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Diy: Free 12v Item Bench Tester.


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Lately I'v gotton a good number of PM's about retrofits and how I'm able to test aimming without having that exact model, like most retrofitters I made a simple and very effective bench tester. Don't be fooled, this can be used with ANY 12v item, headlights, alarms, sound systems, cb's etc (no winches). Many a times I'v wanted to test something out but don't want to sit in the cold/heat/rain/snow etc to do it. Some people have also used this is a cheap trickle charger when needed.

 

*****Disclaimer*****

I have done my best to explain all steps and dangers, none the less common sense is required, their will always be some idiot who kills himself and burns down the neighbors house with a 9v battery while milking a cat.

 

Tools required

 

Philips head

Flat-head

Drill with good bits

Electrical tape (or soder)

Hammer recommended

Old (desktop) computer your sure you don't want

Power cable to said computer (universal, 10 dollars if not on hand)

Common sense

ubber basic knowledge of computer components.

 

The concept is simple, like many of you I have old computers collecting dust in closests that I'v never gotton around to taking to the dump. Desktops operate at 12v with a rather complex 110v transistor. What this means is you can take out the power system, plug it into your wall socket, and then hook up any, infact multiple 12v items.

 

Step 1: Unplug computer, pull cord from back and LET IT SIT for atleast a few minutes, many computers maintain a small charge for a few seconds up to several minutes, this is a Mazda forum not an ER.

 

Step 2: Remove the outer casing of your computer and locate the power system, this will be a box in the back that the power cord comes into and 4-7 connectons come out of going to harddrives, dvd players etc. Please note that all computers are slightly different, the example pictured is a 94ish HP with windows 95.

 

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Step 3: Follow all the connections with red, yellow, 1-2 black wires to where they go and disconnect. These are universal plugs and will power your motherboard, harddrive, disk drive, cd player, dvd player, basically anything that needs power on a computer.

 

Step 4: Remove the power box itself, 99.99% of the time it will be a self contained unit with only a few small screws holding it in place, once you begin to pull there should be 1 final connection going to the main power button, disconnect as well.

 

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Step 5: Once removed, remove the protective cover. Now you can inspect the unit, if its dusty just blow it out. Now look for a small fuse and or any information which displays the amp rating. Compare this with what you want to test, if you need something more just upgrade the fuse.

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Step 6: Remove the front face of cpu and gain access to primary power button, this MUST be removed and reconnected to the power unit for it to turn on. Depending on the model this can be very easy or a real pain, if you really don't care about your HD then don't be afaird to hammer things out of the way

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Step 7: Unscrew power button and remove from cpu, take the outer cover you removed earlier and drill a similar size hole in it where it will not obstruct anything once reassembled (varies by model) Secure button in place but do not screw down protective cover

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Step 8 (Optional) : If your bored, you can take the power light off the cpu and splice into the on switch, drilling another hole for it, the cooling fan will still run and allow you to run higher amp items, but it will run silent so a light is a good idea for noobs. I did not do that in this case

 

Step 9: Connect in the power button, twisty tie excess wiring together and place in an area where they will not obstruct cooling fan, or simply cut away excess and resplice. Test fit the protective cover

 

Step 10: Secure cover with all original connectors just hanging out, you can now simply jam in wires to the factory connectors, or cut off and splice on some allegator clips for fast changing, your choice.

 

Step 11: Plug in power cable, cross your nuts, hope you didn't do something wrong and hit the on button. Both blacks are grounds, red and yellow are power, sometimes on ZJ's I like to connect the red to low beam and yellow to high beam, again this is your choice.

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Step 12: Enjoy

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