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Adjusting rails on my Fortron 530w

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Milkman

Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2002
Location
NH Biodiesel master
Hey guys, hope everybody stayed safe this New year:) anyway does anyone have any experience adjusting the voltage rails on there fortron 530w Ps? I recently had the cover off and noted 3 plastic adjustments on a small circuit board, I turned these while watching my rails and saw very little change if any at all, the reason I want to adjust them is that my 3.3v is around 3.28 and my 12v is around 11.86, 5.0volts is ok @ 5.03 so I think thats ok, can anyone offer some assistance as to where the correct pots might be located and how they should be properly adjusted? I appreciate any help and thanks in advance.

Milkman
 
Those really aren't /that/ far off...are those motherboard reads, or are they taken with a multi-meter?
 
I just recently performed that rail adjustment on my Fortron 530.

The only problem is I didn't take any pictures of the pots.

If you adjusted the pots and it made little difference you turned the wrong ones. When you turn the right ones it makes a BIG difference.
 
I would check with a multi meter before makeing any adjustments. My Bios was reading all my voltages as low but once I checked with a multi meter they showed they were actually where they needed to be



Jen
 
Milkman

Ok I felt bad that I adjusted the pots and didn't think about taking pictures so I took it back out and took a pic.

Consider this your New Years gift. :D

The dials are extremely sensitive so be careful.

I first set the voltages a little low with my PSU tester and then hooked it up to the motherboard and with the PSU open I took my multimeter and adjusted the voltages while measuring at the ATX plug.

If I told you it only takes a nats a*s to adjust it I wouldn't be stretching the truth.

The 12/5 volt rails are the same pot so when you adjust it both voltages will change.

Here are my settings after adjusting: 12v=12.00, 5v=5.13, 3.3v=3.30


BE CAREFUL!

Tmod
 

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Thank you so much Tmod, that is just what I was looking for, knowing full well all the damage that could occur while playing I really wanted to be sure I had the right ones, anytime I can help you please ask:D

-Milkman
 
Awesome, I really appreciate this info too. Looks like I'll be grabbing a Forton 530w instead of the True Control 550w. :) Nice to know that these adjustments are available.
 
please be sure you check with a multimeter before adjusting, the mobo readouts can NOT be trusted in this regard. If your rails are actually a bit high, and the mobo is just reporting low, u could fry your comp in a very bad way.

cheers :).

J.
 
Yeah, I thought about that, can anyone point me to a guide/diagram with basic voltage taking steps, I wanna get my readings from the right place:) and am a voltage newb:D

-Milkman
 
Yeah, I would appreciate that as well. I was planning on using a multimeter, but I don't think the one I have is very good.

Anyone know of a good, inexpensive multimeter?
 
Re: Milkman

Tmod said:
> > > > > > > > > > > >
The 12/5 volt rails are the same pot so when you adjust it both voltages will change.

< < < < < < < < < <

Very interesting!
It seems the 12 & 5 volt pots are one in the same in the
fsp530, just like this Fortron 400w.
 
Milkman

OK you owe me once again. :D

Take your multimeter and set it to DC volts.

Now take the black probe and place it somewhere that is grounded. Any black wire on the ATX connector will do. Or you can use a power plugs black wire as they all go to the same place.

Now following the attached diagram just push the probe in until you get a reading and adjust that pot.

Make sure the power connector is hooked up to the motherboard and the system is running when adjusting the pots. I adjusted mine with the PSU disconnected from that motherboard at first and then I had to go back and readjust after I hooked it up.

If you have any questions please post before adjusting as I don't want to see anyone burn anything up.

BE CAREFUL WHEN ADJUSTING THESE POTS, THERE IS 120 VOLTS IN THERE AND I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANYONE FRY ANYTHING!

Here is the link to the ATX Connector voltage point image.
 
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How do you set your 3.3v voltage when the motherboard is hooked up and on?

Also, I would hate to fry something...isn't there any other way of adjusting the rails without connecting the PSU to anything? I love my NF7-S...
 
Get one of those plastic tuning tools -- a lot safer than a screwdriver when working on high voltage. They're either all plasic or have steel only at the very tip. Radio Shack may still have them, or you can carve one out of a wooden dowel or plastic or fiberglass rod. Also have the PSU plugged into an AC outlet that's protected by a ground fault interrupter because I think that a grounded outlet alone would still let you get shocked or even electrocuted if you touched some high voltage with one hand and the PSU case or computer case with our other hand. That brings up my final point: Always keep one hand in your pocket to make situations like that less likely. www.repairfaq.org has lots of repair information and safety tips.
 
Tmod comes through again!!, I am going to take some readings in the next day or so and see how far off it is really, I haven't had any stability problems what so ever but don't want that to be a contributing factor.

-Milkman
 
Well after checking all lines with my multi-meter I found that all were well within spec, +12v averages 12.2, +3.3 averages 3.32 to 3.3 and +5.0v sits pretty consistant at 5.10-5.15 so I am not going to adjust anything right now, also these were measured at idle and also at load and never once did any dip below spec:D Guess I made the right choice on a Power supply, and thanks a million Tmod;)

-Milkman
 
are those testing points on the atx plug the same for all psu's..?

I assume yes since atx is a standard thing .. but I wana test my readings with multi meter and dont wana fry anything.. my 12v stays around 11.5 loaded or not..

thx
Thunda
 
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