Found a quick way to test PSUs without a multimeter today

I had a desktop come in last week where the motherboard lights flashed for half a second then nothing. Usually I grab my multimeter and probe the green wire to ground, but I left it at a job site in Denver. Tried a paperclip to jumper the 24 pin connector and it worked fine. Connected a case fan to the molex to see if it would spin. Turns out the PSU was good but the board had a cracked trace near the CPU socket. Saved me an hour of guessing. Anyone else keep a spare paperclip in their bag for this exact trick?

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smith.anna4mo ago

Wait, did your buddy ever try this on a car battery too?

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logan_white594mo ago

Used to think car batteries were too high amperage for this kind of thing, figured it'd blow something out for sure. Watched him hook it up to an old truck battery just to test and the thing ran smoother than ever after. Changed my whole take on it honestly.

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