Any PC building hardware geeks in the lounge?

[roseBudd]

I noticed last night that my case fan wasn't spinning. Wanting a new fan now I stopped at Radio Shack at lunch & bought this fan 12VDC Brushless Fan

http://63.240.110.151/product/index.jsp?productId=2102826&cp=2032061.2063031.2063071&pg=4&parentPage=family&allCount=122&allCount=122&fbn=Brand%2FAntec&fbc=1&parentPage=family

The only problem is the red and black wires don't terminate in a PC power connector like the fan I am replacing, they are just bare wire.

I tugged on the wires on my broken fan, I don't see how you could reuse one of those connectors without destroying it. Suggestions?

[roseBudd]

1. kick?

[frog92969]

2. It is possible

to cut and splice the old wires to the new.

Are they both either 2 or 3 wire?

[roseBudd]

3. Both 2 wire...

but the 4 pin connector on the old fan does not seem like it is possible to dissasemble. I am wondering if this Radio Shack fan does not have a typical PC connectors because it seems a popular fan for all kinds of non PC things like guitars and audio, solar energy etc.

[frog92969]

5. No it won't come apart.

You need to cut the plug off the old fan, but leave a good 3-4 inches of wire.

You'll also need some electric tape, a little shock in the wrong place could ruin your PC.

[mwooldri]

4. I have two suggestions:

1) Use the connector from the old fan. If it's an emergency then you could strip the wires and twist them together, and wrap them up with electrical insulation tape - but that's an emergency in my eyes. Better would be to buy some sort of connector between the two sets of wires - I had some crimping connectors that did the trick in the past.

2) Return the fan to Radio Shack. They're really not a computer parts specialist place anyway and if you don't have a computer parts store near you then you can always go to newegg.com or tigerdirect.com and get fans cheaper than the one you got from RadioShack, even when considering shipping and handling.

[roseBudd]

7. It is a $17 fan so I think I will return, & go to Staples tomorrow...

I just didn't feel like waiting a couple days for a Tiger Direct shipment and Radio Shack is a block from where I work.

I have no idea how long the fan has been out & I do have a CPU fan so I think I'll turn my PC back on and just leave the case open.

[jberryhill]

9. If it's well designed....

...then it should have thermal shutdown protection anyway.


17 bucks! You been had.

[frog92969]

10. Make sure you take the old fan with you.

You say you've got a 2 wire 4 pin connector.
They're likely to sell you a 3 wire 3 pin connector because that's the most common.

[roseBudd]

11. Will do, my coworkers always joke I won't drive more than a mile or two and Staples was

a mile out of my way on the way home. Normally just about everything comes from Amazon or Tiger Direct.

[BlueJazz]

6. Just cut the wires on your fan and any available power plug....

IE: the plugs that plug into your hard drive or DVD/CD player will work fine.

Remember Black is Ground..... Red is 12 Volt...Yellow is 5 Volt

[jberryhill]

8. Read the label on the old fan and on the new fan

Connectors shmonectors...

If they both operate on the same voltage AND approximately the same current or power (you should see the current rating in mA or the power rating in W somewhere near the voltage rating) then go ahead and cut the wires to the old fan, strip the cut wire, twist the copper strands together, and secure with duct tape.

Or, if you want to be extra-fancy, use wire nuts:



If you use wire nuts, don't twist the copper ends, just put the ends next to each other and screw the nuts on.


Don't do this if you are not dead certain that the new fan draws about the same amount of current (or less) as the old one, otherwise you could blow your power supply, or experience other operating problems if the power draw is not the same (or less).


Please unplug the unit before doing this, and don't monkey around with any other wires leading to the power supply (sometimes there is stored charge on the honking big capacitor that can give you a little surprise).

[roseBudd]

12. It's a 3" fan...

so wire nuts are way too big

[jberryhill]

13. They make small wire nuts

There are even really tiny ones, also at Radio Shack. But you can just wrap it up well with electrical tape. The point, as mentioned above is that you don't want them shorting to each other, to the case, or to something else in the machine (and take vibration over time into account).