Built my first PC but fan controller killed it?

billylim · Feb 21, 2018

Disclaimer, this is my first build so I'm not entirely sure what I might be doing wrong. I have a DIYPC D480-W case that has 5 fans preinstalled and 2 fan controllers on top of the case, one controls the top and back fans and the other controls the two front fans. The fan controller has a molex connector and I'm guessing that just plugs right into the PSU (550W).

This was my third attempt, the first attempt I had everything installed and plugged in but once I hit the power button, it power light would turn on for a millisecond and then die. I wasn't able to turn it back on. I checked to make sure everything was plugged in correctly, the PSU was on and plugged into the right spots. I figured I must have had a bad mobo or damaged it while building it.

I exchanged the mobo and on my second attempt I put everything together except for the GPU and that fan controller and it worked fine. Then once I tried to put in the GPU and connected the fan controller to the PSU, same problem occurred. I did the same checks and tested the PSU on my original PC, it worked fine. Not really sure what the problem was. I exchanged the mobo for a third time and plugged everything except the fan controller. Again, everything worked fine but once I plugged in that fan controller's connector to the PSU, same problem. I've now gone insane doing the same thing over and over.

I'm convinced my problem is the fan controller. The cable it uses has a 4 pin male connector in the back and 4 pin female in the front, the cable I'm using to plug into the PSU is a 6pin to the PSU and a 4 pin male to the fan controller cable. The fans are 3 pins but they don't fit the chassis fan pins on the mobo (4 pin). Can anyone help me with what I'm doing wrong? And why is my PC not booting up anymore even after I unplugged the fan controller cables? I've double and triple checked all of the plugs and everything looks good.

Paperdoc · Feb 21, 2018

Your description of connectors is confusing. I cannot find a mobo manual on the web, so I can't review what it says.

A 4-pin Molex power output connector from a PSU is about 3/4" wide with four HOLES (it's female) in a straight line. Two of its corners are rounded off so it can mate with the male 4-pin only one way. It normally has two BLACK wires to its middle contacts, and Red and Yellow on the two ends.

Some devices that use these to connect to power use a two-headed connector. One end is male and plugs into the PSU female output; the other end is female and just "replaces" the connector that you "used". Typically this little unit has only two wires coming out of it side, going to the device (like a fan or controller) that uses only the 12 VDC power supply lines. If that is what is on then end of the wires going to your two top-mounted fan controller switches, then you probably are using only the male end to plug in, and may not be connecting any other power-using device to the female end.

The two "controllers" built into your case really each are only simple high / low speed switches for the fans they control. I gather that each switch has three output arms for fans. Each of those will end in a 3-pin male connector and actually will have only two wires (maybe even only two pins). The idea is that you can arrange your five fans in two groups as you choose.

I cannot understand your description of using a 6-pin connector from the PSU to connect to the fan controller's input male. If that is correct, then you may have made a MISTAKE. The source of power for the fan controller MUST be a 4-pin Molex female output from the PSU. Whatever 6-pin connector you have used should NOT be connected to any fan system! I also find your notes about male and female connectors to the control switches confusing. Male connectors have PINS; female ones have HOLES. The 4-pin Molex power connectors always have FEMALE (holes) connectors coming from power sources (e.g the PSU) and MALE (pins) connectors leading to power consumers.

Oh, wait. MAYBE you are using a modular PSU that has a 6-pin socket on its side for a cable set that includes several Molex and SATA power outputs on the wires. Is that what you describe as the "6-pin" cable?

Each of the five fans in the case ends in a 3-pin female connector, I presume. The "standard" fan connector is about ½" wide with 3 holes in a straight line. It has two ridges along one side, and those align with grooves in the shell of the output male connectors from the switches so you can only plug them in one way. Each fan should be connected to one of those switch output lines, and to NOTHING else. Do NOT connect the fan to a mobo header, too. You never connect a fan to two different sources of power.

billylim · Feb 21, 2018

Paperdoc :

Your description of connectors is confusing. I cannot find a mobo manual on the web, so I can't review what it says.

A 4-pin Molex power output connector from a PSU is about 3/4" wide with four HOLES (it's female) in a straight line. Two of its corners are rounded off so it can mate with the male 4-pin only one way. It normally has two BLACK wires to its middle contacts, and Red and Yellow on the two ends.

Some devices that use these to connect to power use a two-headed connector. One end is male and plugs into the PSU female output; the other end is female and just "replaces" the connector that you "used". Typically this little unit has only two wires coming out of it side, going to the device (like a fan or controller) that uses only the 12 VDC power supply lines. If that is what is on then end of the wires going to your two top-mounted fan controller switches, then you probably are using only the male end to plug in, and may not be connecting any other power-using device to the female end.

The two "controllers" built into your case really each are only simple high / low speed switches for the fans they control. I gather that each switch has three output arms for fans. Each of those will end in a 3-pin male connector and actually will have only two wires (maybe even only two pins). The idea is that you can arrange your five fans in two groups as you choose.

I cannot understand your description of using a 6-pin connector from the PSU to connect to the fan controller's input male. If that is correct, then you may have made a MISTAKE. The source of power for the fan controller MUST be a 4-pin Molex female output from the PSU. Whatever 6-pin connector you have used should NOT be connected to any fan system! I also find your notes about male and female connectors to the control switches confusing. Male connectors have PINS; female ones have HOLES. The 4-pin Molex power connectors always have FEMALE (holes) connectors coming from power sources (e.g the PSU) and MALE (pins) connectors leading to power consumers.

Oh, wait. MAYBE you are using a modular PSU that has a 6-pin socket on its side for a cable set that includes several Molex and SATA power outputs on the wires. Is that what you describe as the "6-pin" cable?

Each of the five fans in the case ends in a 3-pin female connector, I presume. The "standard" fan connector is about ½" wide with 3 holes in a straight line. It has two ridges along one side, and those align with grooves in the shell of the output male connectors from the switches so you can only plug them in one way. Each fan should be connected to one of those switch output lines, and to NOTHING else. Do NOT connect the fan to a mobo header, too. You never connect a fan to two different sources of power.

Sorry, I did mean the PSU that has the 6 pin socket. I followed your directions on the last paragraph but still no go. I know for sure that I didn't connect the fan cables to the motherboard. I only have the USB 3.0, audio, SATA cables, CPU fan, power connectors, and PSU cables plugged into the motherboard.

It's weird that each time this has happened, I would exchange motherboards and it would work again even though I didn't plug anything to the motherboard. But I don't have any fan connectors connected to the motherboard. I imagine you mentioned not to connect to two different sources of power because it would damage the motherboard. Does this mean that somehow the fans are being connected to the motherboard?

Paperdoc · Feb 21, 2018

If the wires from each fan go only to the output cables coming from the control switches, your fans are not connected to anything else.

In re-reading, I did NOT see a mention of another test. Right now, nothing works. What happens if you again disconnect the fan controller and un-install the video card? Will the system start up, or does it still behave quite dead?

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Built my first PC but fan controller killed it?

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