Question Touching wire turns on my case fans? Electrical shortage?

[AdamMack95]

My case fans haven't worked in 4+ years. I have a GTX 970, i7 4790k, 16gb DDR3 ram, and ASUS z97 AR. I don't game anymore, so while my case fans not spinning has been annoying, it's not been a big deal in the grand scheme of things because my temps never got high doing college work.

The thing is, they would occasionally work for short periods of time. When I say occasionally, I mean about once every couple of months the fans and RGB would fire up for 5-10 minutes, then shut off again.

I got a new monitor today, and while checking my fan connections to see if they were loose, realized that me touching the wire makes the fans and RGB fire back up.

Surely this is some sort of electrical issue or shortage? I replaced the PSU about 2 years ago thinking it would fix it, which it didn't. My PSU is a Corsair RM850x. My case fans are a mix of NZXT and Corsair 12v DC's.

Please...just watch this video so you can see what I mean.

https://imgur.com/a/RwE3K79

View: https://imgur.com/a/RwE3K79


Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

My case fans are a mix of NZXT and Corsair 12v DC's.
Both brands of fans made during a decade or so ago were all trash.

while checking my fan connections to see if they were loose
You don't check connections while the system is powered up unless you'd like to be a conduit for the electricity, since electricity will take the path of least resistance.

I would remove them entirely from your system and look into PWM controlled fans, tethered to a PWM fan hub and call it a day. Also, you should consider dusting the entire system's innards. The issue you're seeing, can also lead to melted connectors or a fire.

 

[RAIDGoblin]

...realized that me touching the wire makes the fans and RGB fire back up.

is that molex plug providing power to the fan speed control on your case? if so try (switch off your PC first) unplugging it and blowing out both sides of the plugs to make sure it's clean, then plug it back in firmly together, that may well fix it

if it doesn't, see if you have any other spare molex power plugs, if you do try the fans in a different one

it's unlikely to be a short, more likely that the connection just isn't quite made

 

[geofelt]

Looks looks a bad fan connection.
First, see that the connection is fully pushed in.
If no joy, use a different connection.

 

[Misgar]

Surely this is some sort of electrical issue or shortage?

You appear to have an open circuit condition in the nominal 12V supply to your fans which occasionally gets fixed when you "wiggle" connections.

12V DC is well below the SELV (Separated Extra Low Voltage) safety limit so you're in no danger of getting an electric shock. It's no different from touching both terminals on a car battery.

With old fashioned Molex connectors, sometimes the contacts inside become loose, leading to intermittent connection. Judicious use of a jewellers screwdriver can help to close up malformed socket contacts, restoring current flow to the fan.

At other times, the copper conductors inside wires break off at the back of the crimp contacts, but the wire remains physically connected to the Molex by the insulation. The cure is to re-terminate the broken wire. I solder wires back on to contacts, or crimp a new contact on the wire.

If you have a multimeter, you can check for the presence of nominal +12V DC on both sides of the Molex plug/socket combo with the PC switched on. With power off, you can use the continuity setting on the meter to check connections.

 

[RAIDGoblin]

great response

With old fashioned Molex connectors, sometimes the contacts inside become loose, leading to intermittent connection. Judicious use of a jewellers screwdriver can help to close up malformed socket contacts, restoring current flow to the fan.

this or you buy a molex pin removal tool from ebay and take the female crimps out one at a time and squeeze them together a tiny bit