Discharging hazardous voltage

[Roswell_NX]

The sad thing is that the PSU in my computer that most of ya guys have seen went poo poo yesterday :(
Actually, only one of the two sets of wires that have drive connectors went bad. Replacement is not an option, that is i need to get the thing fixed.
I just wanted to ask you guys about how to discharge the hazardous voltage, so that i can open the thing up and look for bloated capacitors.

Roswell

[sharder8]

I open PSU's all the time to take parts out for reuse! :D

But, as for your question . . . . . realize I used to have curly hair . . . . . which is now straight! :eek:

Harder

[gliddend]

Originally posted by sharder8
I open PSU's all the time to take parts out for reuse! :D

But, as for your question . . . . . realize I used to have curly hair . . . . . which is now straight! :eek:

Harder


Some missing.. (TT... ammo for you) :D :D

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Working on PSU's is dangerous, if you touch the wrong thing it can output more then the 12v and potentially damage other equipment, if you aren't electronically inclined, that's one job I'ld leave to someone who is, a PSU is cheaper then an entire system.. replacing fans in a PSU is one thing, but other parts are best left to someone that can test all the voltages before it's plugged in..

as for caps in a PSU, there are none that hold sufficient voltage to do any kind of jump, most can't overcome the resistance of your skin..

[BBA]

You just need to replace two drive connectors?

Do you have a school with an electronics class? Take it to school and let them fix it for you. The replacement of drive connector wiring is very simple with only basic soldering skills needed.

[Roswell_NX]

it's not the connectors, i can do those...
it's something wrong with the PSU components INSIDE of it, and i don't have any money to fix the thing, but i have a few PSU's that i've pulled apart after leaving them unplugged for two months...

Roswell :)

[Roswell_NX]

This is a 90W PSU, and i had two powerful fans, one HDD, and one Floppy drive running off of the wire that's now broken, and a CD-ROM and a CD-RW running off of the other one. The MoBo still boots to BIOS, and the CD drives still open and close. What happened was that i was posting here and all of the sudden all the whirring stopped. No fans, no hard drive. The thing didn't shut down, so i had to pull the plug. I plugged it back in, but still no fans. I figured that a capacitor went bad, because the PSU did this kind of thing (cutting off the power to fans and the HDD) every other week or so, but only for a second or two.

Roswell

[Siliconjunkie]

Here is some info about discharging capacitors:

http://repairfaq.ece.drexel.edu/sam/captest.htm#ctsdc

PLEASE be careful if you choose to do this.
I have no idea how accurate that is.

[Roswell_NX]

That's a great site :)

Thanks, SJ

Roswell :)

[Roswell_NX]

Folks, i really need to get it fixed, otherwise i can't run FaD...

Roswell :(

[Roadkill]

Is it an AT PSU, or an ATX?

[n7vxj]

Kinda sounds like the 12 volt rail in psu is gone.

[Roswell_NX]

Originally posted by Roadkill
Is it an AT PSU, or an ATX?

ATX

Roswell

[Roadkill]

To bad, if it was an AT, I could have sent you one. Maybe someone has a small ATX they can donate for the FaD cause.

[Roswell_NX]

i have one PSU that i could use, but it's so big that the case won't close---
i have an HP Vectra, and the standard (i think) size is too big for it.

Roswell

[Roswell_NX]

Originally posted by n7vxj
Kinda sounds like the 12 volt rail in psu is gone.

Hey! maybe yer right, because after the HDD and the fans stalled in the middle of me opening MS Word, the green light on the HDD's board was still on.

Roswell

[Roswell_NX]

you ARE right!
the thing is that thanks to my sleep-deprived brain:rolleyes:, i had attached two fans to the 12 volt side :(
i was meaning to put the second fan on the 5 volt side, but for some odd reason, did the opposite.

Roswell

[Roswell_NX]

BTW, i'm posting off of MY computer, after i swapped the broken PSU for an oversized one (now the case doesn't slose), and please forgive me if i'll start to rant about the "jet engine" sound that the box makes....

Roswell