Can you cut off extra PSU Cords? Help a modder out :)

[Crazymage]

Alright, I'm closing in on finishing up my build, but I have a question.

The sata power cable coming from my psu has 3 heads that all come from the same wire, one right after the other. Can I cut off the cords going to the 2 superfluous heads and get rid of them, or will this break a circuit or something and prevent the one I want to keep from working?

Normally I would just leave them there, but I'm very space constrained in this build and it would be perfect if I could lose the extra mess. So, if you have some knowledge in this area, please help me out.

Thanks for your time

 

[Nik_I]

i would strongly advise against doing this. if extra cables are a problem, you should have gotten a modular power supply.

 

[pbrigido]

Agreed. Doable, but not advised at all. The worst case scenario would be for some of the exposed ends to touch, resulting in a short that would damage your PSU, motherboard, or any other component.

 

[Crazymage]

The non-modular power supply had the benefit of already being at my house and not costing me anything

I would cover up the exposed ends with electric tape or something along those lines. If I took away the risk of those ends hitting other parts, would it still be too risky?

 

[rustyfe2o3]

i've done it ... but like everyone else has said it could be dangerous. make sure to use some electrical tape or something to keep the wires from touching (very bad for the power supply)

 

[knotknut]

As long as the cut wires do not have a chance of touching each other or any other part of the PC there is no problem. Cut at your own risk. If you are really particular you can take the power supply apart and cut or de-solder at the point of origion. Doing it that way you will also find out how easy it is to replace those noisy fans and you will also find the little fuse that blowes and takes out the PSU.

 

[cmashwin]

Just keep the ends from touching and you shud be fine.. I have personally done it myself before.. PSU's rarely have a feedback circuit in which case it would definitely NOT be the ones which u r gonna cut.. They wud most probably by the mobo power connectors or the CPU ones.. Switch off your PSU COMPLETELY and then go ahead and cut them ONE at a time to ensure they never short-out.. Cover the loose ends with electirc tape..

 

[Nik_I]

i'm not an expert on power supplies or on electricity, but if the device is wired in series, then cutting the end off the cable could cause the whole thing to not work. and as others have said, if the wires touch anything, even the side of the case, you can create a short and risk a blown psu, or a fried computer

 

[cmashwin]

Hmm... as far as i have noticed, the SATA power cables are NOT in series or anything.. If they are in series, then they would require you to connect 3 HDD's JUST TO WORK!! So, if a power connector CAN be left unused, it CAN TECHNICALLY be cut off...

 

[JonathanDeane]

Cut it off but be warned you may leave yourself short of connections in the future.... I personally would just get a rubber band and neatly tie them up and tuck them somewhere out of sight.

Which ever you decide to do, I wish you luck and most of all have fun

 

[cmashwin]

I just had a look on the net and in my PC, and I am certain that you can cut them off.. It wont make any difference.. But just be sure to NOT let them short-out!! Cover them with electric tape after cutting them off..
All of the SATA cables AND any other 4-pin cables run in a parallel circuit.. Cutting them off wont affect anything in the PSU or your system..

 

[cmashwin]

@JonathanDeane.. I agree with you about NOT cutting any wires.. Who knows when you might need them.. However you can always join 'em back if you are handy with tools..
@Crazymage.. Have you tried using ZIP-TIES?? Handy little things

 

[HVDynamo]

This is definitely doable, however it is risky depending on your experience with electronics. (I have modded many power supplies for the company I work for) First off, those sata power cables are in parallel configuration so cutting off the end ones won't render the remaining one usless. The key things to worry about are making sure you cut the right wires ( if you are cutting close to the bundle coming out of the power supply ), be very careful when cutting. the second thing is that there should be no exposed wire when you are done. I recommend against electrical tape as it can come off easily over time, and it looks tacky. What I would use is heat shrink tubing ( available at places like fleet farm and radio shack), and shrink it over the end of the wire with a lighter where you cut it off leaving some extra hanging off the end to protect from shorting ( do each wire separately ). Also, make sure you get the right size tubing, you want it to move freely over the wire before shrinking, and be tight on the wire after shrinking. I hope this helps.

 

[doormatderek]

YES YES, HVDynomo; heat shrink is cheap and bascially permanate. and looks good to boot. If you really wanna chop, at least take the time to use heat shrink

 

[nukemaster]

Just cut it right close to the connector, there should not be any issues. If you are worried, the last connector should have a different cap(the 2 first ones let the power wires pass through and the last one covers the wire to prevent shorting.) that will cover the wires. It can be removed and placed over that connector.

It will not break anything, as long as nothing metal touches it and you are cutting so close that the wires can not touch each other you should be ok.

I did not even bother with the fancy end when i made my sata power cables to fit with my drive spacings.