I am new to hardware.
My breadboard just arrived and I am trying to light up my LED. I used computer power supply for power (red wire for + black for -) and used strands of LAN cable for connect LED and power supply. It works!
But the both of two stands of power supply side cable jacket melted and computer slowly shutted down.
I just use old computer power supply's FDD power cable's strands (red for plus
and black for minus).
Could somebody let me know why this happened and how to use power supply safely?
Best Answer
seems like somewhere in your setup, there is a short circuit. Computer power supplies deliver a very high current easily capable of heating up wires. Can You try to draw a circuit diagram or upload a picture that shows the details of how your setup is wired? Are you using a resistor in series with the LED?
You might want to try your first experiments with a power supply not as strong as a PC power supply (old wall wart with something 5V / 1A, ...).
Also, I recommend not using the power of your running PC for experimentation. You risk damaging your entire PC, not just the power supply.