What's the max power I can put thru a 4pin Molex connector?

MikeHunt79 · 26 Feb 2010 at 16:28

I'm looking to have around 10 amps at 32v.

Will this be ok or am I starting to exceed the spec on these connectors?

I'm going to be using the 4 pin molex connectors that you see on older PATA HD's.

Brizzles · 26 Feb 2010 at 18:01

Molex wire is usually ' AWG 18 ' gauge.

This might help;

http://www.rbeelectronics.com/wtable.htm

JonJ678 · 26 Feb 2010 at 19:15

I'm pretty sure its limited by the connection at the end, not by the wire. Had a link around here somewhere
Some information here. He thinks the circuitry is rated for 13A at 12V, but considers anything over 5A to be brave.

How do you feel about pci-e cables instead? The 8 pin ones are rated for 150W at 12V by the atx spec, but probably capable of more.

MikeHunt79 · 1 Mar 2010 at 23:50

mrdbristol said:
Molex wire is usually ' AWG 18 ' gauge.

This might help;

http://www.rbeelectronics.com/wtable.htm

Thanks, I'm going to be using some chunky wire, I've got some 12 gauge wire for this task. Even if it's too big for the connector, I'm planning to use 1 inch or so of 18, then join it to the 12 gauge stuff.

I'm mainly after the specs of the connector, especially as I'm planning to run 32v, which is a fair bit more than the normal 12v.

JonJ678 said:
I'm pretty sure its limited by the connection at the end, not by the wire. Had a link around here somewhere
Some information here. He thinks the circuitry is rated for 13A at 12V, but considers anything over 5A to be brave.

How do you feel about pci-e cables instead? The 8 pin ones are rated for 150W at 12V by the atx spec, but probably capable of more.

Nice link, it does seem like the connectors are good for 13a of current, which is plenty, I may use 2 pins for 32v and 2 pins for 0v, just to be on the safe side.