Introduction: Use an Old Xbox PSU to Power a Car Amplifier.
Well, i see tutorials all over the Internet about how to use a PC PSU to power a car amplifier in a house. I wanted to try it but it seems I'm fresh out of PC PSUs... I do have a lot of old xbox's that gather dust. So i improvised. It really wasn't that different than a PC PSU because basically, the old xbox is a PC.
I'm not responsible for any harm you do to yourself, or your xbox or amp. Okay so here we go.
That's not the speaker rattling btw, and it's turned way down but still hits pretty good throughout the house.
And please remember to have the xbox completely unplugged while working on it. Even if it's unplugged the PSU can have power built up it it and it can shock you. I learned that the hard way.
You should be fine as long as you don't pull the PSU out.
Things you need
-Torx T10
-Basic tools for the wiring (cutting, splicing, etc.)
-Xbox (or just the PSU..)
-Amplifier
-Subwoofer
-An extra 4-pin molex cable, if you don't want to cut your xbox cables up.
You can also use a 4-pin male to 2x female if you want your xbox to be fully functional at the same time.
Step 1:
Okay, firstly disassemble the xbox. I wont be covering this, as it is very simple. Just remove the 6 torx screws on the bottom of the xbox. Once you have it open, disconnect the 4-pin molex cable from the harddrive.
If you have an extra female 4-pin, i would recommend using that, so you wont have to cut the wires that are on the xbox. You can also used a splitter like in the second picture and have one end go to the amp, and one to the HDD to retain full functionality of the xbox
Step 2:
Okay, the wires you need fromt he 4-pin molex are the yellow wire, and the black wire closest to it. The black wire goes into the ground port on the amp, and the yellow wire goes into the battery+.
Now, the remote. You need a small jumper wire to run from the + to the remote.
When your amp is in your car, it has a constant power supply (the battery)
The reason it turns off when you take the key out is because when the key is removed, it cuts power to the remote wire. When the remote wire has no power the amp cannot be turned on. However, give the remote wire power and it lets the amp power up.
So since we only need the amp to work while the xbox is turned on, we can link the remote and the +
The other black, and the red wire are left now. You can cap these off as shown in the second picture. Unless you find another use for them.
Step 3:
Okay, now if everything is set up right, you just need a source for music. I'll let you figure that out.
Now, make sure that everything is plugged in on the xbox or it will turn off in about 10-15 minutes.
Okay that's it!
Feel free to ask any questions, i'm sure i didn't make sense in some (most) parts. I should have taken the pics AS i did it, not after.
Sorry.
But let me know what you think!
