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RGB strip molex connector?

IKnight
By IKnight
in Cases and Mods
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Hey folks.

I've got a white LED strip (not sure if its 12v or not) and I've been thinking of wiring it to a Molex connector for power (by soldering on 2/4 wires from a Molex-SATA cable). I know I need to solder the red/black (power/ground) wires, but I thought I'd ask here first in case I'm overlooking something. 

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Check where you bought it should say if its 12v or not otherwise dont attempt it because you may fry stuff

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Usually Molex connectors are 12v-G-G-5V with 12V being yellow and 5V being red.

Spoiler

d6f115c8efd56ea2c34ee06d96230e7f.jpg

 

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3 hours ago, Billy_Mays said:

Check where you bought it should say if its 12v or not otherwise dont attempt it because you may fry stuff

 

3 hours ago, revsilverspine said:

Usually Molex connectors are 12v-G-G-5V with 12V being yellow and 5V being red.

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It says DC 6v where the negative and positive wires are meant to be connected. I'm presuming that it will only take that much even if I give it 12v?

Custom pinewood case, Corsair CX 600W, Rampage 3 Extreme, i7 980x (@4.2ghz) with ML240 Cooler,  MSI GTX 970, 24gb DDR3, 240gb OCZ Tr150 SSD + 2Tb Seagate Baracuda. 

 

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1 minute ago, ImadKnight said:

 

It says DC 6v where the negative and positive wires are meant to be connected. I'm presuming that it will only take that much even if I give it 12v?

Nope. It'll fry the RGB strip.

It MIGHT work on 5V. If it doesn't, you'll need either a step up converter to make that 5V be 6V or a step down from 12V to 6V

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8 minutes ago, revsilverspine said:

Nope. It'll fry the RGB strip.

It MIGHT work on 5V. If it doesn't, you'll need either a step up converter to make that 5V be 6V or a step down from 12V to 6V

Ok, thanks for the heads up! I'll try on 5v cause I don't need them too bright anyways. 

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Yep you'll probably need a buck converter their cheap enough if you do

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Posted
9 hours ago, ImadKnight said:

Hey folks.

I've got a white LED strip (not sure if its 12v or not) and I've been thinking of wiring it to a Molex connector for power (by soldering on 2/4 wires from a Molex-SATA cable). I know I need to solder the red/black (power/ground) wires, but I thought I'd ask here first in case I'm overlooking something. 

Can you link the LED strip you are using, most LED strips are 12V which can be powered directly off of molex or sata. 

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1 minute ago, W-L said:

Can you link the LED strip you are using, most LED strips are 12V which can be powered directly off of molex or sata. 

I bought it from a local brick and mortar store so I don't have a link. I tested the strip using a 9v battery, and it worked fine. 

Custom pinewood case, Corsair CX 600W, Rampage 3 Extreme, i7 980x (@4.2ghz) with ML240 Cooler,  MSI GTX 970, 24gb DDR3, 240gb OCZ Tr150 SSD + 2Tb Seagate Baracuda. 

 

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Just now, ImadKnight said:

I bought it from a local brick and mortar store so I don't have a link. I tested the strip using a 9v battery, and it worked fine. 

Take a photo of the LED side of the strip it can show the layout of the traces and what's it's designed for. 

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Just now, W-L said:

Take a photo of the LED side of the strip it can show the layout of the traces and what's it's designed for. 

IMG_20170911_234248.thumb.jpg.00566fe2ed52509d80c402ff5fe481b0.jpg

IMG_20170911_234309_HHT.thumb.jpg.7db85e3c654d66b2d7443a2146db61b0.jpgExcuse my crappy pictures, dark room and terrible in low light camera. 

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Just now, ImadKnight said:

Excuse my crappy pictures, dark room and terrible in low light camera. 

That's a 5V SMD3258 strip, don't run it at higher voltages since it causes the resistors to work harder to dissipate the excess power as heat. You can wire it up still for molex since it has a 5V power line. 

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Just now, W-L said:

That's a 5V SMD3258 strip, don't run it at higher voltages since it causes the resistors to work harder to dissipate the excess power as heat. You can wire it up still for molex since it has a 5V power line. 

Wow thanks! I really appreciate the help. Would it be safe to test it first by connecting the molex adapter to the PSU and just touching the 5v + ground cable to the strip? 

Custom pinewood case, Corsair CX 600W, Rampage 3 Extreme, i7 980x (@4.2ghz) with ML240 Cooler,  MSI GTX 970, 24gb DDR3, 240gb OCZ Tr150 SSD + 2Tb Seagate Baracuda. 

 

Advocate for used/older hardware. Also one of the resident petrol heads. 

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Just now, ImadKnight said:

Wow thanks! I really appreciate the help. Would it be safe to test it first by connecting the molex adapter to the PSU and just touching the 5v + ground cable to the strip? 

I would do it with a PSU not connected to your system ideally but it can be done just be sure you don't short anything. 

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2 minutes ago, W-L said:

I would do it with a PSU not connected to your system ideally but it can be done just be sure you don't short anything. 

Okay, great, I've got a few extra ones laying around. Now to just find a paperclip...

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Advocate for used/older hardware. Also one of the resident petrol heads. 

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21 hours ago, ImadKnight said:

IMG_20170911_234248.thumb.jpg.00566fe2ed52509d80c402ff5fe481b0.jpg

IMG_20170911_234309_HHT.thumb.jpg.7db85e3c654d66b2d7443a2146db61b0.jpgExcuse my crappy pictures, dark room and terrible in low light camera. 

I have similar  LED size / Strip. I have wired all mine to Fan headers. AlphaCool Does the same among other companies.

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Just as a little update incase anyone in the future reads the thread. I connected the red 5v to the positive terminal, black ground to negative terminal and bridged the pins, thus starting the PSU. Everything worked as it should and the strip lit up. 

Then I happened to short the 2 wires (douh), resulting in a very small flash of light and a PSU that turned itself off. Powered it on again and everything worked as it should. :D

(Note that I also had a small molex fan connected to provide some resistance). 

 

Custom pinewood case, Corsair CX 600W, Rampage 3 Extreme, i7 980x (@4.2ghz) with ML240 Cooler,  MSI GTX 970, 24gb DDR3, 240gb OCZ Tr150 SSD + 2Tb Seagate Baracuda. 

 

Advocate for used/older hardware. Also one of the resident petrol heads. 

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