How to turn a cheap compter power supply into a stand alone 12v power supply and more

[BassAddictJ 5,000+ posts]

ive gotten alot of pm's about this so it might be easier to just post it up

read ALL of this, and the "tips" section at the bottom to do it without buying resistors or switches..

How to Convert a Computer ATX Power Supply to a Lab Power Supply - wikiHow

cliff notes from BAJ:

-if its a used power supply let it sit for a few days if you plan on opening it up. charged capacitors will **** you up.

-you can basically group all teh like colored wires together. put the single green wire (almost like a negative remote wire) to any one of the black grounds. put the stand alone brown (voltage sensor wire) to an orange 3v ish wire. if the orange doesnt work move the brown to a red wire. you MIGHT need to put the stand alone gray wire with the green (both green and gray will connect to a black). My power supply didnt need the gray connected...just green to black and brown to orange.

- if you dont put a resistor between a pos and neg then you will NEED to have a load connected in order for the power supply to run on and function. test it out first on a cheap 12v light from autozone or your garage.

-I bought a $10 atx power supply from comp usa, brand is diablotek. worked perfect on the first try. i just grouped up the wires outside of the case so i didnt even have to bother opening it up, and bundled up all the unused wires off to the side. I have the yellow (12v+) and grounds coming out. green connected to black, and brown connected to orange.

pics of mine:

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/car-audio-classifieds/499746-zapco-z150s2-amazing-tiny-75w-x-2ch-%40-4ohms.html#post7419509

Click to read more...

 

[AlterEgo99 5,000+ posts]

ok //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/uhoh.gif.c07307dd22ee7e63e22fc8e9c614d1fd.gif

 

[BassAddictJ 5,000+ posts]

it makes in home testing of 12v car audio stuff really easy. and for cheap/free.

im suprised people aren't zomg about this....guess people are lazy and would rather just hook it up in the car to test stuff.

 

[Bullet03 10+ year member]

so would this power supply enough to use a small amp to power a set of speakers for any decent amount of time?

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

so would this power supply enough to use a small amp to power a set of speakers for any decent amount of time?

Depends how much power you're wanting to run.

 

[Bullet03 10+ year member]

Depends how much power you're wanting to run.

about 60x2 @4ohms most likely less

 

[ejschultz 10+ year member]

Nice job. I'm going to pick up a cheap power supply and do this. Thanks!

 

[Bassin Buick]

better have a good one. i have a 400 watt diablotek that i use for testing decks but it wont even attempt to power up one of my old sony 4 channels.

 

[BassAddictJ 5,000+ posts]

ya my $10 one is rated like 230w max....something like 15amp max...if i had to take a guess id say half would be rms so maybe 7amp rms..i usually use it to power up the amp and test the output ac voltage and dc bias. not much current demand

if you want to small amps full tilt definitly get a beefier CPS

 

[BassAddictJ 5,000+ posts]

ya...small amps work with mine but it wont power up my mojo 2000d

 

[95BlackGA 5,000+ posts]

I've got an old PSU from my gaming computer that I'm going to do this with. 80amps+ on a single 12V rail. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/yumyum.gif.0556df42231b304b9c995aefd13928a8.gif

 

[BassAddictJ 5,000+ posts]

I've got an old PSU from my gaming computer that I'm going to do this with. 80amps+ on a single 12V rail. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/yumyum.gif.0556df42231b304b9c995aefd13928a8.gif

that THAT would be fun . i need to get one of those....

 

[Ken448 10+ year member]

been doing this for years to run my RC car battery chargers

$100 power supply or scavenge a PS from a computer in the garbage..