Question Issues with Fractal Design's Fan hub.

[Cerberus_SV]

I recently purchased a new case which is the Fractal Deisgn Meshify S2. This case, uses the "Nexus+ Smart Hub" as a fan controller. The instructions as to how fans should be connected to this fan hub mention that i have to connect the PWM cable to the CPU fan header and then basically connect all the fans (both case fans and the CPU fan) to it. The PWM signal is taken by the CPU fan header and not by a system fan. I didnt find it to be such a bad deal since my current motherboard (Gigabyte Z97 HD3) does not support "PWM mode" on system fans even though it has 4pin fan headers. So i followed the instructions to the letter, only to find out that when i powered on my computer, the CPU fan was not spinning at all and the case fans appeared to be always spinning at full speed. Diagnostic software like AIDA64 did not even recognise that i had a CPU fan connected. It just showed my GPU fans as the only fans in my system. This probably means that the hub was not getting any PWM signal, even though it was connected to my CPU fan header.
So my queston is this: Could it be that the fan hub is faulty or just incompatible with my current motherboard which is relatively dated? Has anyone else faced similar problems with this specific fan hub or has any idea about what might be wrong? Thank you in advance.

P.S. my CPU cooler is the BeQuiet Dark Rock 4 if that helps.

 

[Paperdoc]

What you describe tells me that the Hub is not getting a PWM signal, so check these points.

1. The Hub has TWO cables that must be connected to it other than the fans. One connects to the CPU_FAN header to provide the PWM signal to the Hub AND to return the speed signal from its output Port #1 (marked for CPU fan). Neither of these appears to be working. Check that this cable is securely connected at both ends.
2. The second cable MUST be plugged into a SATA power output connector from the PSU to give the Hub power for all its fans. It can NOT run those fans from the CPU_FAN cable only.
3. The Hub has three 4-pin outputs for PWM type fans (one of them labelled for the actual CPU cooler), and five further ports for 3-pin fans. 3-pin fans can have their speed controlled ONLY by those 3-pin output ports, and only if the Hub is working properly. The fact all of them are running full speed indicates the Hub is NOT working properly because it is NOT receiving a PWM signal from the CPU_FAN header. (Point 1 above)
4. To check the CPU fan itself, plug it into any other Hub port where a case fan DOES run full speed. It should work also at full speed.
5. To check the performance of the CPU_FAN header, shut down and disconnect the cable from the Hub to the CPU_FAN header. Plug the actual CPU fan into the CPU_FAN header and start up. If the header is OK the fan should start at full speed for just a few seconds, then slow down for the cool system. You can run this way with no case ventilation fans for a short time to do this test with no danger. If the fan does work and does change its speed, then you know the header is OK. Then the failure of the signals to get from that header to the Hub is in either the connecting cable or the Hub itself.

 

[Cerberus_SV]

What you describe tells me that the Hub is not getting a PWM signal, so check these points.

1. The Hub has TWO cables that must be connected to it other than the fans. One connects to the CPU_FAN header to provide the PWM signal to the Hub AND to return the speed signal from its output Port #1 (marked for CPU fan). Neither of these appears to be working. Check that this cable is securely connected at both ends.
2. The second cable MUST be plugged into a SATA power output connector from the PSU to give the Hub power for all its fans. It can NOT run those fans from the CPU_FAN cable only.
3. The Hub has three 4-pin outputs for PWM type fans (one of them labelled for the actual CPU cooler), and five further ports for 3-pin fans. 3-pin fans can have their speed controlled ONLY by those 3-pin output ports, and only if the Hub is working properly. The fact all of them are running full speed indicates the Hub is NOT working properly because it is NOT receiving a PWM signal from the CPU_FAN header. (Point 1 above)
4. To check the CPU fan itself, plug it into any other Hub port where a case fan DOES run full speed. It should work also at full speed.
5. To check the performance of the CPU_FAN header, shut down and disconnect the cable from the Hub to the CPU_FAN header. Plug the actual CPU fan into the CPU_FAN header and start up. If the header is OK the fan should start at full speed for just a few seconds, then slow down for the cool system. You can run this way with no case ventilation fans for a short time to do this test with no danger. If the fan does work and does change its speed, then you know the header is OK. Then the failure of the signals to get from that header to the Hub is in either the connecting cable or the Hub itself.

Thank you for your reply. I did connect the SATA cable to my PSU, i just forgot to mention it, i am sorry. How else would the case fans have worked at full speed anyway?
The side of the PWM signal cable that is connected to the fan hub is embedded in the circuit board of the hub itself and it is non-removable (at least not by hands), so there is no way it wasnt securely connected. About the other side i am 100% sure that it was securely connected as it troubled me to remove it afterwards.
What i did afterwards was that i just disconnected the PWM cable from the CPU_fan header and connected the CPU fan there instead. The fan works normally now and since the fan hub's PWM cable is not connected anywhere, the case fans run permanently at full speed. I suppose that the hub is faulty then. I wonder what happens in cases like these. Can people just get a Hub replacement or do they need to return the entire case and receive a new one?

 

[Paperdoc]

Well, you've proven that the fan is just fine, so we will presume the Hub is faulty. Contact Fractal Design Tech Support or Customer Service to arrange a replacement unit.