^ Seems like a question too me... Its an ordinary psu turned into a test psu. That's probably the vaguest answer to a question you could've given... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyGlass Posted July 14, 2005 Author Share Posted July 14, 2005 Did you read my post before that? with the quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfalcon Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 Did you read my post before that? with the quote 586214414[/snapback] Yes, but it was clear that OPaul didn't know that a regular PSU required a mobo connection to operate. That quote assumes the reader knows that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Carlton Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 ...just get an AT power supply...they have a switch to turn it on or off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OPaul Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 A regular PSU won't turn on unless it's connected to a mobo.? A "Test" PSU does not require connection to a mobo, so you would only need the PSU and the device that you want to test. 586214400[/snapback] Yea but you can do that without gutting the thing, just short the two wires that handle that. Yes, but it was clear that OPaul didn't know that a regular PSU required a mobo connection to operate.? That quote assumes the reader knows that. 586214435[/snapback] eh, yea I did... ....You could just short the 2 wires that enable it to be powered on without being plugged into a motherboard and away you go.... 586214010[/snapback] A LOT easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 That does seem like an awful amount of work when a simple paperclip will do the same in a matter of seconds. Not to mention losing the capability of re-using the power supply should something happen. Nice guide, well presented, but.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperCharge Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 Can somebody here with enough knowledge turn a working-un-used psu into a power supply with various voltages? Of course, more electronics components will be added such as a variable capacitor or resistor and more. This is great for electronics hobbyists. Voltage can vary from 3v to 12v. Thank you in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyGlass Posted July 27, 2005 Author Share Posted July 27, 2005 Why would you want various voltages? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperCharge Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Why would you want various voltages? 586278900[/snapback] I want to be able to test different electronics devices. They use different voltages especially those electronics kits. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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