Manually Test a (PSU) Power Supply With a Multimeter by Britec

Рет қаралды 484,916

12 жыл бұрын

Manually Test a (PSU) Power Supply With a Multimeter by Britec
NOTE: This testing applies only to the standard ATX PSU, it does not apply to proprietary PSU's (ie: older Dell's ) which use a different pinout arrangement for their ATX connectors (non-standard).
20 and 24-Pin Connectors: The 24-Pin connector has an additional 4 pins attached to one end of the connector. The top 20-Pin section is electrically identical to the original 20-Pin ATX connector. Due to the additional connections the numbering sequence changes, so if you have a 24-Pin connection then make that adjustment when comparing with a 20-pin
+3.3v pins 1, 2, 11 (Orange wires)
+5V pins 4, 6, 19, 20, (Red wires)
+12V pin 10 (Yellow wires)
-5V pin 18
-12V pin 12
Need help with your computer?
www.briteccomputers.co.uk/forum

Пікірлер: 317

@morgantaylor2661 10 жыл бұрын

I have just started my first PC build and when I was finished I plugged it in. It didn't work and I was told it was either the PSU or the Motherboard so I assumed it was the PSU, but before jumping to conclusions I did a bit of research and found this video. I did everything and it worked so I looked at the wiring on the PC and noticed something was wrong and fixed it. The PC now powers on because of this video. Thank you!

@Britec09 11 жыл бұрын

Thanks you for taking the time in letting me know you like the videos, its lovely comments like yours that drives me on to keep making helpful videos.

@Britec09 11 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the support, glad you found the video informative, stay tuned for more videos.

@ambyellen 10 жыл бұрын

I couldn't find a paper clip anywhere in my house to save my life. LOL! In frustration, broke the closure end off of a safety pin and bam! my power supply fan came to life. It made me so happy. Thanks for such a friendly, easy-to-understand video. This is my first time using a multimeter, and I was able to test all my voltages.

@Britec09 11 жыл бұрын

Your welcome, thanks for the kind words.

@Britec09 12 жыл бұрын

@TimsComputerRepair Thanks mate glad you liked it.

@JMWRainwater 6 жыл бұрын

Great tutorial! Thank you for including that graphic, too. I was able to successfully test each port on my power with an analog multimeter.

@Britec09 11 жыл бұрын

I am only glad that the video helped you, thanks for the support.

@davidschmidt6013 4 жыл бұрын

My computer would not start today, Last night was running great. A computer help-site advised me to test my power supply, and referred me to a video that turned out to be a non-native-English speaker, was not well organized etc. Found this one, WAYYY better, very clear, and especially helpful were the small graphics showing the wire colors and voltages that popped up when needed. Very well done. There's a reason vids like this stay here for years, they are so well done and 'serviceable' that they continue to help folks long after they're posted. Thank you for taking the time to produce and share such a well-done video.

@danermanerkider 9 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for this video. You make it so simple and easy to follow, and the diagrams of the pinouts are very helpful. Thanks again.

@Britec09 11 жыл бұрын

Your welcome Sam, have a great weekend.

@powellgammill4265 8 жыл бұрын

Wow, the first video I have seen where a person puts the PSU under load and uses a VOM. Thank you. The specs call for all voltages to fall within 5% plus or minus of their rated voltage or 10% for the -12V line.

@phippsdl 10 жыл бұрын

Thanks - as someone who didn't know one end of the multimeter from the other, this was just what I needed!

@jokejong9414 9 жыл бұрын

I think it's very clear, concise, and I just did my testing of a suspected faulty PSU and the reading is great. i am using a micro-ATX PSU, as such, I don't have a tester other than my multi-meter. :)

@Britec09 12 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the kind words, glad I could help you out.

@BenjyDale 11 жыл бұрын

I've done PC building before and some hardware diagnostics (Memtest, Seatools etc) but I now got a couple of PSUs that I need to test. Just to echo the comments on here - it's very clear and well done how-to guide. Thanks for taking the time to record it :-)

@Britec09 12 жыл бұрын

@fixitdaz yeah will be doing full screen hopefully when I get me tripod and when I sort the work shop out.

@Anthony_in_Bloomington_Indiana 8 жыл бұрын

Thank you Brian! You made this easy to follow. I needed to test my power supply, specifically the number 8, gray wire, which is the Power Okay wire. It is supposed to have 5 volts; it has 4.8 volts. I suppose that is good enough. The motherboard is an old Abit IP35-E. It will not boot with a Seagate, mechanical hard drive. It boots and runs fine with a solid state drive. I did some reading and surprise, this was a common problem with motherboards that have an IP35 chipset. I need a power supply with more power! Specifically it needs more than 28 amperes on the 12 volt rail. If only all of life's problems could be solved with shopping. A happy April to you!

@bikemannc 6 жыл бұрын

Excellent,clear,concise, and simple to copy his actions in using a volt/ohm meter TY!!

@Britec09 12 жыл бұрын

@fixitdaz yeah will be doing full screen hopefully when I get me tripod and when I sort the work shop out. Wont be to the summer I don't think.

@alreid12345 12 жыл бұрын

Hey Britec, loving the new style videos with that hands on feel !!!. Keep up the awesome channel and keep the content coming. Thanks for all your hard work !!!. Al Reid

@alanelli0tt22 9 жыл бұрын

Just watched this vid and have to say it is the most precise and helpful I've seen...big thanks...

@vman2kay 12 жыл бұрын

First time I've heard where someone says to not put the paperclip in while the PSU is live. Good safety advice!

@Britec09 12 жыл бұрын

@Tuscopa Your welcome mate, its just a basic guide really.

@myelibrary 6 жыл бұрын

I found this video very useful. I really don't understand all those negative comments. I'm all for constructive criticism but this guy went out of his way to explain something that will help a lot of of us diagnose problems with our psu. Keep up the good work

@Britec09 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks, you will always get negative people in this world, they have nothing better to do then look on KZfaq and troll peoples content with all there great advise and they never make content themselves, strange that.

@K2teknik. 5 жыл бұрын

@@Britec09 What did you show in this video? How to connect a PC PSU so it can startup, and how to measure that voltage is present (under a very small load), it is a very limit test so to speak, but it may be very helpful in some cases, but not all. The trolls you see are negative for a reason, and that is that you are doing things in a way that may lead to more damage than needed, especially if you take into consideration the target viewers of this video armatures that wants to fix their own PC, these often have no idea about what they are dealing with and the risk involved.

@sp1der32 6 жыл бұрын

Excellent tutorial, this is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks so much!

@cistecpty 8 жыл бұрын

as per usual another great step by step for us dummies tutorials...Old but good thread. Thanks and keep them coming.

@Britec09 12 жыл бұрын

Thanks, it means a lot when people appreciate my videos.

@Ferocious_Imbecile 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Brian. Very useful. And Larkspeed's criticisms are good ones. Hope to see more in the future.

@4dino 10 жыл бұрын

Great idea to test PSU before starting any computer build, takes a load off my mind. Ha no pun intended. Thanks so much :) D

@fixitdaz 12 жыл бұрын

Love the new hands on Videos Brian,Cheers Buddy.

@TaliaRus01 12 жыл бұрын

Your tutorial is very helpful :) I can say this one is the best I could find so far.

@francisantonburgess8555 6 жыл бұрын

Very clear and informative. Thanks mate!

@coleygwin2034 11 жыл бұрын

bought one of the small 'fix all ' " Dr. Power " and was glad to see an alterative to check the results

@Britec09 11 жыл бұрын

Thanks, glad it helped you fix your pc

@gasperkalan3079 8 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Simple & clear.

@sharlinespinal3287 6 жыл бұрын

Thank you for teaching me about this Britec09!

@Britec09 12 жыл бұрын

@drainocleanser If you have blown caps *capacitors* then these will need to be replaced.

@fidanbajrami3286 10 жыл бұрын

Yea, DO NOT push in that pin like that, you will widen up the connector pins and mess up the the connection with you motherboard.

@robsinHL 4 жыл бұрын

You could just touch the surface of the female connector in the cable too. Don't have to plunge it in there so it sticks in tightly (and expanding the metal), just touching the metal contact is fine.

@roarkshsha 11 жыл бұрын

Clearly explained. Well organized. Thanks.

@elektrikhd 2 жыл бұрын

Very helpful! Confirmed a suspected bad power supply, voltages were all over the place, some too high.

@willybui1980 12 жыл бұрын

Britec tutorial is number 1. Thank you so much

@bizuabeje1738 8 жыл бұрын

Great presentation. Thanks

@christopherwolf2002 10 жыл бұрын

that was an awesome video. I appreciate it as I am either having trouble with my psu or my motherboard. Will be running this test tomorrow.

@Britec09 12 жыл бұрын

@gocountry1391 Your welcome mate.

@oliverhill113 9 жыл бұрын

Thanks Britec. Very helpful.

@TheKurtsPlaceChannel 11 жыл бұрын

Great video. Helped me fix my computer to boot. Easy to understand too.

@KageKevSama 11 жыл бұрын

Good tutorial, helped me out. Thank you!

@bute6838 2 жыл бұрын

Very good video.Simple and clear.Thanks.

@TimsComputerRepair 12 жыл бұрын

Great video there and good quality also....Thanks for this.

@hikerJohn 2 жыл бұрын

You dont have to put the tester probe on a black ground wire, you can use the power supply metal housing (one of the threaded screw holes) so you dont have to juggle it . . . but test all the grounds first as well

@Britec09 12 жыл бұрын

@fixitdaz hopefully when I get me tripod and when I sort the work shop out.i be able to do full screen...but it Wont be to the summer I don't think.

@jimosullivan1389 Жыл бұрын

Just what I needed. No American noise and hype. thanks bri.

@SubhanToba 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for making this easy for us beginners :)

@Lets-Drone-With-Bone 10 жыл бұрын

great tutorial! learnt a lot from this, thanks for sharing :-)

@Britec09 10 жыл бұрын

Wayne Beeston glad you liked it Wayne

@finlx 8 жыл бұрын

+Britec09 should the fan start up straight away? I just bought the psu but I don't have my other parts yet so I plugged it in and turned it on and the fan didn't start spinning. Is this normal?

@Molko701 8 жыл бұрын

+finlx some psu's need a load attached before they turn on and you see the fan spin....

@tebsumbong3039 8 жыл бұрын

+Britec09 My -5V does not have any reading, where do I go to fix it? thanks

@powellgammill4265 8 жыл бұрын

+tebsum Bong -5V was used by the ISA slots. Are you even old enough to remember what an ISA slot is? lol -5V was dropped from the ATX specs a long time ago (rev.1.2; completely removed in 2.01). There hasn't been a pinout for it in some time. Unfortunately some PSU suppliers/makers still list it. It should read zero if using one of those "PSU Testers."

@reprovoa2408 11 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the upload!

@OmenX13 12 жыл бұрын

Another good tutorial - Thanks.

@angelandujar9653 10 жыл бұрын

Every video this guy make is so usefull. ty vm for giving from your time to make this videos make my life way easier. Unfortunately the PSU im trying to test right now don't have the power button on the back. What I can do?

@Britec09 12 жыл бұрын

@wtbm123 Yeah they work OK for a cheap multimeter

@AdamShepard 4 жыл бұрын

this is a pretty old video but it still comes up when searching this problem so to anyone that sees this: MAKE SURE you wrap the jump cable to power the supply on with some kind of electrical tape before inserting. Second, before jumping remove the AC Cable from the unit and make sure the switch is set to off. This is just a little common sense tip to not get a zap.

@vontar1 7 жыл бұрын

Thank you. Don't know why this would be voted down. Good info. I have a 700 watt I need to test after a MB fried last night. (fried while testing an older hard drive. ) I hope the other drives/PS survived.

@vladislavkaras491 2 жыл бұрын

Great video. Thanks!

@HudballzHD 10 жыл бұрын

Very well done video!.

@123martome 11 жыл бұрын

Appriciate your time and effort in making these video's.allways verry clear and informative.A big help for people like me and theres no reason at all to be negative about any of your vidios....many thanks martome123

@wtbm123 12 жыл бұрын

Nice video. I have the same multimeter, but with out the blue cover

@squirrelattackspidy 9 жыл бұрын

Can you use a hard drive with a molex connector if you don't have a fan with a molex connector? Can you tell me what the plus or minus range would be with the various voltages? How many devices should you hook up to be safe? Reason I'm asking. I just did a motherboard switch. Case fan and power supply comes on. CPU fan is moving really slow then everything stops after a bit. The PSU was working fine just hours ago with another motherboard and the same components. Trying to figure out if it's the motherboard, CPU or power supply. I'm not even getting to the bios screen and I'm not getting any error beeps from the speaker. Thanks! edit: isn't your -12 volt out of spec? You are at 11.03 and spec is supposed to be -11.4 to -12.6

@JesseReinosa 7 жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot mate! You are the best

@Britec09 11 жыл бұрын

There is a lot of testing sites that you list all your items your have in PC and it will tell you the power it will need to run this hardware, then just buy a PSU bit higher than you need. Example: if you PC needs 450w to run then buy a 650w in case you want to add more hardware later.

@mikejarekey9082 5 жыл бұрын

Nice Job. Thank you!

@iceloop26 11 жыл бұрын

Thanks... I got a multimeter from my brother to test my PSU.. never used one before so thanks alot for that. p.s. turns out my psu is fine so you just saved me hours of debugging work!

@mikheildolidze 9 жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot. Just what I was looking for; simple and clear. U-shape clip could be shorter tho...

@trx3264 9 жыл бұрын

Very nice, thanks!

@breemojo 10 жыл бұрын

Awesome vid, thanks mate

@joe35lok 9 жыл бұрын

And for safety it is a good idea to use a piece of heat-shrinking tube or electrical tape to insulate the paperclip.

@RichardTurlington Жыл бұрын

I agree. Kind of janky to leave that giant loop of a paper clip hanging out there. What if you accidentally touch it to something else grounded in your vicinity? "Just be careful" isn't good enough - unless you like fireworks and replacing gear.

@mikej5337 11 жыл бұрын

very helpful. thank you!

@garywhitehouse8096 9 жыл бұрын

Thanks very much it's a great video works perfectly

@davidgoodwin6546 10 жыл бұрын

another great vid by Britec. So helpful learning so much thank you

@Britec09 10 жыл бұрын

david goodwin glad I could help, have a great weekend.

@moeburn 10 жыл бұрын

great vid, thanks for your help! very concise and easy to understand, not too much extra information or blabbering on like some vids. however, in the future, you might want to make sure the lighting/sunlight/window is behind you, rather than in front of you, because it kinda silhouetted the coloured connectors, making it hard to see which colours were which.

@williampollard4759 4 жыл бұрын

Awesome video. Very informative. One point though, when your showing the close up of the motherboard power connector block, a head light would have illuminated the colours better

@highlinder1968 12 жыл бұрын

Great video there Brian , always seem to use a bit of wire myself but it does have sheilding on it just inase I do hit it.

@sansosano7473 11 жыл бұрын

Thanks, I almost bought one of those tester while I have multimeter, my Q? do I need to change PSU if reads less than 11V or 4V or how to know the unit is in good condition!

@train4905 10 ай бұрын

Absolutely awsome help brian, Big thanku sir,,😊😊

@mo7madamir437 11 жыл бұрын

I appreciate in the world there are a lot of people know but a not a lot of people want you to know what they know so thanks you helped me I am from Syria

@Injetta1 8 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the help, was usefull.

@beastmaster59 10 жыл бұрын

Great Video!!!

@jviezel 6 жыл бұрын

Great video! Used this to diagnose problem on my Linux box

@S_RaccoonPotatoWizard 5 жыл бұрын

Great stuff!! Cheers

@kcsmjs91408 11 жыл бұрын

very good the pop-up pictures gave a lot of useful information

@Britec09 12 жыл бұрын

@highlinder1968 Good point....Always best to play it safe really. but then its the same with anti static wristband? where uses them? no one.

@moeburn 10 жыл бұрын

What it sounds like is happening is either that your PSU can't deliver the current/wattage that your HP is asking for, or that the voltage is dropping when the PSU warms up. If you can learn how to measure voltage while the PC is running, you should see that the voltage slowly dips as the PSU warms up, OR when you start running lots of cpu/gpu intensive programs/games on the pc. Once the voltage dips too low, below a certain point, the whole PC might shut off.

@Britec09 12 жыл бұрын

@zx8401ztv Yeah I use a better multimeter myself, brought both these products in Maplin just for this video to show you can still do it on the cheap. Also did not have enough room on the table for more hardware, to get more load. but all in all it worked out OK. You have valid points there that need to be said so good on you, thanks.

@zx8401ztv 12 жыл бұрын

Smashing vid brian :-) I have one of those meters as well, it was about 7-8 quid at maplin in coventry. The a.c range i would take with a pinch of salt as it gets confused with a hint of dc bias. The slight over and under voltage shown is often because the psu needs a medium load like a couple of hard drives plugged in, older systems used a ballast resistor to acheave it in a small pc where the loading was too light. This info is for the readers, not for you as you know all this :-)

@norbertrivera 10 жыл бұрын

Thanks for share

@bystroffc 8 жыл бұрын

Thanks Brian. How low a voltage should cause me to worry? For a pin listed as 3.3V I saw about 2.5V

@BlockABoots 4 жыл бұрын

what does it mean when you get a negative symbol appear in front of the voltage reading, i DO have the correct mm probes touch ground and live on the psu btw

@sjaskaran43 6 жыл бұрын

thanks i learn very easily

@alex50970 10 жыл бұрын

superb vidioclipu toate multumirirle :)

@moeburn 10 жыл бұрын

if a PSU had a bad capacitor, it probably doesn't mean the GPU was 'underpowered', it means that the power was 'dirty'. If you are referring to the bigger capacitors inside the PSU, they are there to filter or 'clean' the power so it doesn't go up and down too fast (because that is a side effect of converting AC to DC). If one of those capacitors die, the PSU might still work, but now the power is 'dirty', and it stressed out your GPU, possibly breaking it.