Introduction: Use That Old PC Power Supply As a High Current +3.3, +5 or +12 Volt Resource

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When the power supply for my Belkin USB 4 way crossover went belly up I needed a +5 volt supply capable of outputting a minimum of 2 amps. An old 12 volt car battery charger could easily power an LM323 3 amp 5 volt IC but it would take a week to get it. The biggest wall-wort I had was .700 milliwatts.

Enter my old power supply from where I found it under the bed. In addition to providing me with a high current +5 volt supply it gave me a high current +3.3 and a +12 volt supply as well. All I needed to make it work was a load on the +5 PSU bar provided by my Belkin but any +5 volt resistive/inductive load, such as a case fan or a 10 ohm, 10 watt resistor, will do.

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Step 1: Okay, So You to Have an Old Power Supply But Not a Belkin or Other Device in Need of +5 Volt Power So Now What?

Try using an old but still working case fan. If you have the power supply you are bound to have one of these. Otherwise you can find them online for about $8 plus shipping. You can also use a 10 ohm, 10 watt resistor or maybe one that is even smaller for less than $1. To find out you'll have to experiment.

Why do you need a case fan or a resistor anyway? Well its because the circuit shuts down unless it has a load. How come? Its probably because the circuit can detect a no-load condition and is designed to shut down when it does. Most switched power supplies need a load in order to operate. When the Belkin or the power resistor or case fan is removed or if the output lines are shorted the circuit will shut down as the result of the internal circuit. One of the great things about using a PC power supply besides the high amperage available is that it will force you to reconnect the load or to remove the short circuit before it will restart after removing and reinserting the line power plug. That's a great safety feature that can save you lots of other trouble.

The case fan shown below is rated at .12 amps and 12 volts or 1.44 watts. .12 amps on the +5 volt bar represents a load of only .6 watts and apparently .6 watts is all you need to tell the PSU shutdown circuit a load is connected and there is no need to shut down the PSU. Now for the connections...

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Step 2: Using the Case Fan: the Original Connector Can Be Used With Slight Modification.

The connector that exits the power supply has a male connector with female pin sockets. When the key (rounded edges) are facing up the red +5 volt lead is on the right and the yellow +12 volt lead is on the left. The connector you want to modify is the female connector with the male pins, coming from the fan. Notice how the red +5 volt lead is now on the left and the yellow +12 volt lead is on the right with the key facing up as shown in the picture. What you want to do is to remove the +5 volt and +12 volt pins and insert the +12 lead in the +5 volt position. OUCH! Won't this set the fire alarm off and get me grounded for three weeks after school? Nope. Its that simple. To remove the pins use a pointed object like a sharp stick pin or dental pick to bend the pin tab locks inward so the pins will slip out of the connector. The tab locks can then be bent back into place and the +12 volt yellow lead pin inserted into the +5 volt pin socket. Now all you have to do is to plug this into one of the power connectors used to power the hard drives and your PSU will have its turn on load.

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Step 3: Using the Resistor: Find the Two Output Connectors Marked P8 and P9

Both the P8 and P9 connector have ground connections but the ground connection on the P8 connector is what to use since most 10 ohm, 10 watt resistors have axial leads rather than radial although these are made too. The axial leads are not quit long enough to use the P9 connector by itself. Use the resistor to bridge one of the output grounds on the P8 connector and one of the output +5 volt power leads on the P9 connector. (see drawing)

The simplest way to do this (after being sure the power supply is unplugged) is to insert one of the bare resistor leads into one of the P8 ground pin sockets (the ones that have a black wire from the other side of the socket). Insert the bare resistor lead as far as it will go and then mark the wire at the point it exits the other side of the socket.

Remove the resistor and then cut the excess wire away so that after reinserting the wire it will not exit the other side. You can alternately bend the bare wire and cover with shrink wrap. I like to put in a few extra bends so when I heat the shrink wrap it grips the wire a little better. If you do it this way be sure the shrink wrap extends a little bit beyond the wire end. I do not suggest using electrical tape because the resistor gets too hot to hold and electrical tape has a tendency to unwrap when heated.

Do the same thing with the other lead coming from the resistor only insert it into one of the P8 +5 volt pin sockets (the one that has a red wire going into it from the other side).

(Notice that in the photograph the end of one of the bare resistor wires is sticking out of the back of the P8 socket that has not been cut away. Be sure to cut or cover this bare wire so that it either does not protrude or so that the protrution is insulated in some way. If you do not then you should be prepared for unexpected shutdowns.)

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Step 4: Use One of the Hardrive Connectors to Tap the +5 and +12 Lines.

The hard drive connectors coming from the power supply are male so you have two options to complete this step when tapping the +5 and +12 voltages.

A. use a female connector and tap its leads, or

B. cut off the male connector and use the power supply leads.

I used an old female-to-male floppy drive connector, removed the individual pin connectors and used alligator clips to tap the +12 volt supply to make some pigment for model airplane paint.

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