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Stupid fan wiring...
So I bought this super cool computer fan that's clear with blue LEDs thinking it will look sweet in my stand and would be easy to find an AC adapter power supply to plug into a wall outlet. Well, I was wrong (first time ever ;) ), or at least I think I was wrong because I can't figure this thing out. I figure a 3-pin atx to a powersupply is easy...ohhh nooooo.
Wth do I have to do to make this work? Can I go 3-pin atx to usb to ac adapter power supply? I need 12V 1400 mA. |
Here ya go, thank me later.
http://www.ncix.com/detail/vantec-2-...36790-1013.htm This is assuming your fan came with a 3 to 4 pin molex connector. The second picture shows the power supply with a 4 pin molex. This is what I used for my fan in the stand. The LED's on the fan went kaput about 2 months after install, lol. |
or this
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My fan came with a 3-pin apx to 4-pin Molex connector, but if I use the 4-pin only 2 of the wires go into it and then there is another 3-pin separate with the third wire in it. Does that make sense or do you need a pic? Quote:
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If you want to run your fan simply a plug and play switch or a timer on/off why not get a cheap converter and have it wired directly to your - and + ends of the fan,..voila.
I have mine similar on a timer running of a AC/DC converter for the last 2 years with no issues. You need something like the link below. Ebay AC/DC converter |
I soldered mine directly as long as you can figure out witch end is your - and + as the 3rd wire from the fan is really not needed
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3rd wire is speed control..in my case I simply cut it out as not using it at all.
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Photo would certainly help sort things out. What colours are the 3 wires on the fan? There is a standard colour coding for DC circuits, but you never know these days. It's 12VDC so to run the fan you really only need 2 wires, + & -. The 3rd wire is, as already mentioned, either speed control (requiring additional external circuitry) or for the LEDs.
If you have a 9 volt battery kicking around, it should be easy to find out which are your +- leads. You'll need to cut off the molex connector & strip the wires, or remove the pins. With a jewellers screwdriver, you can generally push the pin out of a molex connector. They have a metal tab that locks the pin in place. Touch the wires to the 9V battery terminals & see in which configuration the fan spins up. Might even light up the LED lights. The fan should run with 9 volts, or at least try to once you get the polarity right. It may even run in either direction if it's reversible. To replace the molex & have a simple interface rather than soldering etc, an adapter as shown in the link below will come in handy in the future. Allows you to adapt your fan wiring to most any wall wart with the standard DC pin connector. Your local electronic supplier may have some of these in stock. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/DC12V-Power-P...item259ceb4652 I have a bunch of them to adapt my DIY LED strips. With respect to the LEDs being waterproof, I doubt your fan itself is waterproof either, being designed for a computer (dry environment). The solder connections will all be relatively exposed unless the fan is rated as being water proof or water resistant. Best to keep it all away from a humid environment. Not a big deal with regard to personal safety with 12VDC, but over the long term, exposed to moisture or excess humidity, the various solder connections will corrode. Having said that, I've used standard 12 volt fans in DIY lights over my tank for years without issue. |
Thanks for the help Mike, I'll test with a 9V battery. Good idea! At least then I should be able to figure out if the LEDs are on the third wire or not. The wires don't have color coding - they are wrapped in clear wire coating and I can see the bare wires through the clear coating. The fan is not rated for moist environments, and I don't expect it to last forever, but for $7 I can replace it once a year if I need to. :D It's going in the back wall of my stand to help move moisture out of the stand.
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don.'t know why you don't think these wont work
I am currently running 5 120 mm fans off one of these power supplies.these were purposefully built with the molex connector already built on. your fan should have come with an adapter they also carry them there plug & play :question:
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Mindy, don't worry about the number of wires. The third wire is nothing to be concerned about. One is + and one is -. It really is plug and play with the power supplies that are linked at the beginning of the thread. Just need to use the supplied 3 to 4 pin molex (supplied with fan) and plug into power supply. I went through all this when I installed mine. Only problem I had was I needed to switch one of the pins on the molex to line up with the molex on the power supply. Its really easy peasy!
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Here are the only two pics I have of the install. You will be surprised how hard it is to find the power supply at any local electronics store. The Source store is a joke now-a-days, much better when it use to be Radio Shack, for electronics anyways. Lots of power supplies on Ebay, but who wants to wait that long? I ended up getting the power supply from my local NCIX, and just added the extra unused hardware to my computer junk box.
https://c3.staticflickr.com/3/2896/1...37c62aeb_c.jpg https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5585/1...746aa44c_c.jpg |
B&E Electronics
Mindy, take a trip to B&E electronics. Those guys will help you out. well I'm guessing they will, the guys that were in the Regina store helped me on several occasions.
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http://www.be-electronics.com/Search...p?Search=molex Humidity shouldn't be too much of an issue in your stand & yeah, for $7 not a big deal if the fan bites it after a year or even months. The B&E guys can probably recommend some better moisture resistant connectors for you. Next thing you know, you'll be fabricating bigger & better electronic thingys. https://youtu.be/L8Mfvv1PqpY |
Thanks guys! I'm actually pretty good at soldering and connecting and working with shrink tube and all that. I had to re-wire lights on my logging truck trailer every month or so (they vibrate around and wear off the coating and short out on the frame eventually...always fun finding exactly where the problem is with 110 feet of truck and trailer). The difference is that I just had to cut out a bad section and re-connect, so I knew what I was doing. As long as I know which wires do what, I'll be fine. The only reason this isn't completed yet is because B&E isn't open on the weekends. The guy at OTV Technology where I got the fan told me to go to B&E for a power supply. I didn't want to wait, so I tried about 6 other places, and wasted a bunch of time. :lol: I can't believe how hard it is to find a simple 12VDC power supply these days! I'll use the Molex power supply if the price is reasonable, if not, then I'll just buy a power supply with a barrel connector, cut it off and splice in my fan. :)
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First thing that comes to mind when looking for 12vdc power supply would be "surplus" section in princess auto. Looks like you have one in Saskatoon
Sorry havent read the rest of the thread or if this will help. |
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I'll get to B&E sometime this week. |
12 volt 3 amp with alligator clips! That would work great. Just because you only need 1400 mA, doesn't mean a 3 amp power supply can't be used. It will only supply what the fan draws, no more. Better to have a larger supply working at 15-20% than a smaller one at 90%.
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Just as an FYI, I'm pretty sure the yellow wire is strictly RPM/monitoring, doesn't actually control anything. I remember having red/black molex fans with fan control.
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One of these days I'll have enough time to get back to this project as well as actually getting the tank running! :lol: |
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