I know messing with a PSU isn't a good idea at all. But I blew out my PSU with an accident that happened with the power cord. It's a 350 watt, and because it's blown I had to switch to a 250. I'd rather perfer my 350 back, but no money to buy a new one. My dad took a look at it and said the fuse went out and that he could replace it. Good idea or no?
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PSU blown, replace fuse?
- Thread starter Lofapoo
- Start date
BillLeeLee
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2003
- Messages
- 13,486
Umm, no, I wouldn't go around replacing fuses in that thing. I wouldn't take the risk, and neither should your dad.
Good Fortrons are very affordable. I'd look into those rather than screwing around inside the PSU near the capacitors risking my life.
Good Fortrons are very affordable. I'd look into those rather than screwing around inside the PSU near the capacitors risking my life.
its ok, i ve done stuff like that...modding my powersupply, adding lights in it, changing fans, etc
you just gotta be EXTREMELY CAREFUL
wear like 10 layers of rubber gloves and try grounding all the capacitors first... u could ground it by puttin a wire in the ground hole in ur wall outleft (if you have one) and then take the tip of the wire and touch all the capacitors tip
i heard that one sumwhere.. should work
if your gonna take any risks, use ALL precautions you can think of
good luck but BE CAREFUL...those capacitors and stuff inside can kill or injure badly/permanently
you just gotta be EXTREMELY CAREFUL
wear like 10 layers of rubber gloves and try grounding all the capacitors first... u could ground it by puttin a wire in the ground hole in ur wall outleft (if you have one) and then take the tip of the wire and touch all the capacitors tip
i heard that one sumwhere.. should work
if your gonna take any risks, use ALL precautions you can think of
good luck but BE CAREFUL...those capacitors and stuff inside can kill or injure badly/permanently
ChingChang
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2003
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- 6,504
I am pretty sure replacings components is different than adding lights and fans 
you gotta be exact, but I guess if he knows what he is doing it should be alright. How does he know it was just the fuse that was blown?
And I'm not sure about this, but I don't think the capacitors in a PSU could kill you, but they will give you a shock if it has been powered up recently. I would wait like a week with it unplugged or discharge it like wayne said, until I mess with it.
you gotta be exact, but I guess if he knows what he is doing it should be alright. How does he know it was just the fuse that was blown?And I'm not sure about this, but I don't think the capacitors in a PSU could kill you, but they will give you a shock if it has been powered up recently. I would wait like a week with it unplugged or discharge it like wayne said, until I mess with it.
lil layzie
Gawd
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2004
- Messages
- 755
That happened to me before. I have this cheap generic 300w psu. On this hot summer day, I was playing a game of Starcraft. Then all of a sudden I hear some crackling and finnally a little pop. My whole system shut down. I didn't know what was wrong. I was a noob at the time. So I called up my uncle to ask what was wrong and explained to him what happened and he said your PSU is broken.
So he came over and took out my PSU, opened it up, replaced the fuse with a new one and put it back in my system. Been running fine for about 2+ years. Until I bought another hard drive to add to my system and it had a hard time booting up, so I just got a new PSU.
So yes it could be done, but you have to be extremely careful. Since a good quality PSU is pretty cheap now and days, it might be better to not worth the risk and just buy another PSU or something.
So he came over and took out my PSU, opened it up, replaced the fuse with a new one and put it back in my system. Been running fine for about 2+ years. Until I bought another hard drive to add to my system and it had a hard time booting up, so I just got a new PSU.
So yes it could be done, but you have to be extremely careful. Since a good quality PSU is pretty cheap now and days, it might be better to not worth the risk and just buy another PSU or something.
if the fuse is just clipped into a nice holder, it should be a piece of cake. pop it out (a pliers with rubber grip would be ideal), figure out the size (it's engraved in the metal on the end, votls and Amps) and get a $.20 replacement.
but more than likely it will soldered to contacts, and not clipped in. Which makes it signifigantly more difficult, and probably more dangerous, as you'll need to have fingers down in there to handle everything. If you don't already have the tools to desolder, don't try it. I doubt you have enough experience dealing with this stuff to do it safely and correctly.
but more than likely it will soldered to contacts, and not clipped in. Which makes it signifigantly more difficult, and probably more dangerous, as you'll need to have fingers down in there to handle everything. If you don't already have the tools to desolder, don't try it. I doubt you have enough experience dealing with this stuff to do it safely and correctly.
If you work on the power supply DO NOT GROUND YOURSELF!
I REPEAT DO NOT GROUND YOURSELF!
Its better to have some thick rubber boots and stand on carpet or a block of wood. If you are working with the power supply and you do get shocked the electricity will find the best path to the ground. And if you happen to be standing on the concrete floor in the garage and barefoot, then you would be Uber screwed.
If you want to quickly drain the power out of a psu. It has always worked for me and it should work for all psu but still take caution that the shock may still be there but it is unlikely.
With the power supply unplugged from the wall outlet. Just connect the green lead to the ground on the atx connector to power on the psu. The power supply will attempt to start up and thus using up all the power reserves in the capacitors. After that you should be safe from shocks. I havent had a before but dont come after me with a lawyer if you get ur ass fried off.
As for changing the soldered in fuses. there are 2 ways to do it.
If you just want to desolder it then use pliers and break the glass in the middle. It will make the two metal ends easier to work with. After that just desolder as usual. When attaching use the pliers to hold the new fuse on the glass part instead of using your fingers since the glass will heat up.
The second way is to use a wire cutter and cut off the ends of the fuse and solder on a fuse holder(the things where the fuse goes into a slot) If you do this and have to replace the fuse later on it will make it a lot easier. But initially there will be more work to do because you will need to take out the PCB of the power supply to be able to desolder and resolder the leads. However to do any of this you will need some soldering experience.
All in all. Be careful and you should be ok. I have worked with countless power supplies and monitors and so far no problems. Well except for that one time i accidentally blew up a power supply, but thats a story for next time
Good Luck!
I REPEAT DO NOT GROUND YOURSELF!
Its better to have some thick rubber boots and stand on carpet or a block of wood. If you are working with the power supply and you do get shocked the electricity will find the best path to the ground. And if you happen to be standing on the concrete floor in the garage and barefoot, then you would be Uber screwed.
If you want to quickly drain the power out of a psu. It has always worked for me and it should work for all psu but still take caution that the shock may still be there but it is unlikely.
With the power supply unplugged from the wall outlet. Just connect the green lead to the ground on the atx connector to power on the psu. The power supply will attempt to start up and thus using up all the power reserves in the capacitors. After that you should be safe from shocks. I havent had a before but dont come after me with a lawyer if you get ur ass fried off.
As for changing the soldered in fuses. there are 2 ways to do it.
If you just want to desolder it then use pliers and break the glass in the middle. It will make the two metal ends easier to work with. After that just desolder as usual. When attaching use the pliers to hold the new fuse on the glass part instead of using your fingers since the glass will heat up.
The second way is to use a wire cutter and cut off the ends of the fuse and solder on a fuse holder(the things where the fuse goes into a slot) If you do this and have to replace the fuse later on it will make it a lot easier. But initially there will be more work to do because you will need to take out the PCB of the power supply to be able to desolder and resolder the leads. However to do any of this you will need some soldering experience.
All in all. Be careful and you should be ok. I have worked with countless power supplies and monitors and so far no problems. Well except for that one time i accidentally blew up a power supply, but thats a story for next time
Good Luck!
Got it a looooong time ago (over a year), even if I had a warranty it's long past expired
I don't NEED a new PSU, I'd just like my old one back if it were possible without having to buy a new one. Rather not waste money on something I could probably get fixed for free, you know?
"I", you...
Aye, it's soldered
Thanks for the input!
mustang_steve
c[H]ewbacca
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
- Messages
- 11,312
I agree, de-soldering in a PSU is somehting only experienced people whould do. Some of those components can hold a serious charge.
If you have someone that can do it, and is willing to...try to get them to solder fuse clips onto the spot the fuse was. That would allow for you to have an easily changable fuse in the future.
Or just go buy a cheap Antec for $30.
If you have someone that can do it, and is willing to...try to get them to solder fuse clips onto the spot the fuse was. That would allow for you to have an easily changable fuse in the future.
Or just go buy a cheap Antec for $30.
I suppose you could solder the fuse, but rather than go through the hassle of replacing the fuse (providing its the fuse), finding/buying a soldering iron, doing/getting done suspect work, your time might be better spent getting a job to buy the new psu, if you already have a job, cut back on something to afford it.