View Full Version : Dolemite says: Wrong Plugs = Power Outage
AGampher
11-14-01, 02:39 PM
Ok, I've got this um.....friend, yeah.......that happened to plug in a motherboard to an old psu/cpu/everything else combo a little, well, wrong. It's not that I....er....he made a mistake, its that he doesn't really know what in the heck he's doing. SO, he plugged it all in the best he knew how (big fat guesses on most of the plugs) and pushed the on button.
~BZZZTTZTTZZTTZZT~
The lights in the apartment made this cool BrrrrrZap sound and I......er.....he quickly turned the computer off.
I was just wondering (on behalf of this dim-witted friend, of course) if, perhaps, there would happen to be anything left in that box that would not have been effected by the somewhat, um, significant power problem (and if there were such parts, how long should my cerebrally-challenged friend wait before touching anything within seven miles of the psu)?
~Gamph
Welcome to the forums.
For the most part, everything is idiot proof inside a computer. AGP cards only fit into AGP slots, SDRAM only fits into SDRAM slots, ATX power connections only fit into ATX power ports. So as long as everything went in without being forced too much, it should have been plugged in correctly. What you might wanna do is find an breaker without too much plugged into it, and try again. But if the power spike hit the mobo, chances are good that there's not too much salvageable.
As for when it's safe to be touched again, as long as it's unplugged, it should be safe. But be careful. Start with unplugging the mobo from the PSU, and you should be fine. Did you smell any burning circuits? If not, it should be OK.
AGampher
11-14-01, 02:58 PM
Maybe I should tell you that it is an OLD mobo. I have no idea what it is or where it came from. My uncle gave it to me a year ago and its got an old socket 7 in it i believe. I put a pentium 133 in it and everything else, but the on button on the comp had wires coming out of it (I got most of those in the right spot except for one, didn't know where that one went so I guessed on that one too), and the case had four prongs on it where the psu cord was supposed to plug into. I didn't have any idea what order these prongs were supposed to be in, so I guessed. There was a white plug, a blue plug, a brown plug, and a black plug. 1,2,3,4 easy enough........BZZZZZTTT
Hehehe...I love these storys!!!
AGampher,
WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!!!
One time I reversed the input power cables on my AT board
and some cool sparks must of flew 10 feet out of the supply!
Never tried that supply again :(
Maybe he did some reversing...
Ye haaa.............the on button on the comp had wires coming out of it (I got most of those in the right spot...... the old hot wired mobo!! Seriously, the chi mobo and maybe even memory are possibly writeoffs. The cards(pci/isa/agp) could be ok but it all sounds like quite vintage stuff.http://koti.mbnet.fi/antiqser/smilies/teleport.gif
KILLorBE
11-16-01, 08:01 AM
I'm not sure if I understand what you mean with "the on button on the comp had wires coming out of it" and "the case had four prongs on it where the psu cord was supposed to plug into".
But if you did what I think you did then everything 'probably' is fine.
I made a pic of how you (most likely) should connect the wires.
(black and brown should be connected to each other, and white and blue) There's probably also a yellow/green wire (ground), that should be on the bare metal of the case.
Christoph
11-16-01, 08:55 AM
Hey Yman, how did you get those sparks? That sounds like a fun project for an old 250W PS that's going into retirement real soon.
Originally posted by IdeaMagnate
Hey Yman, how did you get those sparks? That sounds like a fun project for an old 250W PS that's going into retirement real soon.
Like I always say - When you retire equipment blow it up!
All I did was reverse the AT mobo input lines...(you know/theres 2)
but I would not try that unless you plan on blowing everything!
I was a bit younger/stupider but that is all I recall, Note
I never tried that equpiment again! http://www.ytec.d2g.com/emoticons/lookaround.gif
http://www.ytec.d2g.com/emoticons/nuke.gif http://www.ytec.d2g.com/emoticons/nuke.gif http://www.ytec.d2g.com/emoticons/nuke.gif
Originally posted by IdeaMagnate
Hey Yman, how did you get those sparks? That sounds like a fun project for an old 250W PS that's going into retirement real soon.
Also,
Why not use it to power fans?
Get a 1Amp 5v drain resistor...to keep the 12v at 12v & not 10v.
My first mobo installation:burn:
an old 386, with at power supply, was about to become a 486. I removed all the cards, unplugged the mobo power connectors and removed the mobo. I bolted in the new board, cpu, put the 8 megs of ram (at $50 each!) in and connected the power cables....
Now, many of you may not have seen an at psu:D , but they had 2 separate cables that plugged in side by side, and I could not remember which way they went! So I sat and thought about it- for 5 seconds- and plugged them in, then installed the vesa video card, ide card, 1200/2400 modem, etc.
Hit the power switch.:mad: :mad: :mad:
and unplugged the power cord QUICK!
AT power cables had to go in Black-to-Black! I of course did it backwards! Mobo wrecked, ide card had some burnt circuits. Amazingly the cpu, a blinding 486sx, was ok, as was the ram!
I managed to repair the 2 printed circuits on the ide card and saved everything else except the mobo!
Lesson Learned: Black to Black (wire colors on the 2 separate plugs) for AT mobo power!
If this is what happened to you, it may not be too bad: mobo is burnt, but possibly nothing else.
GOOD LUCK!
Originally posted by rogerdugans
My first mobo installation:burn:
an old 386, with at power supply, was about to become a 486. I removed all the cards, unplugged the mobo power connectors and removed the mobo. I bolted in the new board, cpu, put the 8 megs of ram (at $50 each!) in and connected the power cables....
Now, many of you may not have seen an at psu:D , but they had 2 separate cables that plugged in side by side, and I could not remember which way they went! So I sat and thought about it- for 5 seconds- and plugged them in, then installed the vesa video card, ide card, 1200/2400 modem, etc.
Hit the power switch.:mad: :mad: :mad:
and unplugged the power cord QUICK!
AT power cables had to go in Black-to-Black! I of course did it backwards! Mobo wrecked, ide card had some burnt circuits. Amazingly the cpu, a blinding 486sx, was ok, as was the ram!
I managed to repair the 2 printed circuits on the ide card and saved everything else except the mobo!
Lesson Learned: Black to Black (wire colors on the 2 separate plugs) for AT mobo power!
If this is what happened to you, it may not be too bad: mobo is burnt, but possibly nothing else.
GOOD LUCK!
Thats what I did,
Thanks for the tip Black to Black!
Did ya get sparks?
To late to repair - that thing was in the dumpster years ago!
No sparks.
LOTS of smoke:burn:
And I paid (get this, younguns lol) almost $200 for a screaming fast USED mobo that I never got to use!
Originally posted by rogerdugans
No sparks.
LOTS of smoke:burn:
And I paid (get this, younguns lol) almost $200 for a screaming fast USED mobo that I never got to use!
Do you still have that power supply?
I would just love too see pics from a digital camera if you have one!
(Pics of the inside)
Shadow рс
11-16-01, 05:43 PM
AGampher, for the most part, sounds like you (er your friend) crossed the wires on the switch. As said above, the rest of the stuff is pretty much idiot proof. More than likely the switch is fried, but the mobo is quiet possibly still good. Disconnect and separate the 4 wires from the switch, and again try to power the system on. If you havn't already tried, look inside the PSU for burn/scorch marks. Check the switch carefully..........if it's burned, most likely it'll be pretty obvious. I seriously doubt that switch would have held up to that kind of short.
A local shop should have a power switch for an AT PSU like yours, but I'd bring the PSU with you when you go to the shop, and ask one of the guys to wire up the switch for ya.
Plug it back in again, and give er a whirl. Just stand clear of the machine when you do. =)
Yes, If it is the switch they are not expensive at all,
just a few dollars it is well worth the try.
Maybe you have an extra lying around to test with?
klosters64a
11-16-01, 06:49 PM
This is an AT mainboard, I trust. P8 and P9 are not foolproof. For future reference(AT must die--but when?) the black wires go together. The two identical power plugs from the PS to the mobo((P8 and P9) are held together, with the black wires from each plug close together, in the middle of the "larger" plug that you create by holding the two power plugs together. Then they are snapped onto their opposite member(the one-piece plug) that's on the mobo.
AGampher:
While I didn't say it in as many words, I related the story in case you had made the same mistake I had. If not, then I'm left just telling a story of a nice screw-up!
As far as the old parts: this was about 10 years ago, no digitals back then! I still have the video card and the ide controller somewhere I think, but the rest is long gone.
Picture this though: a nice green motherboard, with a circle, centered on the at power connection colored BLACK in the center and fading to brown at the edges!
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