Antec 180 Fans

[indamixx99]

So i got my new antec p180 up and running today. I think my powersupply might be faulty though. I'm running an older 20pin Antec Truepower 430. Are the fans in the case supposed to be stationary or are they always supposed to be spinning? None of my 120mm fans are moving when the unit is powered on. However, if I give the fans a slight push with my finger, they start spinning. Is it possible they're not getting enough power? I daisy chained all 3 fan molex connectors onto each other and plugged that into one of the power connectors labeled "fan only". Think I'm drawing too much current from that one plug? Thanks for your help!

 

[ExPFC Wintergreen]

I have a P180 and they definitely spin all the time. I don't know the technical reason for your problem, but I just plugged one molex from the power supply into each fan, not a "fan only."

 

[1Dark1Sharigan1]

It's possible that you're not getting enough power. Try connecting each fan separately to see if they still run though since I've found that the fans that come with the P180 can sometimes be faulty (which is why I replaced mine with different fans when I still had my P180)

 

[Zepper]

You should connect the fans to a normal drive power connector. Those fans are the 3-speed ones aren't they, so you control them by their local switches rather than the thermal sensor inside the PSU (which is what controlls fans plugged into the dedicated FAN connector from the PSU). The PSU controlled fan connectors seldom control your case fans properly - either use their local speed switches or a separate fan controller.

.bh.

 

[PianoMan]

If I recall, I think you are able to connect two fans to the "fan only" connector on an Antec (I could be wrong). For the P180, I'd just hook up the bottom fan direct to the PSU and put it on "Low." Try hooking the other two the "fan only" connector.

The problem is, the Antec controls the fan only connector due to temp and loading. With it's dedicated cooling channel, it seldom breaks a sweat compared to cases which funnel hot CPU/GPU air thru the PSU for exhaust.

Plop in a really demanding game, and see if that raises the "fan only" connector voltage high enough to get the fans spinning. At very low loads, the voltage presented by those connectors (usually I've seen 700-800rpm) may be insufficient to generate enough start current to start the fans to spin.

If you can't get them to spin, you may have to go the direct to PSU route (and have to open the case to change fan speeds). I replaced my TP 480W w/a Corsair and added a drive bay fan controller.

In my MicroFly case, however, the TP 480W in there does wonderfully in managing the speed of my case fans. It's virtually silent when idle, but stick a game in there (when it had a 1900XT), the fan speed comes up automatically - no need for a controller, or flip a switch inside the case.

 

[PianoMan]

(Removed - Double Post)

 

[indamixx99]

Originally posted by: Zepper
You should connect the fans to a normal drive power connector. Those fans are the 3-speed ones aren't they, so you control them by their local switches rather than the thermal sensor inside the PSU (which is what controlls fans plugged into the dedicated FAN connector from the PSU). The PSU controlled fan connectors seldom control your case fans properly - either use their local speed switches or a separate fan controller.

.bh.

Sweet, that did the trick. Thanks!

 

[ChefJoe]

The fan only lead gets a fan speed control going through a thermistor mounted in the power supply. It'll drop the voltage when things are cool. If your fans are also 7 volt modded or really low fan speed designed it may not spin at all. I had a pair of 80mm panaflows that had this problem once when I ran them powered in series to get lower speeds out of them.