Adding a switch to a power supply

[DaJe]

Alright, so I know I'm supposed to hook up the black wire to the ground, and the green wire to the power, but and I supposed to add anything to the load? Or does it not matter and it's just a feature of this switch?




http://codeinsurrection.com/pics/DSC_04992.jpg

[Oneslowz28]

Green to the + and any black to the - will work fine.

[slytherock]

Those are the pins to use
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v68/slytherock/atx.gif

[Bucko]

Sly: Your pic doesn't work. Stop stealing bandwidth and rehost it.

DaJe: As you are aware the the gree wire and any ground (black) wire need to bridged via the toggle switch to power up the PSU.
That switch you have is almost identical to the one I used in my PSU mod. You need to hook up the green and black to the load and the ground. Either wire can go to either pin on the switch. The power pin on the switch is for the light in the switch, which unfortunatly you cannot use in this case.
I tried myself to hook up 12v to it to get the switch to light up while the PSU was on, but while the 12v was hooked up to it, the PSU would switch on and off rapidly.
It seems to be the nature of how the PSU powers up by shorting out the green and black. As soon as the PSU turned on, it supplied 12v to the light, and subsequently to the ground wire/green wire, causing the PSU to turn off, at which point the 12v supply would stop and then the PSU would turn on again.

[slytherock]

I did something wrong? :p :D

[DaJe]

You tried to use the CPU 12v, right? Perhaps I could commandeer a wire from one of the other connectors, such as one of the 4 pin molex.

[crazybillybob]

Daje,

This type of switch is made to switch the + side of a 12V load. What you want to do is switch the - (Gnd) side of the load (because the Mobo power on is activated by a low (GND) signal).


You want to do the following (Bucko this might help you too).
Hook Pin13 to the power Lead (any ground in the case will work).
Hook Pin14 (grn wire) to the load On the switch.
Now turn on the switch and see if the PC powers up.
If it does tie the post marked Ground to the +12V rail (pin11 Yellow wire)
Turn the switch on and see if the pc starts and if the light turns on.
If the bulb in the switch is an incandescent lamp (like your flash light bulb..just really small) it will work some of the switches use LED's In that case the light will not light.
There is a small chance that this type of switch could damage your mobo (poor qa can lead to shorts inside) so I'd recommend testing your wiring on an old board that you wouldn't feel so bad about loosing.

Bucko you turned the lamp into a thermal resistor, while the blub was cool the pc would start, when it warmed up it shorted out the start pin..and shutdown...this happened very rapidly.. Luckly you didn't kill your mobo...

You really need to get a switch that has completely separate leads for the light inside, that way you can wire them up safely and use the switch any way you need.

Good luck,
CrazyBillyBob

[DaJe]

Before I start doing this, I have one quick question. What's a good way to get rid of the charge in the power supply? If I hook it up, test it out, and it doesn't work, I'll have to go back inside it. And when I do this, I want to make sure all current has dissipated. This power supply was already sitting unplugged for weeks, which is how I knew the charge was gone already. But yeah, I don't want to die >_>

[TheGreatSatan]

I usually open the PSU up and connect the wires within the casing. Then I cut all the other wires at their base.

[Bucko]

Luckly you didn't kill your mobo...


MoBo? It was never hooked up to one. It was a bench test PSU only.

[DaJe]

Same with mine. I think I'll just take a 12v from a 4 pin molex for the light/

[crazybillybob]

Daje,
Where / What are you doing with this switch?
Controlling weather the PSU is on or weather the PC is on???

Is the switch AC or DC (light bulb in them are different)??

Just trying to make sure what I told you is correct.

As for discharging the PSU, best way is to have a load on the output when the main (AC) power is disconnected... Still doesn't Guarantee that all parts are dis charged but cuts down on the ones that are. Best advice other then leave it to a train pro...is be careful and don't touch any traces or cases with your bare hands.

CrazyBillyBob

[Bucko]

Same with mine. I think I'll just take a 12v from a 4 pin molex for the light/

That's what I tried to do, but it caused the rapid switching on and off.

[DaJe]

The switch is for turning the power supply on, with no other components involed aside from the power supply.

[crazybillybob]

ok, that's what I thought.

Give the hookup that I posted earlier a shot. I'm not 100% you'll get the light to work but the switch will with that setup.

Here's a Diagram of how the switch is wired up inside. The Labeled terminals on the side of the switch are RED on the drawing. The connections you need to make it work for this PSU are in BLACK.

What Bucko did was wire up the light, not the switch...at least that's how he explained it.

http://www.fccmonline.com/lanimages/temp/Lightedswitch_DIA.jpg


I hope this clears things up some more.

CrazyBillyBob

[DaJe]

Alright, so to put it simply, green to load, black to power, and any 12v to ground?

[crazybillybob]

That Should do it!
As stated before not sure the Light will work, but the switch should ! But make sure to wear your safety glasses...and TBCS and myself are not responsible if you blow anything up or injure/kill your self in the process. :eek:;):rolleyes:



CrazyBillyBob