Replacing power connector on motherboard

[Guest_imported]

Hi all, I accidently broke one pin on the power connector on an old AT motherboard. Is it safe to take the connector from another motherboard and weld it to this one? Or can I just weld the broken pin? What is the best thing to do? Thank you.

 

[edfair]

I probably would desolder the strip of 6 and install a new strip.
Depending on what pin you lost, you might not need to replace it. +5 and grounds are common across 4 pins. Ed Fair
unixstuff@juno.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[Guest_imported]

Im not sure what you mean by desolder the strip of 6... It seems to be one piece with 12 pin. Did I miss something here?

I lost the centermost pin on P8 (The sixth one I guess)

 

[edfair]

Don't have an AT M/B handy to double check, but thought it was 2 pieces of 6 like the PC.
But you may also have a clone, which sometimes had 12 pos Molex with round pins.
What color wires connect to the broken pin position? If centermost it should be black, and you probably can run the M/B with the pin broken. Probably because most board mfgs connected all the grounds, but some didn't.
And do you have a VOM to test whether they really are commoned?
Ed Fair
unixstuff@juno.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[Guest_imported]

The broken pin connects to a black wire. Isn't it dangerous to run the computer without the ground connected? And what's a VOM?

 

[edfair]

You have 4 wires to carry the current. And it is just an accident that it is a ground, it really is a negative return.
A VOM stands for Volt-Ohm meter, used for measuring voltages, amperage, and ohms(a measure of resistance).
Plug it in and see if it runs. If it runs, they are common. If it doesn't, you need to replace it. Ed Fair
unixstuff@juno.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[DorothyDix]

If you need to replace this pin (if it isn't a common ground),there is usually a small amount of plastic at the base of the pins. Cut this away carefully with a sharp artknife and then solder a stiff piece of copper wire to the pin,being carefull to realign it so it aligns to the plug.
I have done this successfully myself. I even replaced a corner pin on a processor once!

Cya

PAUL