can i get electricuted with power supply?

[JoeFaheyx]

i was takeing apart my computer and saw that the fan attached to my power supply was not working, so i took out the power supply to fix it, i look at it and see that the screws that hold the fan to the power supply go from the inside out.....so i would have to take off the cover....and on the power supply it says not to take off , high voltage inside.....well with everything unplugged, and the power supply detached from the computer...... can i open it? and if i can, can i touch anything inside? THANKS

 

[Peter D]

You can open it, but don't touch anything; they store power for a while.

 

[JoeFaheyx]

so when i open it, can having my hand near it draw electricity and electricute me?

 

[jessieqwert]

Yes you can get hurt!
Leave the PSU alone for a few days to make sure all remaining power has left.
And no I'm not an electrician

 

[MDE]

You can take the fan out, but only hold onto the fan's plastic body when working inside of the PSU.

 

[JoeFaheyx]

so i have to wait a full 3 days before i can open it? isn't there some tool i could use to get rid of the electricty.....or do i have to wait 3 days?

 

[JoeFaheyx]

but the fan is attacked from inside the ps, so when i take off the cover, can having my hand near the power get myself electricuted?

 

[MDE]

Just don't touch anything inside of the PSU other than the fan, I've done it before and I'm still alive.

 

[JoeFaheyx]

ok, thanks, i just new and a bit cautious

 

[JoeFaheyx]

just out of curiousity, how much damage would be caused if i were to trouch a part? death? lol

 

[T9D]

They have big capacitors that hold a LOT of power! I don't know how much but it's a lot so just watch out! Probably a whole lot more than comes out of the wall I'd imagine since capicitors take the electicity coming from the wall, build it up, and store it so it has something to draw from.

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: JoeFahey
so i have to wait a full 3 days before i can open it? isn't there some tool i could use to get rid of the electricty.....or do i have to wait 3 days?

Well you could use a grounding rod, but if you are asking then you are not qualified to do this. It's best to wait and if you can't wait exercise extreme prudence and caution when handling the opened power supply. Use electrical safety tools if you have them (i.e. dipped screwdriver, dikes with insulated handle grips, etc...)

 

[gsaldivar]

Originally posted by: JoeFahey
just out of curiousity, how much damage would be caused if i were to trouch a part? death? lol

Potentially, yes.

 

[peonyu]

Ive done that many times, and have even crimped/spliced wires inside a psu and am still alive.

First before taking it out, pull the power plug from the psu, then hit the power button on your computer to discharge some of the active power from it, it wont get rid of it all so you still have to be careful and not to touch any exposed metal areas inside the psu. Then pull it out and do what you have to do to it.

 

[RussianSoldier]

pbbst... let it sit for a few minutes and it should lose all of its charge. The capacitors won't be able to hold much charge once you unplug the unit...

 

[everman]

You can potentially get shocked, but I've never had a problem, yet.

 

[drag]

Yes, I agree getting shocked by the power supply sucks. It probably won't kill you unless your REALY REALY unlikely, but so can breathing. Like if you were breathing and sucked in a june bug by mistake and choked to death.


What I do to try to drain the capacitiers is unplug the cord and then power up the computer. Sometimes it will act like it going to kick in, like the fans will wirl a bit and clunk out after a rotation or something.


Also remember that a modern computer motherboard is ALWAYS going to have 5 volts going thru it even when it is "off" (that's why you ALWAYS unplug the cord when pulling or installing a PCI card for instance.) So leaving the powersupply hooked up for a few minutes after pulling the cord should yank it.

Then that should be as safe as it's going to get.

Just remember that the power supply used in your computer is a "switching" power supply. It's not like a TV were you have the capaciters using in the actual creation of the voltage. (so no gigantic gonna-kill-ya 10,000 million-billion voltage capacitiers that can hold charges for weeks like there is in older TV's)

Instead a computer powersupply uses big mosfets to do the switching and they don't retain any electricity to speak of when they are off.

Then that's DANGEROUS if it's still plugged in because the big heatsinks the transistors are screwed into IS ACTUALLY PART OF THE CURCUIT. They not only provide a way to disperse the heat they are electrically hot in most cases.

So don't be like my dad and leave the case off when it's plugged in. He was replacing a wasted fan and the screwdriver "accidently fell" onto the uncovered powersupply. *POOF*, no more computer.

Dad's fine, the screw driver had a little burnt looking spot for a while till that rubbed off from use, but the power supply and motherboard had seen better days.


Uplug it, try to power up the computer, leave it hooked up to the motherboard for a couple minutes, pay attention to were the screw driver is, and then try not to lick any of the soldiered connections while you have the cover off and you'll be fine.

 

[MournSanity]

It can kill you.