Can a power supply be damaged,but its fans will spin

[FireManDude]

is it possible that a power supply would not turn your PC on,but would still spin in the paper clip test,i heard it is a rare condition,but i wasn't able to find anymore information on it

Any more information is welcomed,thank you

 

[Amdlova]

yes... some bad powersupply will work but you can't trusth on them. get a good one to replace.

 

[i7Baby]

Yes. Just because its fan's spinning, doesn't mean its 100% OK.

 

[FireManDude]

Thank you both for the quick reply,the power supply in question is Cx600 *lasted a little more than a year,if faulty as i suspect*
if i happen to get my hands on a multimeter,can i test the output of the power supply myself,if yes,then what would i have to compare the readings to,in order to know weather the power supply is damaged
i have also noticed the fans dont spin quite as fast as they used to when my pc was working

 

[i7Baby]

You need to know what line is what. You should get 12v, 5v and 3.3v readings - http://www.corsair.com/en/builder-series-cx600

 

[FireManDude]

The site doesnt specify which cables deliver which voltage

 

[i7Baby]

Yep - you have to look at pinouts - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX

 

[FireManDude]

i was able to find the pinouts thanks!,but how would i deal with multimeter inaccuracy as in how low/high the voltage should be to tell me that the powersupply is deemed bad

 

[i7Baby]

If any of the readings are more than 0.2v from nominal, then its a poor quality power supply. If the 12v line is more than 0.5v from 12v then its crap.