How do you change fan power connectors?

[Mr. Smith]

How do I change the 4-pin molexs to 3-pin ones?

I was trying to tidy my cabling - all 4 fans are molex, which I think are big and ugly. I cant get the sleeving over them and the wires lie on the floor of the pc and look poo!

Do I need to buy some new wires with 3 pin connectors, take apart the fan and re-solder the new power leads on?

Or do I break off the molex connector and re-solder the 3pin on like that?

I need some pics please to go with any guidance... Or a link. I know this is basic but I don't know how to do it!

 

[NickS]

It'd take a LOT of soldering work, to cut off the old ones, solder on small 3-pin metal thingies and then buy the 3 pin connectors.

Get a molex pin removal tool from an online store first of all, so you can remove the molex plugs and then slide the sleeving over, heatshrink, and reconnect.

Thats what I reccomend.

 

[Ham]

*30 seconds of paint*

Basicly what you need to do is cut, strip and soldertogether the wires that go into the molex and attach them into the same pionts on the 3pin, ala the 'diagram' above.

Add: inlight of what nicks said, you dont need to waste money on a removel tool, i just use a flathead micro-screwdriver.

And it's **** all soldering work really...

 

[Mr. Smith]

Ha! Loving the paint skills Ham - That is pretty much exactly what I have, the likeness is uncanny

At the mo the fans have 4pin molex for power and a seperate yellow wire for speed sensing. I'm looking to merge everything into the 3 pin.

As this is the case, do I completely ditch the yellow from the 4 pin molex, keep the yellow that is already in the 3 pin (right in pic), combine the 2 black grounds into one and place on left where diagram shows and put the red in the middle?

NickS - 3-pin metal thingies - where do I get those?

Ta

 

[Ham]

You can get everything you need at Kustoms, as long as they got them in stock.

Hmm, im assuming you have a molex through connector. All you need to do is snip the 3 wires going from the fan, strip off the insulation and solder/crimp them to the pins from the 3pin. Then they just clip in to the housing.