Amiga.org

Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: ciVic on February 10, 2014, 10:07:48 AM

Title: Burning an ATX <-> A4000 power adapter
Post by: ciVic on February 10, 2014, 10:07:48 AM: Hi all,

I'm very surprised that it is possible to burn the 5V pin of my ATX connector which is connected to an ATX to A4000 adapter by amigakit. It gets so hot after some minutes that I can't touch it (you can see the dark pin on the picture below). I was wondering why I have 5.02V on the +5V lanes measured at the 5.25" connectors but when measured directly at the mainboard connector only 4.6V. I think I know why now. Does anybody had similar problems? I would really like to replace my original PSU since the machine has to run round about 10 minutes until my Radeon 9250 is stable. Seems that this card and my CyberstormPPC draws a lot of power and only warm components can deliver that.
Title: Re: Burning an ATX <-> A4000 power adapter
Post by: TCMSLP on February 10, 2014, 11:52:47 AM: I'm guessing a poor / corroded connector (or poor connection between wire and connector) caused high resistance hence heating.

As the metal has heated / tarnished further it would only make the problem worse.
Title: Re: Burning an ATX <-> A4000 power adapter
Post by: jutrem on February 10, 2014, 03:38:46 PM: I had a similar issue with the AmigaKit ATX power supply adapter for the 4000. I tried it with a 500W ATX PC power supply and literally saw smoke. Was going to try a lower power supply ( may be 300W) and see what happens, but they are hard to find now..
Maybe someone from AmigaKit can give some suggestions.
Title: Re: Burning an ATX <-> A4000 power adapter
Post by: zipper on February 10, 2014, 05:30:34 PM: A4000 motherboard power connector is known to do the same.
Title: Re: Burning an ATX <-> A4000 power adapter
Post by: TCMSLP on February 10, 2014, 05:32:00 PM: It won't be a result of the PSU used - more an issue with the connector.
Title: Re: Burning an ATX <-> A4000 power adapter
Post by: amigakit on February 10, 2014, 05:36:57 PM: All ATX to A4000 cables are quality tested on all pins before dispatch. We do not send out any of these power cables without a full test. The cables are 18awg so can accomodate high wattage PSUs. I would suggest opening a Support Ticket with our Technician to run through the circumstances that led to this.
Title: Re: Burning an ATX <-> A4000 power adapter
Post by: B00tDisk on February 10, 2014, 07:27:19 PM: Quote from: jutrem;758730
Was going to try a lower power supply ( may be 300W) and see what happens, but they are hard to find now..

Lolwut?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007657%20600014043&IsNodeId=1&name=300W

Want 250 instead?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007657%20600014039&IsNodeId=1&name=250W

How about lower?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007657%20600014036&IsNodeId=1&name=220W

That's 50+ to choose from, and lower wattage are available.
Title: Re: Burning an ATX <-> A4000 power adapter
Post by: ciVic on February 11, 2014, 08:01:10 AM: I wouldn't say that the adapter was the reason for that. However, thanks for your help, but since the connetors of the PSU and the adapter are corroded now I should simply solder the wires together.
Title: Re: Burning an ATX <-> A4000 power adapter
Post by: r.cade on February 11, 2014, 01:35:28 PM: This is going to be something on the Amiga side pulling too much current for the connector to handle. The wattage of the power supply is not going to affect that- that only affects "how much" the computer can pull from the PSU.

The computer will pull this amount from a 250W or a 500W power supply- the only difference is if it pulls more than the rated amount, the protection will trip.
I guess you can lower the wattage of the power supply to something that will trip before it burns the connector. The connector may only be rated to something much lower... the original power supply is only <=150W.