I need help removing my PSU

JPAnderson1

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May 20, 2016
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18,510
Hello,
I bought a new PSU and Graphics card for my PC but I’m having trouble removing the old PSU because my pc case is riveted together. There is one last wire that I can’t remove which comes out of a 4pin molex and leads up to the area with the power button, USB slots and LED switches on the front of the PC. I will add pictures to make it easier to see.








 
Solution
How fans stopped working is.. 12V goes from the molex through the leftmost red/black to the PCB.
Said PCB has led control switch attached to it. (red/off/blue) and also has the fan connected to it.
switch wont change how fan works at all, the current just goes through the PCB.
no current to PCB, no current to fan, fan wont turn.

The "to fix" directions can go two ways. either cut the red/black going to fan and reattach it to molex connector or attach molex connector to original red/black and get both leds and fans to work.

As long as you connect said red/black wires back to psu, the led's and fans should work.
both seem to go through the green PCB you point your finger at.
Thus if you manage to reconnect the black/red wires you cut to...

JPAnderson1

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May 20, 2016
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18,510
So as you can see the red and black wire comes out of the Molex from the PSU, is wrapped around the blue wire, and leads up to the green thing which I think controls the LED lights on the front. Also, notice that the USB slot on the left is blue, which is what I think the blue wire is plugged into, but it is only plugged in on that side.
So I want to know do I actually need those wires and is it safe to cut them if they are not in use? I do not feel confident removing all the rivets in my PC case, and I don't think I could reach them all anyway.
 
my own opinion is, that more force is needed.
Said molex adapter (from PSU) has extension plugged in, from which the red/black wires come from.
just pull and wiggle it at same time.
alternately, there might be tiny plastic hooks that keep it in place on the bottom. (see the holes on molex adapter?)

In case it breaks, I would agree with you that it pretty much only controls led lights on front panel and has nothing to do with the USB.
 

JPAnderson1

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May 20, 2016
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Thanks for reply. So I took your advice and tried to pull and wiggle but it won't move unfortunately.
Would it be safe to cut those wires and just cover the end in tape? I don't care if it breaks the LED lights.
 
pretty much safe.
It is used to supply current to the led lights, once said wires are out, they should not have any current going through them to begin with, making tape solution decent.
Just remember to check that tape has not come undone periodically (like when you clean up dust from inside) if you use "normal" tape whose glue is less than good.
 

JPAnderson1

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May 20, 2016
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So I went ahead and cut the wire lol. I installed my new PSU and Graphics card which work OK. But now my case fans will not work and my case gets really hot. If you look at the pics above you will see another red and black wire to the right which is connected to all the fans but was separate from the PSU. Have I ruined my case or is there a solution to get the fans working again?
 
I would say, no. you did not ruined the case. I would still say that the molex adapter can be taken apart and reused with new PSU to supply said led's and case fans. I claim that since it would be first time that I see something like fans permanently wired to PSU. (connector might be tight but it should come apart.)

If that still fails though... They seemingly don't sell brand new molex connectors easily anymore but you could take any extra molex male plug apart and use it for the fan/led connector.
http://www.amazon.com/Molex-SATA-Power-Adapter-6-Inch/dp/B000YJMB5Y/ref=pd_bxgy_23_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=142EPBKPGTGAK8YVCN5K

If you need the tool to get the pins out of the connector to attach the wires: Cheaper alternate tools will likely exist.
http://www.amazon.com/Connector-Remover-Computer-Extractor-Sleeving/dp/B0094MIS9U/ref=pd_sim_23_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=210WUgyYXtL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0MZ60G2985RZZ8018KFF
 

JPAnderson1

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May 20, 2016
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18,510
Just to clarify... if you look at the first pic, I cut the red and black wire on the left which came out of the molex. The wire on the right (black/red/black/red), was not connected to that molex even though it may look like that in the picture. It comes from the fans and leads up to where my finger is pointing in the 3rd pic, right next to the same connection as the wire I cut.
I just don't understand how I managed to break the fans if I cut the other wire.
If you notice the multi-coloured wires on the left, they are connected to the motherboard, but none of them are red and black so I guess they don't control the fans.
Do you think that all the red and black wires came from the PSU?
If so, does that mean I have ruined the fans by cutting that one wire?
 
How fans stopped working is.. 12V goes from the molex through the leftmost red/black to the PCB.
Said PCB has led control switch attached to it. (red/off/blue) and also has the fan connected to it.
switch wont change how fan works at all, the current just goes through the PCB.
no current to PCB, no current to fan, fan wont turn.

The "to fix" directions can go two ways. either cut the red/black going to fan and reattach it to molex connector or attach molex connector to original red/black and get both leds and fans to work.

As long as you connect said red/black wires back to psu, the led's and fans should work.
both seem to go through the green PCB you point your finger at.
Thus if you manage to reconnect the black/red wires you cut to molex (red to yellow, black to black) for 12V input, it should all work.

the choices are:
1. take apart and fix current molex connector the wires were attached to and reattach it to new PSU. (taking molex connectors apart without correct tool to take out the pins is hard)
2. get new molex connector from molex to sata adapter and reuse that.
3. get new fans. (possibly easiest and cheapest way)
http://www.amazon.com/Brand-120mm-Cooling-Computer-Appliances/dp/B00N4HNBH0/ref=sr_1_16?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1464537257&sr=1-16&refinements=p_36%3A1253503011%2Cp_72%3A1248879011

for choices 2 and 3, you should most likely compare price tags and go from there.


As side note, I'm still adamant in my belief that the original connector would have been disconnectable from PSU without cutting wires.
 
Solution