Modding PSU fan - aftermarket fan controller problems

Discussion in 'Modding' started by gstlouis, 21 Aug 2005.

  1. gstlouis

    gstlouis What's a Dremel?

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    So I just got a new case to replace my old, and I'm doing the "Big move" process between the two. During this, I decided to fix a long lasting problem I've had. My PSU is a Thermaltake Butterfly Silent Purepower 480w. It comes retail with a fan controller. This is all good and well, but after some time, I wanted to get my own controller which is a bit "snazzier". I bought the Super Flower fan controller; 4 control knobs, an LCD that displays temps and speeds. The PSU powers the fan itself (I'm assuming), and has 2 wires running out to hook to the stock controller. It also has another pair of wires for the temp sensor and fan speed sensor (plugged into the MB). It has one more pair of wires for adding a PCI slot control (I think).

    Anyways, I took the 2 wires that ran to the stock controller and connected them to the super flower. I also took one of the 2 wires for the fan speed sensor and added this onto the plug (the super flower accepts a 3 pin plug; 2 for control and one for speed readout). When I turned this on to test it, I had the knob turned all of the way to the left and it was running full blast. As I turned it to the right, it continued at this same speed (the fan speed indicator confirmed this) until about 2/3 the way around. At this point it began to slow down. by about 5/6 of the way, the fan was competely off (the built in alarm began notifying me of this by its lovely beeping). So I have a knob that allows me about a 1/6th radius by which I am able to provide any control! Is my wiring incorrect or is the Thermaltake PSU incompatible with other controllers?

    On another note, when I do have the speed regulated, I notice that the speed fluctuates on its own. It will be quiet, and then suddenly it will get loud and the rpm's will double. Any cause for this?
     
  2. Warrior_Rocker

    Warrior_Rocker Holder of the sacred iron

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    alrighty then, first off 'MOST' likely the two leads comming out of your powersupply hook direcly to a POT (potentiometer, variable resistor) however with your fan controller you have a powered output going through a pot..., what you need to do, anyway what i would do, is pop open ur psu, and take all leads comming from the actual fan itself, assuming it has 3, and wire those directly to ur fan controller, now most fan controllers (from what ive seen) have a fan return line to report the fan speed back to whatever device the fan was hooked into in the first place, you will need to wire that back to the sensor pin inside the powersupply..., you pretty much need to disable power going from your psu to ur fan, becuase... its speed controlled, basically what i mean is:

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