Test pins from PC power supply
Today I faced with a “strange” problem, where I had to make some measuring on a car ECU motherboard. There were some pins very close to each other and a crocodile clips would may be shorten the pins, so I thought a while and got an idea. I disassembled an old PC power supply and found what I needed.
Check my photos how you can get a nice and safe for working wires from an old PC ATX power supply:
This is the motherboard power connector from the PC power supply unit, this is what we need.
Use a screw driver and push it into the connector from where you wish to push out the wire which you wish to use. Push the screw driver between the plastic and the metal pin. After that rotate the screw driver and slightly pull out the wire as in the next picture.
Rotate the screw driver right – left, if the wire won’t go out then push the screw driver into the opposite side. Repeat his on all four sides, until the wire jump out.
Ok, this is how it’s looks like when all of the wires are out.
Put some heat shrinking tube to the metal connector and shrink them to a safe size. So you got an insulated safe connector.
This is how it looks like after finishing.
You can also solder some needles or whatever you need and make your measuring or apply some signal to the test point or whatever you need it…
I know, this is not a big deal, but save some time and money if you have an old unusable PC power supply around your shop and make nice connectors…
I hope you enjoy this tutorial and will save lot of repair time.
This article was prepared for you by Christian Robert Adzic from Novi Knezevac-Serbia.
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https://www.jestineyong.com/igbt-shorted-in-tecnica-164-welding-machine/
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David Grey
May 2, 2016 at 1:24 pm
What an excellent idea using computer supply plug leads for testing in confined spaces. Well done for a brilliant idea.
Gerald Millward
May 2, 2016 at 2:54 pm
Well I'm blowed! Its never too late to learn is it. This neat little trick can be used on ANY connector with close-spaced pins - no more fiddling about for me eh! A small idea, but thanks a lot Christian.
suranga bandara, Suranga Electronics
May 2, 2016 at 2:07 pm
Mr- Christian Robert.
Very Well Service idea.
Parasuraman S
May 2, 2016 at 2:20 pm
Excellent idea! Tips such as these are really helpful for guys like me, who fidget while measuring voltages and many times cause short and burns or shocks or all of these together! Many, many thanks to you, dear! May God bless you!
Mark
May 2, 2016 at 2:34 pm
Hey Christian,
I do this all the time. I am in the automotive industry and just like you, am always looking for connectors that will make testing easier. Whether it is testing sensors, actuators or ECUs, you grab connectors from anywhere to make your job easier.
Thanks for sharing with us.
Albert van Bemmelen
May 2, 2016 at 9:39 pm
Thanks Christian. Like you I use a lot of spare Parts from defect Surplus. Because buying is no option when you can spare a Dime or two. And the cost of Shrinking Tube is also avoidable if you use the Cable Sheath from other used cables to. (With the right diameter of course).
Robert Calk
May 2, 2016 at 11:09 pm
Thanks for the tips, Christian.
Henrique Jorge Guimarães Ulbrich
May 2, 2016 at 11:12 pm
Great, Christian. A small but at the same time a big idea.
Paris Azis
May 3, 2016 at 12:52 am
Nice and practical idea, Chris. Thanks for sharing it. I usually apply another method in similar cases. I solder ribbon cable on the solder side of the multi-pin plug and use the free ends of the individual cables of it for safe measurements. For example, these grey colored ribbon cables used for the interconnection of the PC motherboard with the hard disk are perfect choice for this job.
Gary Gemmell
May 3, 2016 at 6:01 am
Nice diagnostics tip Christian!
Always look forward to your articles very interesting and different from most of the usual ones!
Humberto
May 3, 2016 at 10:39 pm
Thanks for your tips/tutorial, very interesting and useful as well.
ERNESTO CLAUDIO AGOSTO
May 4, 2016 at 8:18 am
HI! ALL IDEAS IN ELECTRONICS , ARE GOOD IDEAS...! THANK YOU FOR SHARE..! BLESSINGS..!
ERNESTO
Atma
May 4, 2016 at 5:08 pm
Creative idea. Thanks for sharing.
Yogesh Panchal
May 12, 2016 at 11:11 pm
Good Idea for utilizing best out of waste.