Where can I get 3 pin to 4 pin fan converters?

[Kwad Guy]

I have a motherboard that 4 pin connectors for fans.
All the processors (and fans) I have use 3 pin connectors.
I know the 3 pins in a 3 pin connector can be mapped
to the 4 pin connector and things will work fine. (What's
the fourth pin for, anyway?) But I don't really
want to replace the connectors (in case I chose to
use them on another motherboard later).

Does someone sell 3-to-4 pin fan connector adaptors?
Preferably, for about what they _should_ cost...

Kwad

 

[JohnnyTT]

This place has them pretty cheap:

2CoolTek

Just click on the store logo.

 

[Kwad Guy]

Nope, that won't do it...I should have been more clear. The
connector on the motherboard is a four pin connector that looks
just like a standard 3 pin fan connector, except there are four
equally spaced pins. It is NOT a 4-pin Molex-type connector
(such as the ones that connect to the hard drives, or to certain
fans). I need an adaptor that goes from the 4-pin-looks-like-a-3-pin
connector on the motherboard to the standard 3-pin connector
on the fan...

Kwad

 

[JohnnyTT]

What kind of Mobo is it? What does it say about the connector in the Manual?



I just checked about 5 different cooling stores, and none have them.

 

[Howard]

Does the manual say what the 4th pin does? A normal motherboard 3-pin header has power, ground, and fan monitoring, I believe.

 

[shiznut123]

I think that 4pin connector is for sound. I saw one on my mobo once and I don't know what it does. Look in your mobo manual and see what that thing does.

 

[networkman]

I know what Kwad Guy is talking about cuz I've got the same motherboards.. I'll take a picture when I get home and link it here.

 

[Kwad Guy]

I can tell you that this is how the 4 pin adaptor, which has
only three wires from the heatsink fan on the processor, maps
onto the 4 pin connector:

position: 1 2 3 4
black white (nothing) red

I am not sure why the 3rd pin is there, but it is not used for
a standard processor fan...Anyway, I just need an adaptor that
would provide this mapping...They must exist...I guess...
(Oh, color coding is obviously dependent on the fan you use).

I know I could solder my own on, but I don't want to permanently
mangle the connectors on the processors, since they may not permanently
stay on this board.

Kwad

 

[networkman]

As promised(although later than I expected), here are some pictures of the board(s) that Kwad and I both have: PICS

All 3 pics are clickable to get in close for details; in both the 1st and 2nd pics you can see the onboard dual SCSI connectors. What's important are the two 4-pin connectors on the motherboard just below(1st pic) the left hand CPU slot - those are the fan connectors for CPU1 and CPU2, and yes, they are 4-pin connectors. The 3rd pic simply shows the built-in video, usb and 10/100 port. And yes, for those curious, the long PCI slot is a 64-bit slot, good for special RAID and Gigabit network cards!

 

[BuckNaked]

Kwad Guy and Networkman
I spent WAY too much time trying to find that BIOS for those boards yesterday.....

Dave

 

[networkman]

BUMP for our thread!

Now with PICS of the motherboard in question! - see my previous reply 2 messages up. ^

 

[Peabody]

None of these Links work for me.

 

[networkman]

Links are working fine but the pics are about 400k each, so they might take a minute or two to view.

 

[Kwad Guy]

Anyone...? Surely someone must know of a source for these...

...or...perhaps...not...

Kwad

 

[medic]

What you could do is to pick up some single mini connectors, like on some MB connectors or LED connectors and attach them to the three wires and hook them up separately. (Radio Shack maybe)

 

[Kwad Guy]

Yeah, that would work, but would require cutting off the standard
3 pin connector currently on the fan...I would rather not do that...
you never know when you might want to use them somewhere else
(and the rest of the world uses the standard 3 pin connectors).

What would work would be three 1-pin extensions, something that
was intended to attach to one pin on the motherboard and connect
to 1 pin on the fan connector...But I've never seen something like
that...

Kwad

 

[WildDreamer]

Another thing you can try is to use a 4-pin CD-ROM audio cable. Hook one end to the 4-pin fan header, then just use some wires to connect the other end of the cable to the 3-pin fan connector.

 

[medic]

If you want to be able to reuse the fan and it's 3 pin connector, just cut the wire a couple inches above the connector and splice your singles in.
Later you can reattach it.
A nice twist, some solder and shrink tubing and you have a pro. splice!

 

[LXi]

Anyone know what a one 3pin -> two 3pin splitter does? Does that mean I can put two 3pin devices on one 3pin header?

 

[Howard]

LXi - That's what logic would dictate.

networkman, I see it. The little 'wall' next to the 4 pins is white, right? (Server board, right?) You could attach wires to the useful pins and inserting them into a 3-pin male.