How To Test A Motherboard With A Multimeter- Guide By Computer Expert!

The motherboard is certainly the mother of all the boards! It’s comparable to a human brain because it single-handedly deals with all the CPU functions. It’s created in such a way that it doesn’t require any cables for making sense of the circuitry.

However, from time to time, a need for troubleshooting or testing the motherboard appears. That’s when the multimeter comes in really handy. It’ll assist you in testing almost all the circuits, particularly when something is wrong. Troubleshooting is a significant part of owning the system or any other electrical device, for that matter. A multimeter is a great tool for the same.

Also Read: am3+ motherboard

How Can You Test A Motherboard Using A Multimeter?

Let’s dig a little deeper into it and find out how to make use of the multimeter while testing the motherboard.

For Short Circuits:

First of all, we’re gonna discuss testing for short circuits because it’s a common issue and may appear when there is an electrical surge.

• First off, switch your PC off > unplug it.
• Wait for numerous minutes so that it completely cools off and has no charge.
• After that, take the multimeter and adjust that to the lowest setting. It’s usually 200 Ohm. For bringing the meter to zero, you need to touch both the leads at the same time. Once you do so, test it using the chassis to ensure that it’s still zero.
• Open the PC to locate your motherboard. Take out the ATX connector from it.
• The red one goes to the AC ground pin of the PSU while the black one stays on the chassis. The black cable pins ought to be on the DC connector. Even at that point, all the readings ought to be zero.
• Now, making sure that the black lead stays in place, make use of the red one for checking all the colored wires. Fifty or more is normal. Anything below fifty is a matter of concern.
• You can also check further to locate faults. Take out the motherboard completely from the system. Check the ATX 20-pin chart for finding the pin numbers on the motherboard. Make use of the red lead for testing each of the GND pins. 5, 3, 13, 7, 16, 15, and 17 have to be zero. If you see any other reading, there is an issue.

For DC Voltages:

The steps for checking the DC voltages are a little different. Check out the following:

• The 20-pin ATX has to be connected, and in this situation, your PC has to be connected to power.
• The multimeter setting ought to be at 20V DC.
• Make use of the black multimeter probe for probing your connector on the back. It ought to be in contact with 16, 15, and 17 pins.
• The red probe, alternatively, ought to probe 14 and 9. Pin 9 ought to read 5V, and pin 14 ought to read between 3V and 5V.
• Switch your computer on. If the readings drop to 0, everything is okay. If not, you’ve problems to resolve.
• Now, you require the red probe again. Make use of it for checking pin 8. Ideally, it ought to be more than 2.5V. Hit reset and check if the reading goes down to 0 and then goes back up. If it does not, you require help.

The Bottom Line:

It might seem difficult, but the procedure of testing the motherboard using a multimeter isn’t all that bad. There’re just some steps to follow, and voila! You’ll know if there’re any issues to resolve or if the motherboard is in perfect condition.

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