My friend gave me two cold cathodes for free, but heres the hook...they were incomplete. So I made a picture of it and what is missing and all. So your guys job is to help me figure out what goes where and what I need and/or am missing. I dont want to screw this up with trial and error, cuz I need to work on sumthing since I am bored. Dont tell me to just buy some cuz I did yesterday and decided to try to fix this while I wait. Here is the pic... Plz help out and thanx.
Welcome The yellow cut wire from the PCI banking plate goes to the RED molex wire, and the two black ones go together. However that would mean the inverter is 5v, which doesn't make sense. A red molex wire is 5v, and a yellow one has 12v, with the black ones being ground (0v). Wire the yellow banking plate wire to red first, and if it seems dim try using a yellow molex wire instead You should have em running in no time BTW I'm assuming that the PCI plate is the switch. edit: oh and if I may give some respectful advice, this is your first post on a new forum and your attitude seems kind of cocky. Maybe just my interpretation but oh well. Might put some people off tho.
Wow, fast reply! So the yellow should go into the red wire and the black with the black. And if the yellow doesnt work or dims, I tuck that yellow wire into the yellow molex spot? And what about the hanging-out red wire out of the molex? And yes, the pci slot is the switch.
Black goes with black, yeah. The take the yellow wire from the PCI banking plate and connect it to the red molex pin (or wire, whatever, make sure it recieves power from the red, 5v molex line), and see if the cathodes light up. If they look dim or refuse to light, try poking the yellow wire in the yellow molex connector to see if it lights properly. Make sure you remember (or write down) which wire goes where (IE does it require 5 or 12v) and then solder it up. If you don't have a soldering iron (or you can't solder and don't feel like trying) you can also twist the wire strands together and use some tape but be careful in that case. Soldering's your best option once you figure it out.
Ok sweet. Trying now with my Xbox to test it since I dont feel like unscrewing the pc case for this. (Its safe to test it, even if it blows the cathodes out, without the Xbox blowing up right?)
Donno, I guess it shouldn't kill it, but if I were you I'd try it with the PC PSU first, as many standard PSUs turn themself off when something goes funny (like a short) and I'm not familiar with the Xbox Then after you know if it needs 5 or 12v you can hook it up in your xbox.
Im hearing things like you cant use the pc power supply in the wall outlet with plugging some wires in. I have a spare pc psu lying around, Ive heard of like, splicing some wires to disable the psu but for use with the wall outlet to test out some things. Any ideas? Or are you sure my crappy ol' 100-sumthing watt psu will just shut down without damage? Eh...Im going to try it, but it would help to see this thread updated soon as Im working on it in case sumthing comes up. Thanx and any other input is appreciated.
An ATX PSU needs to be hot-wired when you're not using a PC. Grab some wire or a paperclip or something and connect the green wire on the big 20-ping connector to ground (black wire). Your PSU should fire up. I've personally never had any problems running PSUs with little or no load so don't worry about that. Donno but I've seen ancient AT-style (with 2 mobo connectors and a really hefty on/off scwitch) PSUs with short-circuit protection. There's little chance of causing a large amount of damage here so tinker away
Yay, you were right! The wires and everything works and guess what? I already had the Xbox lid cover open, so I decided to use the molex in there, lol. What the bummer is, as I was burning the wires to reveal/get the wires out of the 'outside covering' so I could splice them and twist them together instead of soldering, I accidently pulled the wire for the uv too much and ripped the whole wire out of its socket and there is no way for me to get it fixed, so I stuck with the blue cathode. Question, the 'cubes' on the end of the cathodes, they look hot glued together. I want to know how to get them off. Anyone know? Thanx.
Although I wouldn't recommend trying to remove the cubes try heating them gently. However if the cathode's in acrylic like mine it won't be too happy, it'll get all bent and fugly. Oh, and next time, don't burn the plastic off wires, but use a knife or something to strip the plastic insulator off Can you maybe post pics of that damaged UV cathode, maybe there's something you can do about it (but you just don't realize) and a pic speaks 1000 words
I would post pics if I had a camera. The wires been ripped out right out of the cube thing I was talking about. Now that you mention, that the acrylic will warp and melt, I dont think I am going to try to get it off, unless I am really bored and dont care for the cathode.. Thanx for the help!
Hmm if the cathodes wires have been ripped out I wouldn't try fixing them. There's more than 600v going to that cathode, you might have a problem if that shorts out
if you are able to take the plastic cubes off, DONT. the exposed wire that runs along the glass tube carries much voltage (600 or so) but little amperage, so it will not kill you, but you will feel it. If you are confident of your soldering skills, than you could try to fix a black wire that has come loose. However, if the colored wire (probally yellow) comes loose, dont try and fix it.
I would say that if you are good at electronic soldering and know how to insulate properly, there should be no problem as long as a thick insulation wire is used. And the up to 1000V coming from a CCFL converter is fun... it arcwelds holes in skin rater than cause conventional burns, doesn't hurt much, but smells like french fries and looks pretty bad
I wouldt try to solder the wire back into the glass tube, as oyu would have to pool solder into the hole, and hope that it doenst casue a leak, or already have one. cause then it wouldnt work anyways, and its probally a toxic gas inside, or at least not healty at that... I personally havent been shocked by a CC and i dont want to, i have enough battle wounds as it is.
