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Just a small doubt

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earjun

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Hii my friends Im a newbie i would like to know that if i connect the positive and negative end of a AC to DC converter after it converted ac to dc will there be any danger?
 
I'm not sure what you are trying to say. Are you talking about dead shorting the + and - together? If so, then yes, would certinly be dangerous and harmful to the converter. Why would you even want to do that?
 
To keep the juice from escaping? It will smoke really bad. It might even catch on fire.
 
if it's a commercial switch-mode ac - dc converter, nothing should happen. the converter will detect a shorted output and shutdown, at least, all the ones I've worked with do this - most of them do it so fast I don't even see a spark when the outputs touch.
 
Some convertors mail fail or overheat - in the extreme case they might catch on fire. It it question that has many answers and the answer that applies is quite dependent on the convertor.
 
earjun said:
Hii my friends Im a newbie i would like to know that if i connect the positive and negative end of a AC to DC converter after it converted ac to dc will there be any danger?
Connect it to what?
Sheesh, do we have to be mind readers too? I think it's time the forum moderator adds another category: Braindead Electronics
 
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Another forum I post in has a section called the moron zone for crap like this, perhaps we need one.
 
Hello Guys Im Not A Moron I Was Trying To Source Power From A Cell Phone Charger Connecting Wires From The Output Pins, I Wanted To Know Whether There Was Any Danger In Doing That You Know If I Accidentally Connected The Both Ends..... Got It???????
Anyway Thank You Guys
 
earjun said:
Hello Guys Im Not A Moron I Was Trying To Source Power From A Cell Phone Charger Connecting Wires From The Output Pins, I Wanted To Know Whether There Was Any Danger In Doing That You Know If I Accidentally Connected The Both Ends..... Got It???????
Anyway Thank You Guys

Okay, well in that case you should be fine. It helps to put as much info in your first post as possible. Otherwise no one really knows what the heck your talking about.

It would still be best if you didn't touch the ends together, although I doubt it will spark or set fire. If you don't need to use the charger for a phone anymore, I'd just cut the plug off the end and use the wires. If you don't want to do that, you can buy most sockets for "wallwart" adapters online at mouser or digikey and put that on your project. Then there will be no chance of shorting the to leads unless the project has a short in it.
 
The charger might burn out instantly or after a few moments if you short its output wires together. If it is a cheap one then it might smoke and catch on fire.
 
Isn't there any kind of protection built into them?
 
A good adapter has a thermal fuse inside. The thermal fuse interrupts the current when the temperature rises but is still safe.

A cheap one lets its primary winding be the fuse. The copper wire melts at a pretty high temperature that might set on fire the plastic or paper insulation inside.

A cheap 9VDC/200mA adapter has an output voltage of 18V without a load. With a 200mA load its output voltage is 9V.
When its output is shorted then its current is only 400mA so it gets warm but doesn't catch on fire.
 
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