Quote:
Originally Posted by necronom
Okay, I've connected it up, and tested it with a multimeter for continuity, but I was very surprised to find that any of the molex pins connect with all the others  Surely this will mean that when I switch it on the 5v, 12v and the grounds are all connected together! That sounds like explosion time to me! I've just checked the ATX PSU, and that does the same  It must change when powered, I guess. |
It's the smoothing capacitors in the PSU circuit that are contributing to the illusion that the Molex pins are all interconnected. The capacitors are acting like flat batteries and sinking all the current that you are injecting with your testmeter.
Don't worry about the short-circuit indications; they are quite normal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by necronom
Anyway, I plugged it in and checked the pins, and I have 9.15v on pin 5 and 5.03v on pin 3. Is this a problem, or is it normal? I was expecting 12v on pin 5, not 10. Will this damage my drive if I plug it in with too low a voltage?
It's getting close to pant pooing time, when I plug it in  |
I sounds a bit low, but it won't damage your drive. The only way to tell if the voltage is sufficient is to try it and see if it works. You might even find that the voltage will stabilize closer to +12V when you check it under load, i.e. actually connected to your hard drive.
When you decide to go ahead and check the hard drive with the AT PSU, connect the hard drive to the Amiga first, then power up the the hard drive, and finally the Amiga.
Good luck!