Did I Just Fry My Motherboard With A Fan Connector?

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Christopher Bral

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Dec 19, 2013
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Motherboard: ASUS P9X79 PRO (LGA 2011) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131800)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 500R Black Steel (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139009)

Last night I was finishing my motherboard's installation and getting ready to boot everything up. At first boot, everything worked great, but I noticed the 2 front panel fans and side fan weren't spinning. Must've forgotten to plug something in...

I noticed there was 1 unconnected molex plug leading from the front of the case, so I hunted around for a cord from my PSU and found a molex-to-4pin connector that looked like it was meant for the 4pin connectors on my motherboard. I connected the front/side fan molex plug to the 4pin connector, and plugged that into a 4pin CHA_FAN2 slot on my mobo.

When I turned on the PC, I heard a screech and pop. Smoke came from a transistor directly above the CHA_FAN2 pin connector (see here: http://i.imgur.com/KtWvj1Z.jpg) and it glowed orange. I immediately turned off the PC.

Now I'm panicked I blew something really important. The PC still boots, but since I don't have my video card I can't verify if things work. Lights on my mobo all still light up when booting up, and there's no apparent errors. Still, I'd like to know if I damaged anything serious.

The fans are now connected to the PSU with a molex connector, and everything's spinning. Haven't tested the 4-pin connector since the pop.

This board is out of warranty (bought used), so RMA isn't possible. I might be able to return it. But if I just damaged 1 4-pin connector I never plan on using, I'd rather just keep the board and work with it.

Appreciate any insight. Thanks!
 
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Supahos

Supahos

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Did you plug in the molex plug, and then put it on the board? if so then yes you likely fried it, not sure if it took anything with it or not. You very well may have, that molex/4pin thing is and either/or situation. The molex is really only there for use to control a second fan if your board doesn't have enough cha_fan slots.
 
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bryonhowley

bryonhowley

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Well it sounds like you plugged the floppy drive power connector into a 4 pin fan connector on the motherboard. If you are lucky you just blew the connection for that fan header and it went no further. However you will not no for sure until you get your GPU to find out.
 
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Christopher Bral

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I think you just fried the 4 pin connector, otherwise, nothing would be working. Its possible something you haven't tested is busted also, but if you have looked and haven't found anything, you may be lucky.
Click to expand...

Does that transistor (or transistors in that region in general) control voltage or anything essential in that region? I'm just trying to understand if that is a crucial part I fried, or if it's literally just tied to that 4-pin connector.

Can't tell if damage spread wider until I get my video card and run some stress tests on the machine, so I'll update. Just trying to expedite returning the board to the store or buying a new one if there's no recourse.
 
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tigger888

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You might've fried it because the fans are an either or type of deal. You either plug it into the mobo connecter or to the molex. The motherboard option is preferred as you can set custom fan speeds and not have your fan be blasting 100% all the time. If you are feeling particularly adventurous you can try putting in a cheap videocard and seeing if the bios shows up when you boot. Apart from that, you might've killed the board and are in need of a new one.

Protip, be extra careful when you are buying fans for the motherboard, look for fans that have the 4pin connecter and not the 3pin. Also if you are buying a new motherboard, keep track of how many onboard fan connecters it has, on my case i have 4 fans all regulated by the motherboard.
 
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Christopher Bral

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Here was the connection:
- 2 front panel fans + 1 case side panel fan to molex
- Molex to PSU's included adapter that converted molex to 4-pin
- 4-pin to motherboard's CHA_FAN2 4-pin slot

Result: Smoke, popped transistor. Haven't tested the CHA_FAN2 slot since.
 
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Supahos

Supahos

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I would assume the CHA-Fan2 slot is dead and wouldn't plug anything I wanted to live back into it, If you havn't already cooked something on the case plugging something back into it may do this. Nothing should ever come from the power supply and then be plugged into the board (other than the 24 pin/8pin cpu) everything else should only get its power from the board, That adapter from the PS was made to take a molex fan from molex to 4pin so it can have speed control, not to power anything, once again nothing but the CPU and 24 pin power connector should come from the PSU to the Board.

Does your processor not have onboard video? Never checked with the LGA 2011 stuff to see if it does or not and you've not said what processor you have which makes it harder to tell :p
 
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Christopher Bral

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Would it be safe to put my GTX 770 in the board when it arrives, or am I chancing ruining that? I don't have any cheap video cards on-hand right now.

If my PSU wouldn't have come with the molex-to-4pin connectors, I wouldn't have attempted to plug it into the motherboard. I was trying to save on cord clumping in the case, and since that was the only molex connector (and it seemed I had a choice of a short converter vs. a PSU-connected 4-molex strip) I figured it was a safe choice. Ughhhhh.

Really hoping this just blew up that one transistor, and that transistor only worked with that header.
 
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Christopher Bral

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I'll try the front/back USB ports when I get my video card and see if I can use the keyboard/mouse in the UEFI BIOS. Until I have something giving monitor output, can't do anything. :(
 
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Christopher Bral

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Argh, good to know about the adapter thing. Will never ever use it to connect to the motherboard again. I figured it was just Corsair being nice if there were parts of the case that needed plugs, but didn't require a full chain of plugs. Expensive lesson learned... I'll also cover up that pin with electrical tape to avoid frying more stuff.

The motherboard's back panel only has connections for USB, SATA, audio, etc. Nothing for HDMI or DVI. Need to wait for a video card. I'm using an Intel i7 3930K for reference.
 
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tigger888

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If i were you i would just get a new board, because while there MIGHT be a chance that it will work, there is the bigger threat of you frying your more expensive components. Another thing is that if you get another motherboard, it will have warranty. It will take time for you to get your parts and motherboard, but i think it will be worth the wait. I personally wouldn't chance my 200-300$ videocard on a damaged motherboard. I think one loss is better then potentially several.
 
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Supahos

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I don't completely disagree with this sentiment but hell X79 boards are nearly just as expensive as a good GPU. I would say its unlikely it will cook any other parts he's already started it back up so if it were going to fry the memory or CPU it already would have, I would say that makes it pretty unlikely it will cook the GPU.
 
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tigger888

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"I don't completely disagree with this sentiment but hell X79 boards are nearly just as expensive as a good GPU. I would say its unlikely it will cook any other parts he's already started it back up so if it were going to fry the memory or CPU it already would have, I would say that makes it pretty unlikely it will cook the GPU. "

Yeah, thats why this situation kinda sucks, those motherboards are expensive.
 
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