Power supply adapter cables

[Nocturnal]

I have a Seasonic M12 700 PSU. I was trying to connect a 12" dual 3-pin to 4-pin adapter so that I could plug in another 120mm case fan and have it powered directly by the PSU as opposed to drawing the power from the motherboard.

This is what I did.

I already had one dual 3-pin to 4-pin adapter connected via a molex coming out of the PSU.

Here is the exact adapter that I am using: http://www.svc.com/du3to4ad.html

Anyhow, as you can see, there is a female side as well as a male molex connecter.

I have now learned my lesson that I should not have tried to use the male side again.

I attempted to plug in another 3-pin to 4-pin adapter, this time from the previous adapter's male side into the new adapter's female side. I turned my computer on and got a nice crackle and pop.

I had no idea I should not have done that.

Is that normal for it to not like to be piggy backed like that? Does a case fan draw that much power?

Also, the adapter I bought is a dual 3-pin to 4-pin adapter. Can I use both 3-pin adapters or should I avoid doing that?

I need to learn this as I had no idea I should not have been doing that and I've been messing with computers for a long time. If John reads this he is probably going to laugh at me.

Anyhow, hope to hear from you.

Besides that, I really hope I didn't damage anything else. I'm going to try and test my system to make sure nothing else was affected.

I only saw burn marks on that one adapter.

Everything else is functioning fine.

Thanks again.

One more thing, the PSU I have is modular so I can add cables if I need them.

Should I be running this 3-4pin adapter off the same molex modular cable or should I have it only on one and then use another modular cable from the PSU to run the next?

I want to be the safest I possibly can so if it means using one modular per adapter then I will do that.

Here is a pic of what I tried to do but instead received a nice spark and puff of smoke.

http://www.supz.net/images/IMG_0001.jpg
http://www.supz.net/images/IMG_0002.jpg

 

[Howard]

Probably a fuse. You should be alright.

 

[tylerdustin2008]

Ok that was a bit of a mounthful and sorta confusing. So you hooked one after another and plugged the fans in, and it made a pop. Right? I would have no idead what happened. But from what it sounds like is that two of the wires touched somehow.

Maybe buying some new ones that might not be so cheap will fix the problem.


My $.02

 

[WoodButcher]

Nocturnal,
that should work fine. You simply grounded somewhere. Were all the 3 pin plugs connected to fans or at least covered with something like tape to prevent grounding? did you find a burn between the two 4-pin molex? Possibly a loose strand of wire made contact? Four fans should not case a prob unless one is bad.