Question Having difficulty removing 4 pin connector (AOI_PUMP 4 PIN slot) from ROG ASUS motherboard. Please help

[rolando ratas]

PLEASE HELP Having difficulty removing 4 pin connector (AOI_PUMP 4 PIN slot) from ROG ASUS motherboard. Please help

I'm building a brand new PC with a ASUS Rog motherboard and stupidly after installing a CPU liquid cooler (the type with fans connected to a radiator at the top of a PC case), I connected the cable from those fans to the AOI_PUMP connector when it should have really been CPU_FAN 4 pin connector. I am trying to remove the connector from the motherboard and it just will not budge, I've tried holding the 4 pin connector at the sides of the plastic and pull up but it just will not move. There is a latch on the connector but I do not know whether to press it IN or use a small flat head screwdriver to push it OUT while I am trying to pull it out via the sides ?

I include a photo of the 4-pin connector that is stuck on the motherboard, as you can see it has other 4-pin connector pins right next to it so access is not great with getting a grip on the sides of the connector etc.

4 pin connector stuck https://ibb.co/WgNnPKB


Also looking at the side of the motherboard at the 4 PIN connectors they seem to have a 'lip' at the top so that would imply that you have to use a flat head screw driver to pull the latch out while simultaneous pulling UP from the sides of the connector BUT I am not sure about this. Please advise. The board is expensive and the water cooler was also (ROG RYUJIN III ARGB and ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Formula).I'm guessing that if I leave the Water Cooler Fans plugged into the AOI_PUMP socket, it's not the end of the world, the fans will just run at max etc with me not being able to control via the ASUS software, not ideal but there you go. The other cable from the actual pump mount above the processor can go into the CPU_FAN, W+ PUMP sockets (or I read it could have gone into the AOI_PUMP socket) so all is not lost maybe ..?thanks in advance

 

[helpstar]

press the topof the lip in the direction, where the connector is. so the latch will go to the opposite direction, then you can pull it simultaneously

 

[rolando ratas]

press the topof the lip in the direction, where the connector is. so the latch will go to the opposite direction, then you can pull it simultaneously

Do you mean press the top of the latch on the 4 pin connector AWAY from the 4 pin plug (ever so slightly - say, with a small flat head screwdriver) and then wiggle the plug and push it up at the same time) ???

There are other people reading forums that state you can use your thumb nail to apply additional lift where the plug meets the connector as you pull the plug upwards (and wiggle it) in order to remove it.

I'm amazed this is so difficult, doesn't help that there are other 4 pin connectors at either side of this troublesome one.

It kind of all makes sense your advice. I've very worried. I guess the trick is to not use brutal force.

 

[helpstar]

sorry, didn´t see it correctly, you are right, But usually it´s just pulling the connector like this:

View: https://youtu.be/Rh6e0NxcHVg

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy7u19fcTIo


I thought it was this one, but isn´t:

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fICfsvZKWeA

 

[rolando ratas]

thanks, the first video is the only one that shows how to disconnect the 4 pin plug from the motherboard (which is my problem) and he only used two fingers at either side but it's tricky doing this on mine (see photo in my link) as there are other 4-pins on either side. I've tried just using fingers on either side to pull up as in the video but no luck doing this hence why I keep asking about the retention flap which if you look carefully at the side (not shown in my photo) has a small 'lip' at the top - so logic would say that you pull this retention flag AWAY from the plug ever so slightly with a screwdriver making sure not to snap it off.

I'm going to start again on it fresh this morning as I was getting really stressed by this last night but I'm asking on here if anyone has their own unique way of removing these 4 pin FAN plugs from the motherboard and also just trying to verify that I am doing the right thing with the retention flap.

 

[rolando ratas]

update I managed to pull it out. At first I just used my fingers to pull it out but it would only come HALF out. Why ? because the lip on the retention flap STOPPER on the 4 pin plug is at the bottom of te 4 pin plug thus stopping the plug from being extracted.

The only solution was to lever the retention flap on the 4 pin socket AWAY from the 4 pin plug with a screwdriver and to pull the 4 pin plug UPWARDS using some needle pliers holding the plug on both (small) sides of the plug. With the screwdriver, I levered the retention flap so much it broke off the socket which isn't great as it also serves as a guide to plug the 4 pin in but it wasn't too bad plugging in the other 4 pin plug from the actual liquid cpu cooler pump into this AOI_PUMP socket. The 4 pin plug for the liquid cpu cooler fans is now correctly plugged into the CPU_FAN socket.

Mission accomplished but what a trashy non user friendly mechanism, these 4 pin plugs on the motherboard with their almost impossible unplugging design.