test electronics without car battery

Hello, I have a central lock that doesnt appear to be working. How can i work on the electronics in my house? ive seen people testing electronics away from the car battery, how can i do this? thank you

Another 12V supply. A 12V DC plug pack may be ok, though rarely are they above 1A. Plug packs for disk drives are usually 2A. A computer can also supply quite a few amps at 12V (it also has a 5V supply). Or a big torch battery. Or two 6V batteries. Or 8 or 9 1.5V batteries. It just needs to supply enough current. Problem is, locks are solenoids and the can have a big inrush current etc. (If you use a PC supply, do not have the PC attached.) I have at times used a transformer for a train set, but I assume hat are pretty rare these days....

Thanks guys. Very helpful. I think im going to go with using a computer power supply. Kreg357, thats a really cool setup you have and i would do it if i didnt have a box full of computer power supplys. Thanks again guys