Replacing Molex with SATA

[Orbit Storm]

I recently ordered a new power supply unit after my original (Turbolink) died and while waiting for the replacement to arrive, I wanted to go about testing the rest of my hardware and ensuring that the power supply is my only issue. Luckily for me, I still have a functional spare PSU, a Kingwin ABT series, but it's a much older unit and does not have any SATA connectors.

Unfortunately, there are no local stores that carry Molex-SATA adapters and the only one that does is ~60 miles away and closed for the holiday today. So, being the adventurous individual that I am, I'm contemplating removing one of the Molex connectors from my spare Kingwin and replacing it with a SATA connector from my recently-departed Turbolink. My dilemma is: I'm not an electrician. I've spliced wires before, so that isn't an issue but the colors of the wiring has me confused. For example:

With the Turbolink, the wiring from the floppy drive power cable to the SATA goes from R/B/B/Y to B/R/B/Y while with the Kingwin, the wiring from the floppy drive power cable to the Molex goes from R/B/B/Y to Y/B/B/R. Do I simply splice the appropriate colors when replacing the Molex with the SATA or will I have to mix-n-match colors (assuming that certain colors are for certain currents or what have you)?

I'm happy to providing snapshots of each for more clarity, if necessary.

Before I get any advice on the wiring itself, I just want to be clear if it's possible to replace a Molex connector with a SATA, just for temporary use to ensure my system is in working order.

Thank you!

 

[R_1]

https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fecx.images-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F41tS4gmj8oL.jpg&f=1
follow the image and you will be fine, notice the wires that cross.

 

[Gingerbread]

http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html
You have already read this I guess. Yes it should be possible and it should be done just the way you described it. Difference between molex and sata generally is the 3.3v cable (orange one) but as far as I know current hdds and optical drives dont use 3.3V so you should be good.

 

[Orbit Storm]

I greatly appreciate the quick responses!

After looking at this again and reading both of your posts, evidently I've been overthinking this process. I simply need to match colors accordingly since I'm just cutting the each connector off and not removing the wires from the connector. I'll just cut off a Molex + floppy drive combo and replace it with a SATA + floppy drive combo. Hopefully simply splicing the wires and crimping them will do the trick for the time being. Thanks again!

 

[Gingerbread]

Should work, also if you don't mind, report your progress here as soon as you're done, for future reference and all you know 😛

 

[R_1]

I greatly appreciate the quick responses!

After looking at this again and reading both of your posts, evidently I've been overthinking this process. I simply need to match colors accordingly since I'm just cutting the each connector off and not removing the wires from the connector. I'll just cut off a Molex + floppy drive combo and replace it with a SATA + floppy drive combo. Hopefully simply splicing the wires and crimping them will do the trick for the time being. Thanks again!

yes for a temporary solution. if any of the wires are copper, corrosion becomes a concern so use as a temp solution.

 

[Orbit Storm]

A few hours later and all seems to be well. After splicing the wires together, I tested to make sure the HDD would boot and sure enough, it did. I went ahead and crimped the wires together afterward and have allowed the system to idle with a few programs (such as Chrome and Steam) running in the background and haven't noticed any increasing temps. Not quite sure what tools I have at my disposal to monitor the PSU but I don't see smoke, smell anything burning, and the computer is still running -- must be a good sign, right?!

In a rather strange twist, UPS just bumped my delivery date to tomorrow morning (despite the holiday today apparently) so it seems all of this was nothing more than an educational experience.

If anyone is interested, I created an album on Imgur with a few pictures; nothing fancy.

http://imgur.com/a/ckrTt

Thanks again for the quick responses!

 

[Gingerbread]

Nice, glad to hear it workd, also thanks for the splendid gallery!