Help need to test new power supply

[papapet_2000]

Hi

I'm building my own system for the first time. I order alll parts from newegg. I just received the power supply and I would like to make sure it works before the other parts arrive. It is a hec X-Power Pro 600 600W Continuous @ 40°C ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply. It has blue LED's and 2 fans. I plug it in as is and turn it on and the fans don't move the LED's don't light up and it makes no noise. Should the LED's at least be turning on? How do I know if this is workiing?

Thanks
Pete

 

[v1zzle]

I recommend buying a power supply tester at your local computer store, very handy tool.

 

[4745454b]

ATX PSUs don't work like that. First, nearly all need a load on them when you turn them on. If you don't, they will kill themselves. Second, the switch in the back doesn't turn on the PSU like the old AT ones. The PSU needs to get a signal from the motherboard to turn on. I could tell you how to send the signal by grounding certain wires in the 24 pin bundle, but I get the feeling you don't need to worry about it. Hec isn't awesome, but its not a horrible brand either. Wait for the parts to arrive, then plug it all in.

 

[papapet_2000]

Thanks! I was worried. I will wait for the parts to come in.

 

[jsc]

Plug it into the AC outlet and turn it on. Then use a bare paperclip to temporarily (say 1 second or so) short the reen wire to one of the neighboring black wires.

The fan should be enough load for the PSU.

Keep in mind that this is a no load test and that there is no guarantee that the PSU will work under load. But if the fan does not spin up, the PSU is dead.

 

[Billybluff]

Solder 2 light-bulbs (one 55W 12V car headlight ) the other 12 V light onto a discarded male connector of a hard disk. The 55w light-bulb between yellow and black wires the other between red and black. Fit on the PS in question, and temp. tip the softstart pin (usually orange sometimes green) to ground (any black wire) with a paper-clip. If both lights lite-up the PS is good.

 

[bonoz]

Couldn't I just use a multimeter instead of soldering light bulbs?

 

[bonoz]

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolsofthetrade/ht/power-supply-test-multimeter.htm

 

[Billybluff]

A multi-meter draws to little current when measuring voltage because of its high impedance to keep the PSU "alive". Using a multimeter to measure current with no extra series resistor creates a short-curcuit and blows up a fuse in the meter. Besides doing it the way I described you don't have to remove the PSU, just disconnect a hard-drive and master cable from the motherboard.

 

[papapet_2000]

Best answer selected by Papapet_2000.

 

[TheStig47]

Plug it into the AC outlet and turn it on. Then use a bare paperclip to temporarily (say 1 second or so) short the reen wire to one of the neighboring black wires.

The fan should be enough load for the PSU.

Keep in mind that this is a no load test and that there is no guarantee that the PSU will work under load. But if the fan does not spin up, the PSU is dead.

Your test method is correct, however, for the sake of safety, it's best to use a wire or paperclip to connect the green wire to the black BEFORE plugging the PSU into an AC outlet. Too, the PSU power switch, if it has one, should be OFF. Once the green to black connection has been made, plug into wall outlet (not power-strip - directly to wall) and turn on. The PSU fan should spin to indicate that it works.