How to Test a PC Power Supply | Jumper Wire, PSU Tester, and Multimeter

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Күн бұрын

How to Test a PC Power Supply | Jumper Wire, PSU Tester, and Multimeter
CompTIA A+ Hardware - 220-1101 Exam Prep
#powersupply #howto #comptia
In this video, I demonstrate how to test your computer power supply. I review three different options that you can use to test your PSU and explain each in detail.
Timestamps
Intro 00:00
Symptoms 00:53
Three Options 01:20
Jumper Bridge 02:02
Jumper Wire 02:42
PSU Tester 03:30
Multimeter 05:24
Conclusion 08:03
Power Supply Cables Explained - • PC Power Supply Cables...
Power Supply Tester - tinyurl.com/3r6m3tk8
***Additional Info***
Standard Advanced Technology eXtended (ATX) power supplies provide + 3.3 volts, +/- 5 volts, and +/- 12 volts of DC power. Most modern components require +12 volt output.
Each voltage output circuit is referred to as a rail and can power multiple devices.
Some computer manufacturers, such as Dell or HP, produce proprietary power supplies. These power supplies might have a unique shape or use different wiring schematics on connectors.
***Most power supplies for custom builds will have all black wires for each rail. However, if you have an older or proprietary power supply, it might have yellow, red or orange wires. These colors represent specific voltages:
Yellow - 12V
Red - 5V
Orange - 3.3V
Some power supplies have a voltage switch that toggles between two voltage settings. Depending on the country, typically you can toggle the voltage switch either between 115 and 230 volts, or between 110 and 220 volts.
115 volts is used in North America.
230 volts is used in Europe.
100 volts is used in Japan.
220 volts is used in most parts of Asia.
If you test the power supply using a multimeter or power supply tester, voltage levels should be within +/- 5% of normal. If they aren't, the power supply is bad or failing and you should replace it.
12 V rail should be between 11.4 and 12.6 volts.
5 V rail should be between 4.7 and 5.25 volts.
3.3 V rail should be between 3.1 and 3.4 volts.
***IMPORTANT***
Take proper safety precautions. Power supplies carry dangerous levels of electrical current. You should:
Never ground yourself when working on a power supply.
Never open or disassemble a power supply. Always replace the entire unit.
Please LIKE if this video helped you! I appreciate it.

Пікірлер: 106

@Sharkman6275 11 ай бұрын

I'm really glad you posted this! I've been driving myself crazy with a new build, and I had to back track on everything I've done. This is the 1st build I've done in 25 years that has totally thrown me off!

@TechRated 11 ай бұрын

Glad to help! Congrats on the new build! Specs?

@Sharkman6275 11 ай бұрын

@@TechRated I'm building a gaming box with a Gigabyte B550 Auros Elite AX MB, G Skill Flare X 16G (2) DDR4, MSI Mech Radeon RX6750 XT-12GB, Antec HCG1000 Gold (Tested Bad-Returned for new unit), AMD Ryzen 7 5800X-8 Core, Gigabyte M.2-512 GB (2), and a couple of SSD's (1T total) System wouldn't boot and I purchased the tester you showed in your video. Power supply was completely dead. This has been the most frustrating build I've done in over 25 years!!! It has been making me crazy and I'm working on it in my garage in the summer, which is just making it even more difficult. lol!!

@ethancbaker2002 5 ай бұрын

@@Sharkman6275what’s your case? Nice build and hope it works

@paulh3135 Жыл бұрын

Awesome video. Very clear and concise. Thank you.

@TechRated Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the feedback! Glad it was helpful!

@starmonte 10 ай бұрын

Very help full pings 16 and 17 to test the power supply, thank you.

@MrChris79 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for making this this!

@nightflyer40 Ай бұрын

Great vid just learning this stuff very handy TY!

@chrysantdesu 7 ай бұрын

my pc keeps shutting down after 3 hours and I want to check my psu with multimeter but I can only found tutorial with colored cables of psu out there. Just wanna say thanks bc ur video guide me to test almost every pins. thank you so much!

@train4905 10 ай бұрын

Awsome demo sir,very helpfull indeed,thanku,the diagrams,brilliant😊😊

@mahuubao 9 ай бұрын

Excellent ... well done ...

@MsSims828 Ай бұрын

Just watched your video on power supply testing, good information, Thanks for sharing

@mikevelez1274 Ай бұрын

Thanks, brother. The video did really help me troubleshoot my power supply. I bought another Motherboard, and I hope that works.

@shailendraryvensingh 3 ай бұрын

Thank you so much 💜😊

@mikeheath8318 Жыл бұрын

Very helpful. My daughter is trying to build her first PC but the PC didn't show anything on the screen and no LEDs on the motherboard. The power button works and the fans come on, even the CPU fan works. I checked the CPU 8 pin connecter and measured 8.8V dc but unstable. I have returned the PSU assuming this is a fault. From your video it seesm that my diagnosis was correct. There are 8 pins but I found that only 6 are used for power, 3 positive and 3 GND. What are the other two for?

@windfire5380 9 ай бұрын

Question: Got a brandnew Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 1200W 80Plus. I tested it with 24pin and 8pin ATX cables (it has 2 8pin ATX, but only room for one on tester). All the volts are perfect. However the PG is blinking with beeping. It registers 120ms. Per standards, 100-500ms is the acceptable range. Do I have a problem?

@deadangel6142 Жыл бұрын

Great video. Thanks

@TechRated Жыл бұрын

Glad it helped and I appreciate the feedback! 👊🏼

@patriciarose8553 11 ай бұрын

Great video… lots of helpful info…❤

@dronefilmsgermany 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for this hard work. I inserted a wire to Pin 3 and 4 on the PSU MB Connector but the PSU Fan dint start. Is there a way to reset the PSU?

@frequencymanipulator Жыл бұрын

Amazing, I have one of those Amazon testers, but did not understand why it was beeping. I'm going to try with the PCIe cables and see if I can get stable readings. WIth just the big Motherboard cable connected, it does a 'LL' on one of the 12v- rails and shows slightly miss-matched 12v readings.

@kwesiwilliams1188 11 ай бұрын

Same thing for me. Also there's a wall that prevents me from connecting to three six volt connections on my cable mod cable.

@jeremywilliams8558 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for the pinout on the power supply plug. Mine just went out last night. Checked the power and reset buttons and they both checked out. Checked the power cable itself and it checked out. Pulled power supply from the case and nothing. It is completely dead.

@JosePto Жыл бұрын

What if you get something like 12.120V on Hardware Monitor? Is that fine? I'm using an MSI MPG A750GF 750W 80 Plus Gold Modular

@geneasmith5294 Жыл бұрын

Any way to test an HP L 8261-004? It has 2, 4pin connectors and 1, 3pin connector. No tutorials found on youtube or anywhere. When I push start the fan doesn't run so I guess it is bad. Would be nice to test.

@askell3738 8 ай бұрын

How do i check for ground on the psu side though? I'm trying to check for the sata output from the psu, but it's not standardized

@browsin2007 5 ай бұрын

How you test power supplies that have the 6-pin motherboard connector ?

@lancelotlalla7561 10 ай бұрын

Hi when I plug my power supply in it trips the curcuit breaker in the house,any suggestions on how to test it for short

@PrimeGorilla 4 ай бұрын

So I am getting a fluctuating volt of between 11.99v and 12.00v on 2 of the 12v connection on the pcie 8pin connector, is this okay? Using a multimeter

@roofermarc1 20 күн бұрын

What if I don't have a cable like that. Can I put a jumper on the correct pins on the board. Mine is a streamer and I don't have a cord like that. It's just a motherboard with a pico PS and some other stuff. Not powering up

@teknastyk Ай бұрын

so if i understand this correctly.. the 24pin connector layout is somewhat standardised??? all wires should lead to corresponding connectors, right? But how come when you try and shop for custom cables, you have to look for which manufacturers psu you have? Like ive been told some use different cable layout for example.. Should i watch out when buying for a psu tester or should it be standardised for all psu.s? Also us vs eu voltage? Does this mean id have to exclusively shop in europe for a european psu?? Im okay.ish with building pc by myself, i just never delved into voltages and amperages - fine electronics basicaly.. one is lack of equipment, the other is fear of breaking something expensive with like primitive tools XD

@Gutslinger Ай бұрын

My younger brother's PC stuff came today. We both have no experience in this, but I'm better at building and following instructions. The instructions said to test the power supply first. I used the jumper that came with it. I plugged it into a surge protector, like it recommended and turned it on. The fan barely twitched for a split second within turning it on, and the light in the house dimmed for a split second from turning on the button. Then about 1-2 seconds after turning it off, the fan does a slight rotation.. I'm not sure why it's reacting this way. It's odd. I noticed that the jumper blocks inside the connector are at different positions to the instructions booklet that shows how to use a jumper wire. So I tried using a jumper wire in the ports that the instruction booklet showed. But the results were the exact same. 🤦🏽 Hope I didn't ruin it by following the instructions.. Only other thing I can figure out is that maybe the surge protector that I plugged it into didn't feed it enough wattage? I would've tried plugging straight into the wall, but was afraid of destroying it, if I haven't already.

@Devil_and_Angel777 Ай бұрын

Hello sir , just want asking when every time jumper the fan just spin less then second , then spin off its that not normal but pc working fine just brought second psu 850w gold, tested in 550w bronze its just like video fan running fine, thanks

@alexartsdecorative7705 2 ай бұрын

All I see in mine is that when oowered on either connected to the mobo or with the wire short circuit as shown that the fan of the PSU tries to spin but stops, and I can hear a light buzz on it as if there is current in there, but nothing starts. If ut is connected to the mobo then there is a split second start where the fans of the PC turn fir that splitbsecind and then stops... should I remove the PSU fan and try from there? or the pin (of the PSU fan ) should be connected to di this ? Correction, when not connected the Mobo and short circuit as in video with the 2 pins there is 12v to the Gpu cable, but fan not spinning. With ir without the fan connected to the PSU there is a buzz heard in the Power supply, Now when connected to the Mobo there is no light to the mobo and dies not start, as described...Will get ut to service but what can be your verdict ?

@charvelgaming2975 8 ай бұрын

Could a power supply still have issues even if it shows these voltages in testing with no loads? My pc shuts off randomly after installing 7800xt GPU.

@BlackEagleVideoHouse 8 ай бұрын

My asus thor 850w shows 12v 11.904v is that bad? Under load 11.808v hwinfo i see

@ritzalbarico7144 Жыл бұрын

I had the same issues as well but the difference is the monitor shut downs and my keyboard lights turn off also. Sometimes it restart by itself sometimes not and i need to force it to boot or turn it on again by turning the whole pc off. But the thing is. My pc still running all fans and lights are running and on including the cpu fan but why only the monitor and keyboard loss signal or lights? Even in idle or KZbin still random crash or shutdown. Can anyone help me address what's the problem of my pc??

@goatherdgaming2286 2 ай бұрын

I just bought a reused power supply offf Amazon I plugged it in but the fan didn’t turn, does it need to be plugged into something to be spinning?

@erwinbatiles7708 5 ай бұрын

Hello… How about the 28 pins…? Where is the jumper switch….? Thanks….

@vooveks 10 ай бұрын

Thanks for this, but I did hear that you can still have a failed power supply despite it showing good voltages on all the rails, because sometimes it will be fine with no load, but when you load any of the rails, it will fail. Do you know a good/easy way of adding load to the rails whilst testing? Thanks.

@AexoeroV 4 ай бұрын

Hello, have you foun?d out an answer to your question

@hoeunPhayut 2 ай бұрын

It is same all psu?

@cookking7334 10 ай бұрын

Good day hoping for answer im from Philippines i buy a silverstone 700w power suppply and it needs 230v output but we only have 220v here how can i use my psu. Thanks ifol

@kan815k 6 ай бұрын

How can i find out the ampage on 12v side

@gideondewindt7230 5 ай бұрын

Why you use paperclip and multimeter both ? Is it possible to use only the multimeter without paperclip connect when using the multimeter

@TheAnthonyrocha16 Жыл бұрын

My psu keeps making a clicking noise when I plug in the Jumper bridge. Is the psu bad???

@Serhatyz 4 ай бұрын

I have a Corsair RM750 power supply, and sometimes my PC resets suddenly. I've measured the values of the power supply, and everything seems fine, but when I turn on the power supply, the fans stop again after 10 seconds. Is this an issue?

@johannesmounzer525 8 ай бұрын

My pc shuts down, tried all these methods and the psu is all good. Tried every single socket on the 24pin aswell. My gpu failing? Appeared black small squares all on my monitor yesterday. Help please!

@Ax4400 Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much. I had bought components for a build over time so its not built yet and I was stressing that too much time has passed w/o my building the pc rig and so if the PSU is DOA I'd just lose my money. Watched one video but my PSU is modular and all the wires are black so I have no avail to the color coded wires. 🤣 Then there was your video a newer PSU and I learned . I'm now collecting parts for a different i5 12600K none gaming rig that needs more Watts. Can you tell me which of the following is a better 850W PSU CORSAIR RM 850W vs. Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 850W? Unless you can recommend something better in the same price range? Should I go single rail or multi rail? I want to run a virtual box to install & production software. I don't earn money doing that so I can't spend tons of $ on such a production rig, I'm mostly learning for fun. Again thank you for sharing your knowledge👍

@TechRated Жыл бұрын

Both of those brands will work. I usually go with Corsair or EVGA for my power supplies. In the past, I have used Thermaltake and it did quite well. Most PSUs these days are reliable and do what they are supposed to do. However, the price is determined by the power output, features and efficiency. As far as features go, I am talking about if it is modular or not, RGB, display, etc. Efficiency is the rating (Ex: White, Gold, Platinum, etc.). But I would go with whatever your budeget allows. The ones you mentioned are very good choices.

@aarenmyatt4509 3 ай бұрын

I used the jumper method and the fan flicks on for a second and then off. Connected to the mobo it does nothing. Still not sure.

@fahadnawaz4169 9 ай бұрын

My computer turns on some time only power light only. I have to try again and again to turn on my computer. What should be the actual problem?

@Jeffmartin-dt8pc 11 ай бұрын

I took my Be Quiet Dark Power Pro into my local computer shop and the guy tested it with his power supply tester and it showed all the correct voltages and told me that it was OK. Yet it fails the paper clip test (I used a strand of solid copper wire from a ground cable for house). The fan will spin for 5 seconds sometimes, but for the most part, not at all. How can it pass the voltage test at the computer store and fail the paper clip test ? I though the voltage tester at the store was the end-all test ? To me it sounds like there is a failing relay in the PSU, I can hear it click on, and when it does, the fan spins, but very often it just clicks off then on to where the fan barely comes on, or not at all. At this point the power supply tester seems more like a gimmick then something that should be reliable.

@junchaoguo4795 12 сағат бұрын

my power supply fan run for about 2-4 seconds then it stopped. Is that normal? it’s a new one I just brought, it is unlikely broken.

@bkithcart88 9 ай бұрын

Awesome info thanks!! but question would this be a PSU issue? my computer turns on all RGB works fans on GPU are not spinning and only one monitor works? all these issues just happened out of nowhere thanks!

@AngryWildMango 4 ай бұрын

I know it's been 5 months. But fans on gou not spinning can be normal at startup. But if they aren't spinning while the GPU is under load (in a game). Then that's a problem. But overall. Could it be a PSU issue. Maybe. Sounds more like a mb (maybe some cables aren't plugged in) or software thing. But also I'm not an expert. Hope you don't need this info anymore lol

@DKKim-gc1ro 7 ай бұрын

What does it mean when my power supply fan spins but then shortly stops

@EvilDeadGuy666 Жыл бұрын

I have a question when testing a PSU how long should you test it for?

@TechRated Жыл бұрын

If you follow the methods in the video, then you only test it until you check all cables and make sure you are getting the correct readings. If you are stress testing, then there isn’t really a timeframe. Run a few benchmarks and you should be good to go.

@deedelta9263 Ай бұрын

I don’t have a “jumper block” . . . I’ve bought 2 brand new PSUs from known brands and that’s never been included

@martylynchian8628 Ай бұрын

How can I tell if my thing is not working?

@marsdael3294 Жыл бұрын

I tested my psu with a paper clip to make jumper. The fan is spinning but after some time my psu turns off. Please help me thank you so much 🙏

@potatoed1002 Жыл бұрын

i know this is late but your psu have a semi passive mode

@Hantick Ай бұрын

Thank you, every voltage is crrect so its a mobo fault

@matrox 9 ай бұрын

If your power supply fails to turn on. The first thing to do is remove your video card. Then do a power on test. If it still fails remove any card in your sys and retest. Also remove all memory clean contacts on mem. and all cards. Retest. Then test your PS.

@Broski26 Ай бұрын

my pc would turn on but it wouldn't turn on my monitor and I've updated my drivers and checked the wiring could it be my power supply not providing enough? I have a 750W gold ASUS TUF PSU, a 4070 GIGABYTE RTX, and Ryzen 7 7700 8-Core Processer. Should I check it like this?

@turkeyman9914 26 күн бұрын

i know it's been 4 days but it would be so funny if you just plugged the hdmi or display port to your motherboard insted of the graphics card.

@justinflowers3174 Жыл бұрын

Can I test the paper clip 4&5 with the multimeter?

@TechRated Жыл бұрын

Yes, you can! But usually, if the power supply activates with the paper clip or jumper wire, then those pins are fine.

@benzo0001 2 ай бұрын

mine turns on but after like 2 seconds it shuts down

@ccanaves 11 ай бұрын

You should meassure the PSU with at least some load. I like to connect a couple of old hard drives there. Without load it might look ok, but it may not be.

@TechRated 11 ай бұрын

While that is true, you can also test without a load as well. Either way works! Adding a load will definitely push the PSU a little more.

@zubaazu8814 9 ай бұрын

Yup my pc runs for 2 mins and shuts down

@raysmac 7 ай бұрын

@@TechRated For most new PSUs the fan doesn't spin when using jumper wire they need a load on them I use a case fan plugged in a Molex connector to test it.

@shopbanmaytinh 7 ай бұрын

hi guy! what is the PG number?

@TechRated 7 ай бұрын

That is the power signal. Normal values will be 100-500ms.

@tcpilot6995 Жыл бұрын

how are your TechRated, i have a 3070 with ryzen 7 3700x 32ram from t force, and SSD, so the thing is like 6 months ago my computer when I turned on, start but no display on monitor, and check the rams, GPU stress test, clean everything make sure all is plugged, and damn I do everything, but still the same thing, is not all the time, I turn the PC on 3 times with no problems but when I do it for 4 time, the PC turn on but no display , so I'm really don't know hats going on, I'm suspecting on the psu or last thing GPU but is weird because I don't have shutdowns or green lines or freeze my PC runs excellent is just sometimes start but no display, can you help me please?, i can pay if you want! but please man idnk what to do! and sorry my grammar i don't speak English ):

@TechRated Жыл бұрын

If the PC turns on, then it probably isn’t your PSU. It sounds like you may need to do some Windows updates and maybe GPU driver updates. Not sure. Not having an output to your display randomly is strange. I would do all updates first and then go from there.

@tcpilot6995 Жыл бұрын

@@TechRated thanks bro, yeah i gpu drivers are up to date, same my windows, today I will update the bios, and keep testing o.O

@TechRated Жыл бұрын

You might also need to update your chipset. Other than that, check simple things like cable connections and monitor settings. I guess it is possible that you might be having issues with wattage to your GPU if your PSU isn’t able to output what it needs. What GPU do you have? How many watts is your PSU?

@tcpilot6995 Жыл бұрын

@@TechRated thank you again and i did the chipset update the bios update like 2 hours ago, and I have an RTX Gigabyte 3070 OC 8gb and a 750w power supply of a weird brand. o., bro I will pay you this wednday like 10 dollars just for answer me

@TechRated Жыл бұрын

@@tcpilot6995 No worries! This is the goal of my channel! Hopefully your PC issues get worked out. I appreciate the support! 👊🏼

@thefirez_Real Ай бұрын

wow i use a jumper to test my psu and now it broken

@UnashamedlyHentai Жыл бұрын

Would like to see info on testing the modular cable outputs directly, rather than through the cable. The PSU end is not standardized, so we cannot expect (for example) the top-right pin to be ground on the PSU side. If you're making custom cables and want to take a pinout before you start, this isn't really useful.

@askell3738 8 ай бұрын

Do you find a way to find the ground on the psu yet? I'm having the same problem right now.

@UnashamedlyHentai 8 ай бұрын

@@askell3738 Ultimately, i plugged the cables in and traced the individual wires back to the psu. Did this for each wire in the cable to get a presumptive pinout, then used a multimeter to verify the voltages.