Hi, I have a fairly noisy NZXT 200mm side fan (which uses a 3 pin header, not 4) which only needs to be turned on when I'm gaming, and is just a nuisance when I'm trying to work. Could someone suggest how to wire a switch (and recommend what switch to buy- would this work?) to turn the fan on/off (completely off, not a controller to lower RPM), I have a soldering iron (but no solder, what type should I use?). I imagine this is relatively simple but my knowledge of electronics is evidently very limited Many thanks
It's very easy to do that man. Take the positive lead to the fan, cut it in half, solder the wire on one of the cut ends to one of the switch connectors then solder the other cut wire to the other connector on the switch. All you are doing is interrupting the current flow with the switch. With the switch in one position it allows power to flow through, turning on the fan, with the switch turned the other way it stops the flow of power, turning fan off.
You'll want silver or lead based solder. I like the old lead stuff, but the EU rules mean it's no longer allowed to be sold.
If you want the little LED to light up you'll need to have the black ground wire going to the switch as well. Cut both red and black wires to the fan. Wire the red that comes from the fan header to the POWER terminal and the red wire that goes to the fan to the ACC terminal. Both ground wire ends then go to the GROUND terminal.