Corsair Video FAQ: How to test a Corsair power supply

[KrayZJool]

i used this awesome tip on my old be-quiet 520w psu earlier, and.. it blew the fuck up!.. a loud BANG!, sparks, and lots of smoke..

naturally, i do not reccomend repeating this :P

[MrGrandDragon]

The problem is this test only simulates low load. The moment you plug the 24pin in to the motherboard the PSU will be under more load.

I tried this with my defected AX series and it worked fine, but the moment I connected it back into my system the power LED turned on for a few seconds and then died out...

I bought a new PSU and everything is fine...

[CreatureUK]

My psu is an AX850 and all the cables are black, anyone know how can make out which is the green wire and which one is the correct black?

[MrGrandDragon]

@CreatureUK

Yep, you need to use the 3rd and 4th hole (on the right) from the missing connector in the bottom row.

[][][][]o[][][][black wire][green wire][][][]

I hope this helps!

If not simply type in "How-to Test Your Corsair Power Supply" in google and follow the blog where it will show you how to do it. :)

[TheOldalf]

after you done that try touching the paper thingy that u used, if you get shocked, don't blame me

[dmxdex]

would a staple work?

[JaiLaAus]

Just tried this on my Viper 1000w psu and it worked great. Was able to power up all my case fans and fan controller. Thank you!

[HoShiiJii]

Well this at least let me know my PSU isn't fried.

Still no idea what is up though.

[ScytheNoire]

Except your AX series has all black wires.

[cigarjohn42]

Excellant. It worked perfectly with my Antec HCP-1200. Great video. Thank you.

[Xpert30]

You didn't invent America, dude, cuz this check is applicable to all PSUs not Corsair PSU only.

[supersurfer888]

are you fucking kidding me?!

[dbddbddbz]

this looks dangerous as fuck.

[omartechgeek2011]

song?????????

[MrKontrol90]

what hapens if you touch the clip when the power is on ?

[zippypop34]

@MrKontrol90 touch it with your tongue

[MrKontrol90]

@zippypop34 lol i`ll try :)

[oOElTigreOo]

@MrKontrol90 Nothing...it's grounded just like your body. Sorry I know this was two months ago, lol. Even if you just place in the green wire and not ground it to the black wire you still wont get any results because your body is grounded and you also wont get a reading on your meter because the circuit isn't complete.

[00Docholiday]

Just tested this with my hx1050 and one case fan and both spun once and died. Does this mean it's facked?

[shadowdestroy61]

lololol,ololololol

[Tony2438]

Shocking

[Cliffrison]

I touched the paper clip after I switched on my power supply and I died :(

[omartechgeek2011]

introduction song????

[jewie27]

Insert paperclip into wall socket lol

[WILK0777]

@MJBDC7 Use the ATX pinout (noting the shape of the plastic surrounding the pins to determine orientation) to find the PS_on pin.

You can find the pinout on the ATX page of wiki.

As you can see from the table on the left, the 4th pin on the right, which is PS_on, is the one which usually has the green wire. The pins which usually have black wires are the COM pins (short for common ground).

[TheTemplai]

I watched the video again and I've understood that the PSU won't power on unless there's a signal being sent from the motherboard to it. Is this correct?

[TheTemplai]

I plugged my brand new PSU into the wall and the fan didn't spin! I'm still waiting for some components to arrive so there's not much I can do right now. Is it a defective unit or does It need some amount of load so it can turn on? I guess it needs some load but I'm not sure. All I know is that I plugged it into the wall and the fan didn't star spinning. It's a Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 1000w.

I'd appreciate some help here, thanks.

[schordan]

3 people fudged up their psu

[xerxethegreat]

dont cheap out on ur psu buy corsair/seasonic/pcpower&cooli­ng/enermax/ AND STAY AWAY FROM ANTECH (BELIEVE IT)!!!!

[PhotonicDoctor]

@xerxethegreat well of course not. PSU cpu, mobo are the single most important components. Too much drink baby, or not enough and kiss it all good bye.

[LAHrebirth]

i'm a noob and all but isn't this stupid and dangerous??

first off just because a power supply is disconnected you should not take it apart or plug foregin objects into it, even a trained technician may not open it up (this includes montiors)

resistors STILL can contain enough power to kill a person EVEN when unplugged. This is why they are sent back to the makers as they have proper labs to test it...and even then its usually just cheaper and safer to replace

[vamparik]

@LAHrebirth

no this is actually a fairly standard procedure, it isn't stupid, and it isn't dangerous if you know what you are doing, dont just jam metal objects into any pc component, however testing a psu in such a way the video demonstrates.

however something that bothers me is that people put too much trust in "the guy who sold me the pc/parts" most of the time this guy is just a store clerk, he knows the name and price of pc parts, and sometimes a couple specs and requirements

[RischelBoy]

This is not idiot proof, as I tested one of my old PSU, that I suspected was broken, this way. Worked fine when tested like this. In computer, not so much. Just telling you guys out there that this is possibly lethal when shit hits the fan. So be careful before testing. I disagree with that you should flip the PSU switch last, the switch on the wall is better as a last step. Other than that, this is a good guide, for an easy test.

[mkiv15]

touch the paperclip to die?

[Terry1212]

@mkiv15 I doubt it. It's just the motherboard signal, probably just a few volts if that.

[itouchhacker241]

@mkiv15 paperclip only has a low voltage running through it

[galaxiesaver]

@mkiv15 haha yeah . thats the first thought, but the current is so low you dont feel anything (no i dont mean a fast death). it doesnt give you even a small shock whatsoever. its very safe id say

[hautedaug]

So, now I need a video detailing how to connect the fan to one of the power supply dongles.

[coolcar77]

I NEED SOME HELP!!

the only way to get my computer to boot is using this way

ie what is wrong with my motherboard

so what can i do no matter what i do the power button i have switched the mother bord signel has stoped working what can i do

[LAHrebirth]

@coolcar77 your motherboard is faulty or dead possibly, as stated I am a noob but even being noobish it sounds like its a system board failture

on the other hand i could be wrong without knowing more of whats happening i.e does it beep ? i.e if it beeps the board might be working, although you still could hear a beep and still be a board problem

even a technician uses the isolationg method...i.e test the power with a working board

test system with certain ram pulled out or new ram altogether

[ozahid89]

Not true. This doesn't mean that the PSU is supplying enough power to the system. Next step, take a multimeter and compare the voltages from the PSU with the threshold voltage from the data sheet.

[smartieslife]

The only problem with this video is the Cosair AX850 GOLD series has all black wires... Cosair will have to make another video for that one. I thought about doing the paperclip test but what if I put the paperclip in the wrong wires? I think I will just spend a few dollars and buy a PSU voltage tester to be safe.

[cokefan3]

Well i just found out my psu wasnt working because the HD Sound "ground" wire was reversed from the case.

Btw this technique worked, and told me that my psu wasnt the problem. Guys please note, NEVER DO THIS IF YOUR PSU DOES NOT HAVE A LOAD (Always connect it to something like a cpu fan when doing this test) If not, bad stuff will happen....

[Runaholism]

Thanks, now you owe me a fire extinguisher.

[circus2112]

fuck corsair, I've just bought this and it's DOA. when I am doing this test the fans are spinning very slow and just for a few seconds.

[picbuck]

Explains one thing and explains it well. Really a well done vid.

[lucas4ovwales]

could i use a dvd drive to test it instead of the case fan? coz i only have the psu and dvd drive for my new build, the rest of the parts arent getting bought for like 3 months

[amexnamedluis]

Corsair makes great quality PSU's

[twoPEU]

anyway this info here is very helfull...10x to Corsair

[twoPEU]

i bought CoolerMaster PSU and it works great :p

[Anton338]

lol I just got my 650 in the mail yesterday. x.x

it died this morning T.T

RMA via corsair! xD

[bobbysam232]

How to jump your psu

[criticnic]

thanks for this vid! first time builder, wanted to make sure my power supply worked and this test worked.

[Ubookz]

I have the vx550 for a new build-and my case did not ship yet so I wanted to try a scythe flex 1200rpm fan I also got, I plugged it into the new supply and turned it on and....nothing...doa?you know I didn't want to go through an install and all the cable management to find out it was faulty. Glad I found this vid-it tested fine with the jumper!

It would not hurt to put a little note in the manual about this and save a little stress for the end user

[1991Luk]

@mindhaze you are stupid....you didn't even try!Even my friend,wich is very stupid didn't messed it up!you are a liar

[mindhaze]

@1991Luk Learn some grammar kiddo.

[mindhaze]

I just did that and smoke came out of it. Fuck.

[qwertybotlol]

@mindhaze you did it wrong.

[mindhaze]

@qwertybotlol Actually I did it the exact same way 3 times and ironically it works. But thanks for jumping to such a bold conclusion.

[qwertybotlol]

@mindhaze glad to hear it works then. hehe. sometimes electronics mess with you.

[mindhaze]

@qwertybotlol Got that right!

[CVRealMan]

@mindhaze in all fairness the test worked. it showed that it was working... :P

[abacusasian]

@mindhaze i feel you :( mine just died yesterday

[Asheface11]

@mindhaze LMFAO

[wideopenthrottl]

If the PSU fan and molex fan spin only for a second then stop does that mean the PSU is bad?

[JustPassingBy2010]

Corsair , you are the best ! I have your memoty ram and i have that hx 1000 for 1 year and half , everything is running smooth.

Thank you.

[ghaibboy]

is this unit has a silent feature ?

because.. im using PC for audio recording...

[costi08]

Maybe the 12v+ rail is working but the 5v or 3.3v could not work :-" in this case you should get a multimetter at measure the output betwen a black and a red wire for 5v+ and a orange for 3,3v to see if it's ok :D

[uzaiyaro]

@costi08 Or get a power supply tester. You can get them for $10 in some computer shops, probably cheaper on ebay.

[kvvk1337]

wauw pretty amazing, very usefull! thanks alot

[SandmanGodslayer]

Very useful, I doubt if I check the voltage or the power of the PSU are normal making that connection with a multimeter? Thanks!

[ottoyu101]

yes. connect it at places such as the molex.

[jester1176]

I had no idea you could do this.

[puppetmassster]

Sweet. So what pins do I need to bridge to make my psu immediately burst into flames?

[Deluxeta]

@puppetmassster +12V to +5V

[geaforcer]

@puppetmassster try to bridge all yellows with black :P paff! and some smoke will be shown :P

[zver711]

This is pretty useful, thanks.