How to Remove Speed Switch

genetix · Post by **genetix** » Sat Sep 26, 2009 11:42 pm

Well, got some connection errors on some Antec and Thermaltake fans.

All cases are pretty much the same. Speed switch cable works in 'some positions' = cable cut somewhere.

Connectors in 1 Fan:
3-pin Black, Red, Yellow (usual connector)
2-pin Black, Red (Speed Switch 'thermaltake comes with stepless', 'Antec comes with 3-state switch') <- this is the issue

How can I remove the speed switch completely in the middle (to control the fan from 3-pin cable only (as regular fan)

(If I simply unattach the thermaltake stepless. The fan spins either 1200 rpm OR 2100 rpm = No good.)
(I cannot post picture since this forum doesn't allow me to do so.)

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 12:27 am

Antec had issued a statement earlier year that their Tri-Cool fans had poor patch which would cause them not work perfectly. How old is your antec fan? If itsl ess than a year, contact antec and they'll ship you new one for free. Antec's warranty services are top notch.

However wouldn't it be cheaper and easier to buy a better fan? Scythe Slipsteream 1200 rpm model sells very cheap in Newegg and it is one of the best fans there with Scythe GentleTyphoon and do not break your budget. Neither fan is loud at full tilt and especially Slipstream 1200 moves massive amount air silently and use can use something like el-cheapo Zlaman fanmate to use drop voltages in ranges 5-12v. Letting you choosing effectively the noise / performance ratio you want.

genetix · Post by **genetix** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 9:58 pm

Just for a though:
Yeah, well a lot of things would be easier. I'm type of person who loves to make things hard and fix with soldering what ever I can. I know about warranties, but consider them as no solution in today world. Actually, I have like 3 scythe fans. Slipstream however I do not share your fate Ithink they truly sucks. I liked the FLEX +1600RPM minimum on any fan and control over them. Usually first question I ask when I buy fans is "Will this spin up to 2000-2500RPM" because I do not believe quiet functionality, but to control that 2000-2500RPM to the bottom so it'll be quiet when needed.

About controlling. You got today 3 ways of control. In the fans them self, in your motherboard & in your cool Fan controller units. I don't think the real solution is in having any kind of control in fans. Only solution is Motherboards & Fan controllers.

lm · Post by lm » Sat Oct 03, 2009 10:46 am

genetix, I'd love to sell you some non-working crap that I know now you wouldn't return to me, lol.

Seriously though, send them back.

genetix · Post by **genetix** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 8:41 pm

@lm

yeah, I know.. I believe in rock'n'roll, elvis lives and live almost in 80s where you actually had to fix instead of buying new crap all the time, but still dislike the style of new age.

what goes to this issue of removing..

No worries I gave the thermaltake V1 hammer treatment after figuring that it has to join together on original which was horrid idea and moved to Zalman 9700 which literally sucks in cooling. What goes to Antec stuff well, I soldered couple signal cables there to get all 3 fans controllable and dropped couple SCYTHE FLEX 120mms on top of those.

So, consider issues solved.
However, I'd still love to know how to properly remove the fan control 'unit'/'switches from fans.

coreyography · Post by **coreyography** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:17 pm

Well, dangit, you piqued my interest, so I took the switch apart on an unused TriCool.

It has 3 wires going to the switch. It appears to short no wires in the low position, red and black in the medium position, and red and yellow in the high position. This is just by visual, mind you, I didn't put a meter on it or anything.

So if you want, say, low speed to be your maximum, just cut and tape all the wires separately going to the switch. If you want one of the other two speeds, solder the appropriate two wires and cut/tape the third.

Or do it the easy way: zip-tie the switch up to one of the holes or to the power cable. I did this for a low, constant speed application on my other TriCool. I wouldn't bother salvaging these for any other application, though, as they have no RPM output, and they are clearly audible at any setting besides low.