Cold Cathode Flourescent Lights HELP!!

neville_naid · 09-17-2008, 01:37 AM

Hi

Please can someone help me. I recently installed a pair of cold cathode flourecent lights in my pc, but for some reason when i boot my pc up and then swtich the flourecent light ON or OFF. This switches my monitor off and my CPU fan starts running extremely fast. I am curently running a 750W powersupply with a Asus P5Q Deluxe motherboard.

any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

postal808 · 09-17-2008, 03:57 AM

uhhhh ... sounds like a wireing problem to me ? but im not an expert and ive only built 1 pc using cathode lights ...

neville_naid · 09-17-2008, 04:17 AM

Thanks Man - I dont think the wireing is the problem though. I've double check and made sure that everything is correct. I'm really baffled with regards to this.

HawMan · 09-17-2008, 09:55 AM

What type are they ? You got any pics?

They are fairly easy to set up. Mine go into a small Invertor Then get powered using a Molex.

I havent had any problems with the monitor going off / on though.

**magnethead** · 09-17-2008, 03:17 PM

I agree on wiring. Have you validated that there's 12VDC at the input to the invertor? Also, what kind of system load (CPU and GPU) do you have?

**Jtsou** · 09-17-2008, 07:34 PM

The thing about flourescent lights..They use Very little energy, I dont see what makes them drag a system down so much.

**stressfreesoul** · 09-17-2008, 07:44 PM

Its the spike in voltage when they switch on. I had the same problem on my setup with dual 12" UV cathodes. The power connector, unfortunately, either has to be plugged into its own 12v rail (the only thing on a Molex line) or only have fans plugged in the same line.
There is another solution......

Never turn them off!!

**stressfreesoul** · 09-17-2008, 07:46 PM

What else is plugged into the same line as your cathodes are plugged into?

**Jtsou** · 09-17-2008, 09:03 PM

Aha, those are high voltages/very low amperage, i forgot about a spike in power.

**stressfreesoul** · 09-18-2008, 09:56 AM

The only things on the same line as my cathodes now are fans, as they arent critical to memory.
When I first got them, I made the mistake of putting them on the same line as one of my HDDs. As soon as I switched them on I got a BSOD narking on about hardware.

09-17-2008, 01:37 AM	#1 (permalink)
neville_naid Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 2 OS: Black XP	Cold Cathode Flourescent Lights HELP!! Hi Please can someone help me. I recently installed a pair of cold cathode flourecent lights in my pc, but for some reason when i boot my pc up and then swtich the flourecent light ON or OFF. This switches my monitor off and my CPU fan starts running extremely fast. I am curently running a 750W powersupply with a Asus P5Q Deluxe motherboard. any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

09-17-2008, 03:57 AM	#2 (permalink)
postal808 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Oahu, Hawaii Posts: 77 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x64 SP1, Windows 7 RC x64, Linux_Ubuntu 9.04 x64 My System	Re: Cold Cathode Flourescent Lights HELP!! uhhhh ... sounds like a wireing problem to me ? but im not an expert and ive only built 1 pc using cathode lights ... __________________ New PC coming soon ! (in signature)

09-17-2008, 04:17 AM	#3 (permalink)
neville_naid Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 2 OS: Black XP	Re: Cold Cathode Flourescent Lights HELP!! Thanks Man - I dont think the wireing is the problem though. I've double check and made sure that everything is correct. I'm really baffled with regards to this. __________________ Asus P5Q Deluxe - Reaper 2x2GB 1066MHZ - Gainward ATI4850 - Q6600 Quad Core

09-17-2008, 09:55 AM	#4 (permalink)
HawMan Liam Join Date: May 2006 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Posts: 2,943 OS: Win XP My System	Re: Cold Cathode Flourescent Lights HELP!! What type are they ? You got any pics? They are fairly easy to set up. Mine go into a small Invertor Then get powered using a Molex. I havent had any problems with the monitor going off / on though. __________________ Please Consider Donating to keep the site free.

09-17-2008, 03:17 PM	#5 (permalink)
magnethead Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Texas, USA Posts: 3,570 OS: Vista ultimate 32bit My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: Cold Cathode Flourescent Lights HELP!! I agree on wiring. Have you validated that there's 12VDC at the input to the invertor? Also, what kind of system load (CPU and GPU) do you have? __________________ For proper support: what are you running? graphics, cpu, m/board, ram, PSU brand wattage PCI-E requires 26 amps at 12 volts. That's a 650W PSU. Power Supply Info and Selection . Info on thermal compounds & application . TEST PSU USING MULTI-METER . Bench Testing Your System

09-17-2008, 07:34 PM	#6 (permalink)
Jtsou Hardware Specialist Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Louisburg, NC Posts: 1,214 OS: Vista Home Premium SP1 My System	Re: Cold Cathode Flourescent Lights HELP!! The thing about flourescent lights..They use Very little energy, I dont see what makes them drag a system down so much. __________________ CPU-Z-----GPU-Z-----CoreTemp-----Speedfan

09-17-2008, 07:44 PM	#7 (permalink)
stressfreesoul Semi-Absent (life, eh?) Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: County Durham UK Posts: 1,852 OS: XP, Win7 RC x64, Ubuntu x64 multiboot My System Blog Entries: 7	Re: Cold Cathode Flourescent Lights HELP!! Its the spike in voltage when they switch on. I had the same problem on my setup with dual 12" UV cathodes. The power connector, unfortunately, either has to be plugged into its own 12v rail (the only thing on a Molex line) or only have fans plugged in the same line. There is another solution...... Never turn them off!! __________________ TSF Folding@Home, find out how to do your bit in the fight against Cancer "Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut" xbox Live tag: storiedmedal Warning!! GTA IV addict! Join my game at your peril!

09-17-2008, 07:46 PM	#8 (permalink)
stressfreesoul Semi-Absent (life, eh?) Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: County Durham UK Posts: 1,852 OS: XP, Win7 RC x64, Ubuntu x64 multiboot My System Blog Entries: 7	Re: Cold Cathode Flourescent Lights HELP!! What else is plugged into the same line as your cathodes are plugged into? __________________ TSF Folding@Home, find out how to do your bit in the fight against Cancer "Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut" xbox Live tag: storiedmedal Warning!! GTA IV addict! Join my game at your peril!

09-17-2008, 09:03 PM	#9 (permalink)
Jtsou Hardware Specialist Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Louisburg, NC Posts: 1,214 OS: Vista Home Premium SP1 My System	Re: Cold Cathode Flourescent Lights HELP!! Aha, those are high voltages/very low amperage, i forgot about a spike in power. __________________ CPU-Z-----GPU-Z-----CoreTemp-----Speedfan

09-18-2008, 09:56 AM	#10 (permalink)
stressfreesoul Semi-Absent (life, eh?) Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: County Durham UK Posts: 1,852 OS: XP, Win7 RC x64, Ubuntu x64 multiboot My System Blog Entries: 7	Re: Cold Cathode Flourescent Lights HELP!! The only things on the same line as my cathodes now are fans, as they arent critical to memory. When I first got them, I made the mistake of putting them on the same line as one of my HDDs. As soon as I switched them on I got a BSOD narking on about hardware. __________________ TSF Folding@Home, find out how to do your bit in the fight against Cancer "Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut" xbox Live tag: storiedmedal Warning!! GTA IV addict! Join my game at your peril!