Case's fans not connected

[matizami]

I just found out both fans in my case (Fractal Design Define R4 )are not connecting.
My story starts last week when my HDD died. I started monitoring the temperatures. I saw that my CPU (I5 4570) goes up to 70-80 C when working, but goes down only to 50 C while resting.
I had opened the case and found out that both fans, front and rear not working.
Now, I'm not a really a technician but I thought maybe I will try to connect them to another slot on the motherboard (GA-B85M-D3H). I checked online and saw there are 3 slots for fans. When I opened the case I saw the slots are free and the fans are not connected at all. I followed the cables goes out from the fans they're both connected together to the cable shown below.
What is this cable? Can I connect him? The slots on the motherboard has 4 pins while the fans cable have 3. Should I try to connect them?

 

[blinding]

Case fans can be powered in three ways. The first is the motherboard. Second is the power supply. Some power supplies have fan connectors. These may run at full speed or vary with temperature. The final way is a fan controller. This can be supplied built into the case or added later. Where does the cable the fans were plugged into come from?

It is OK to plug a 3 pin fan into a 4 pin socket. The 4 pin connection supports PWM which is an improved method of controlling the speed. With a three pin fan it may still be able to control the speed though you might have to configure it in the BIOS. At worst it will run at full speed.

Get a can of compressed air and blow out the dust.

 

[nukemaster]

That case has a fan controller built into the front(a simple switch setup.). It looks like that has come unplugged. Can you check for a matching plug right next to the cable in the image(it should be on the front of the case facing the inside.).

 

[matizami]

I knew you'd say something about the dust

There is a connection in front of the case for the fan controller. I tried, I really tried to connect it, but it seems impossible. I'm not even sure it's the same connection. Is reminds the VGA connection with two rows of pins. (just thinner).
I think I'll try to connect 3 pin fan to the motherboard.

 

[nukemaster]

Connect the fans to the board or power supply, but do not try to connect that crazy looking connector to anything

Can you get an image of that front fan controller connector. I would like to see what it looks like.

 

[matizami]

It's really difficult to get there, moreover to take a picture.
The cable goes through a small hole size of a finger. Trying to get to the connector my finger is coming from where the CD player is.

 

[blinding]

Your case is supposed to have a switch behind the front door on the upper right side. It should be set to 5, 7, or 12V What is it set to?

If you remove the right side panel you should see 4 cables coming from the back of the switch. One is a 4 pin molex that should connect to the power supply. The other three are male fan connectors. Your fans should connect to those. it doesn't matter if they are 3 or 4 pin fans.

 

[nukemaster]

That board is hiding on us

 

[matizami]

I managed to connect the front fan.
The cable of the read fan is tied wrap cable (I don't know the English term for it ), so I want to buy it first before I untie everything.

blinding - The problem was I can't get to the switch and I don't see any cable around it.

Anyway, thank you all for helping.

 

[blinding]

This is a picture of the fan speed switch:

http://www.tweaktown.com/image.php?image=imagescdn.tweaktown.com/content/4/8/4844_09_fractal_design_define_r4_black_pearl_mid_tower_chassis_review_full.jpg

This shows the cables:
http://www.tweaktown.com/image.php?image=imagescdn.tweaktown.com/content/4/8/4844_25_fractal_design_define_r4_black_pearl_mid_tower_chassis_review_full.jpg

The four cables on the upper left in the picture hanging down. Hope this helps