Routing the fan wires out of my PSU

fri2219 · Post by **fri2219** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:36 pm

I have a 330 W SeaSonic S12 II- the fan on it is an 120 mm ADDA, which buzzes and clicks in the most annoying manner possible. Since I have a spare Scythe floating around, I decided to stick that in instead- the internal adapter is two pin, and the tail on the Scythe is three...

Swapping the connectors is no problem, but it occurred to me that I could have the mobo control the speed of the fan, since its one of the main exhaust routes in the case. So, my question is, how have people who've done this managed the fan wires? Did you cut a notch for them in the PS' frame outer shell? I can't see how closing the frame onto the wires will do them much good, and putting them through the bottom is just going to get them chopped up in the blades.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, my better half has the camera this week.

LongJan · Post by **LongJan** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 6:12 pm

I have had that problem with two ADDA-fans. The last one I replaced with a Noctua which now is running from an external fan control. I bent one corner on the PSU cover to route the wire to the outside.

Some pictures Here

fri2219 · Post by **fri2219** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 11:36 pm

LongJan wrote:Some pictures Here

Thank you, that was very helpful.

P.S. The similarity between the build I'm fiddling with and the one shown in the link is quite striking.

SebRad · Post by **SebRad** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 6:53 am

Hi, when I swapped the fan in my NeoHE I brought the tach signal lead (thin black sleeved) out with the rest of the cables.

Along the way I cut the original zip tie (zap strap?) and replaced it with the fan wire in the bundle.
I left the fan powered by the PSU as it is then still in control of the fan and can increase the fan speed if things get hot. (to the limit of the new slower fan's speed anyway)
Regards, Seb

LongJan · Post by **LongJan** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 1:24 pm

I am glad to see someone else who dares to use a sleeve bearing fan in a power supply. Of course, yours is mounted in a vertical position, mine horizontal.

nd4spdbh · Post by **nd4spdbh** » Fri Nov 16, 2007 5:12 pm

LongJan wrote:I am glad to see someone else who dares to use a sleeve bearing fan in a power supply. Of course, yours is mounted in a vertical position, mine horizontal.

whats wrong with running a sleve bearing in a psu? or horizontal for that matter?

LongJan · Post by **LongJan** » Fri Nov 16, 2007 6:05 pm

Well, there are people advising against it, in these forums. Shorter lifespan, they say. But I am not sure if they really know, and if so, how much shorter.

Callous · Post by **Callous** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 2:41 pm

Shorter lifespan, even shorter lifespan in high heat environments (like in powersupplies).

Seriously guys, why take it to this extreme? If the fan fails, then it might start a fire.

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 3:09 pm

I have had the sleeve bearing Nexus 120mm running horizontally in my SS S12-330 for over a year and a half, probably almost two years now, without any issues (noise, cooling, etc.). The fan is connected to my mobo and controlled by Speedfan, which I let it run at about 400-500 rpm idle, 900-1000 rpm load.

I doubt it'll give you any trouble for a long, long time.

lm · Post by lm » Sun Nov 18, 2007 3:35 pm

I did exactly what topic says in an old build of mine that is no longer being used (and also a fan swap to the psu).

So I cut the original fans wires, because they were just soldered directly to the psu's pcb (or actually to a small extra pcb in there).

My replacement fans (pabst) came with the headers not connected, and the psu had some airflow holes that lead back to inside the case, so it was easy to push the wires through such a hole, and then connect the header to the wires outside the psu.

LongJan · Post by **LongJan** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 4:13 pm

Callous:
I very much doubt that a faulty fan will start a fire. Surely, there must be some sort of protection against overheating? Ball bearings can fail too.

What ever, if mine fails, my fan control will beep and flash red