Power Supply

Been working on a lot of pc's in the past and with a voltage tester, many show the 5 volt negative leg bad, in the past unbalance load would cause heating problems or overdriving the voltage on the good leg. So the question is with the 5 volt negative leg being bad, would it cause damage to the system or is this 5 volt negative leg any use??

Hello, When one part of a power supply fails you can expect other parts to fail shortly. That said, testing a power supply with a volt meter may not be accurate. A volt ohm meter does give better results than the so called power supply testers. Double check your connections and meter settings.

Hello,
When one part of a power supply fails you can expect other parts to fail shortly.
That said, testing a power supply with a volt meter may not be accurate. A volt ohm meter does give better results than the so called power supply testers.
Double check your connections and meter settings.

Aye, I use 3 different brands of power supply testers and many times with Digital and analog volt meter.

Some techs says o well if the pc is booting up and runs let it be, but your correct after 30 years of being an electrician when one part fails the other will soon fail.

This is why I was asking questions, been 17 years that I have been working on PC's and just after retiring last year from the power plant where I worked for 30 years, started a PC repair shop last year and wanted to see if the industry has changed or not.

Always if the power supply or one part of the rail got zapped or hit and went out, again as you said the other would soon follow.

The two reasons for power failure are Opens (no conduction) and short. Both indicate that a serious problem will follow.

The two reasons for power failure are Opens (no conduction) and short.
Both indicate that a serious problem will follow.

thanks for the info, just wanted to be sure because of knowing how bad our electrical system is here in town, wanted to be sure when I tell the owner of the pc that we found a bad leg on the power supply and best to replace to advoid problems later on.

You have a Good day and thanks for the info.