Had a weird power supply thing happen on a job last Thursday

I was swapping out a motherboard for a client, put in the new one and hooked up their old power supply. Hit the button and got a single click, then nothing. Took me a minute to realize the 24-pin connector had a wire that looked fine but was actually broken inside the sleeve near the plug. Had to cut the end off a spare supply and solder it on right there on their kitchen table. Anyone run into this kind of hidden wire break before?

3 comments

3 Comments

perry.jessica28d ago

Had that exact thing with a SATA power cable once. The insulation looked perfect but the copper inside was snapped clean. Now I give every cable a gentle bend test right at the connector before I plug it in. Saves a lot of headache later. Your kitchen table solder fix is a solid move, by the way.

alice_foster13d agoMost Upvoted

Ugh, the bend test is fine if you're not a gorilla about it! You're just feeling for a crack, not doing gymnastics with the wire. A solder fix can totally work if you do it right and add heat shrink. Not everyone has a crimp tool just lying around.

caleba6428d ago

Honestly that bend test idea sounds like a great way to create future problems. You start flexing those wires right at the stress point every time, you're just weakening them and asking for the exact break you're trying to avoid. It's like bending a paperclip back and forth. That kitchen table fix is a real gamble too, a proper crimp connector would be way more reliable than a solder joint that can crack. Sometimes the old way of just plugging it in and seeing if it works is still the best check.