Weird PS problem, only turns on if I "jump" it with a tester

[HexiumVII]

I have an old Antec 500 Earthwatts. It works as long as you turn it on with a power supply tester i used this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16899261023. I then have a few seconds where it will turn on and stay on and be 100% ok (can game for hours) unless I totally unplug it or turn off the hard switch in the back. I've tried half a dozen mobos from P4s to Haswells and none can get it to turn on "cold" (warming it up doesn't really do anything, it just needs the residual juice from the jump). Anyone have any ideas what i could be? Thanks!

 

[Torn Mind]

I suspect the tester does the same thing as the paper clip test. If it is feasible, you can do the paper clip test and then use a voltmeter(one of the meters on a multimeter) and check voltages. Stick the black end of the multimeter into the black ground wires on the PSU, and stick the red end of the multimeter tester wire into the various wires carrying voltage. The voltages correspond to colors. Here's a diagram of the ATX pinout: https://www.google.com/search?q=atx...s=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&ie=&oe=&rlz=

 

[bryanl]

I suspect the chip in the PSU that handles the power-on signal isn't getting enough voltage, thanks to the Earthwatts being made with substandard capacitors, but it still works with a PSU tester or paperclip since they pull the power-on signal down closer to zero volts than any motherboard can.