Question Soldering power switch cable

[lordmoltke]

Hi, everyone! Hope you're all having a nice life!
I was replacing a motherboard and the power switch cable connected to the front panel of the case broke/came off. I have a soldering kit and plan to solder it back, but I have a doubt; Does this have a positive/negative? I guess it does, but I've no idea which is which. I was hoping someone here could help me. Thanks!

 

[Math Geek]

it does have a positive and negative. but no idea which is which. you'll have to look up the case it comes out of and see if it tells you. most of the time the red is positive and black is negative but that is not set in stone.

the good news is you can get a switch from any other case and add it in if you wish. i have a handful of them i keep just for this purpose

 

[ex_bubblehead]

A switch has no polarity. It doesn't matter which wire goes where.

 

[geofelt]

The power switch is a momentary contact button.
Unlike led headers, it does not have any polarity.

 

[Math Geek]

i know that is right, but my current case is labeled + and -

i never bother worrying which way it goes on, but quite often they are labeled pos and neg.

nver tried to fix one though as i keep extras from old cases and swap em out as needed.

 

[geofelt]

The red and black wires might make you think that there was polarity involved.
But, you can start a motherboard by simply momentarily shorting the two front panel PWR pins which would show that they are really not polarity sensitive.
Ditto for the reset pins.

 

[lordmoltke]

A switch has no polarity. It doesn't matter which wire goes where.

Ah, thanks. Good to know. Since I wasn't sure, I just move the reset sw to where the power sw goes, and it worked, now I can fix that.

 

[Math Geek]

that's also a solution i've done multiple times.

how often do you use the reset switch anyway

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Yeah if you don’t feel like soldering just wire the reset switch to the power on the board.

 

[hotaru.hino]

For future reference, black is typically used for ground or the negative side.

 

[lordmoltke]

that's also a solution i've done multiple times.

how often do you use the reset switch anyway

Well, reset sw can actually come in handy when the OS freezes, and you're forced to hit that button.

 

[Oasis Curator]

Well, reset sw can actually come in handy when the OS freezes, and you're forced to hit that button.

Or turn the PSU switch off?

 

[Math Geek]

or simply press and hold power switch which does a hard shut down as well.