Colored wires giving me a headache, please help.

[tooslim]

I have just installed my Gigabyte GA-8INXP MB into my Wavemaster case. There are 4 wires that need to be attached to the motherboard from the case and I'm having trouble with them.

The wires are as follows: HDD LED (orange & white), POWER SW (blue & white), RESET SW (grey and white), and SPEAKER (red & black).

The instructions for the case do not mention which wires are positive and which are negetive? The 8INXP manual has specifically designated the pins on the motherboard as negative and positive so I want to ge it right.

Would very much appreciate any help.

 

[Dack76]

The only +/- orientation that matter out of those are the LED's. Plug them in, if they turn on they are on right. Not 100% sure on the speaker, I never plug it in since almost all boards now a days have an on-board speaker.

 

[Zepper]

Black is almost always ground, colored wire is almost always positive. Speaker doesn't really matter, but if you want to be AR about it, the colored wire goes on pos and black goes on signal (ground is mainpulated to produce the buzzes).. Power orientation doesn't matter either - totally irrelevant.
.bh.
:moon:

 

[mdcrab]

For the HDD LED orange is most likely + and white -. also sometimes on the side of the litttle black plug you will find a small triangle symbol which also usually identifies the +

mdcrab

 

[DOSfan]

All I can answer is the code I learned for electrical/electronics in HS.

Black is ground/negative.

If black is not an option, White is Positive.

I would hope that the manufacturers would all use the same code.... But, I can not be certain.

Now, I can tell you if it matters for each of those, and what will happen if you do not hook it up correctly.

HDD LED: Polarity matters. When you power up, if the LED does not light up (or more rarely, stays on steady) and everything else works fine (system wise), then you have it backwards. Not a big deal, just flip the connecter.

POWER SW: Doesn't really matter.

RESET SW: Again, doesn't really matter.

SPEAKER: Matters somewhat. But you will probably never really notice. It will not harm anything if you have it backwards. (If you want to be really AR about it, the speaker will move back when it should move forward, and vice versa.) It may not sound right, but overall not a big deal. But on this one, I can tell you most definately that Red is + and Black is -.

I hope this helps.

 

[tooslim]

 

[tooslim]

 

[tooslim]

Thanks everyone for the feedback, this will help! Yes, the leads do have a little triangle symbol on them and I will take that as the + and give it a try.

Thanks Again.

 

[mdcrab]

Just out of curiosity, is the little triangle near the orange or the white lead?
How did things ultimately turnout.

It would be nice if mobo manufacturers could decide on a standard header configuration (at least for the standard connections) and have all the connections in one keyed connector. This should not be rocket science!

mdcrab

 

[tooslim]

Thanks again for all the help folks. :>

Yes, the little triangle matches up with the colored wires.

I'm with you on motherbaords MFR's comming up with a standard configuration for these type of connections. I wish my case MFR would have given more useful instructions...

I now have the same problem with my fan controller. The temp probes have two black wires, the connection end of the probe has a triangle on one side of the connection terminal but nither the install directions of back of the fan controller note which of the two pins are +/-. I'll just start it up on this one and see what happens.

Thanks again.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Just be happy you are not colorblind like me

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: tooslim
Thanks again for all the help folks. :>

Yes, the little triangle matches up with the colored wires.

I'm with you on motherbaords MFR's comming up with a standard configuration for these type of connections. I wish my case MFR would have given more useful instructions...

I now have the same problem with my fan controller. The temp probes have two black wires, the connection end of the probe has a triangle on one side of the connection terminal but nither the install directions of back of the fan controller note which of the two pins are +/-. I'll just start it up on this one and see what happens.

Thanks again.

*** PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT ***
Not every device that has a connector is polarity-sensitive. Many devices are polarity-neutral, including thermistors, incandescent light bulbs and momentary-contact switches. Worrying about the polarity orientation on them is like worrying which armpit you apply antiperspirant to first. It doesn't matter.

Among the devices in a computer, the only polarity-specific ones that are NOT keyed to fit just one way are the case LEDs and potentially the floppy cable.

 

[Mday]

power switch and reset switch: no polarity. they are just momentary switches.
LEDs, they have polarity, just switch it over to the other way if it doesnt light up
thermo "probes" they are just variable resistors (varies by temp)