DIYbanter - View Single Post

Neil J. Harris

In message .com,
writes
i forgot to switch to 230v when plugging in my american desktop in
france, there was a pop, and now it wont start. did i completely break
it or is there a circuit breaker or something i can fix

All the desktop PSUs I've seen have an internal fuse inside. I think it
would be necessary for UL listing. Sometimes though it's a "wire-ended"
type and can only be replaced with the use of a soldering iron.
I do remember once replacing a "wire-ended" one with a standard plug-in
one by fitting a fuse-holder, the PCB was layed out for both. You could
well find wording like "for continued protection against fire replace
only with the specified fuse" and also the fuse rating silk screened
onto the PCB.
Standard ATX PSU's are cheap and readily available and there must be
millions of serviceable ones thrown away in PCs deemed "out of date"
because their beige colour didn't match the décor.
An empty case with a PSU in it costs little more than a PSU alone, and
you could have one in a pretty colour too.
You could probably get a PSU with a universal input voltage range
(100Vac to 240Vac) (or even AC/DC) these days and not have to worry
about making the same mistake again!
--
Neil J. Harris