I have a power supply that I accidently killed. It has a sophisticated protection system built into it, and I'm going to attempt to fix it. I'm just worried about sending 300V through my body. How can I discharge this thing properly? I have it plugged into the wall, with the power on wire tripped. It's has been there for over week like this, and has been sitting for over a month. Is it discharged?
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Power supply fully discharged?
- Thread starter FireBean
- Start date
Generally speaking, don't ground yourself and you shouldn't have issues. If you're wanting to be extra careful just wear a pair of rubber/latex/vinyl/nitrile gloves to prevent contact.
Also, why would you plug it into the wall if you want it to discharge? I've never discharged a power supply before, but generally the way to discharge a cap or battery is to remove it from its power source, connect it to a resistor, and let it sit till the indicator goes off (depending on which resistor you use). I like using light bulbs and LEDs depending on which circuit I'm discharging.
Also, why would you plug it into the wall if you want it to discharge? I've never discharged a power supply before, but generally the way to discharge a cap or battery is to remove it from its power source, connect it to a resistor, and let it sit till the indicator goes off (depending on which resistor you use). I like using light bulbs and LEDs depending on which circuit I'm discharging.
if its plugged in, im going to safely say its not discharged.
if you are opening up a power supply, you should have a multimeter. so take your multimeter and measure the voltage on all of the large caps. that will tell you exactly if they are charged or not. if they are not, short the green power on (PW_ON) line from the ATX cable with any of the black ground wires. this will drain the caps faster than just letting them sit there.
if you dont have or know what a multimeter is, you shouldnt be playing with dangerous amounts of voltage.
if you are opening up a power supply, you should have a multimeter. so take your multimeter and measure the voltage on all of the large caps. that will tell you exactly if they are charged or not. if they are not, short the green power on (PW_ON) line from the ATX cable with any of the black ground wires. this will drain the caps faster than just letting them sit there.
if you dont have or know what a multimeter is, you shouldnt be playing with dangerous amounts of voltage.
Thanks Ghost and Henley. I do know what a multimeter is 
. I just did know that my having it unplugged will discharge it because I didn't think the current had anywhere to do. I will definitely create a discharge device with a resistor and light bulb after testing the caps. Thank again!
. I just did know that my having it unplugged will discharge it because I didn't think the current had anywhere to do. I will definitely create a discharge device with a resistor and light bulb after testing the caps. Thank again!