Aqua Computer Aquaero Owners thread

[Cenedd]

Friend of mine said I really ought to get my soggy PC house-trained!
Cheers. It's definitely a thread full of self-inflicted complications, experiments and failures, that's for sure!
The new build is off to my usual level of professionalism as I've realised the case is going to thwart my every attempt to fit things in it in sensible locations. Someone should forewarn hardware that comes my way that I have a Dremel and I'm not afraid to use it!

I know if my car's going round in circles, something has gone very wrong! Used to repair what I had when I had time and energy but my days of lying under a car have been behind me since I went Japanese. With no covered workshop it gets old fast. I've got an Ecutek setup but about the only thing I'd like to be able to change is the throttle map. You only know how much you can 'chew' by trying and seeing where you get. The better communities will have people willing to help you when you're getting towards the edge. Most of the time this is one of them....but it does seem to have gone rather quiet lately.

 

[Mcthommo]

any of you got a leakshield in your loops. I looking to see if someone can take a look at the gasket/oring that is meant to seal it as mine never came with one. I have been on the AC English forum but nothing yet
Ta

 

[alexkyriak]

Hi all, am trying to hook up a Farbwerk 360. I am finding that all of my rgb cable connectors do not fit snugly onto the larger RGBpx pin headers on the Farbwerk 360 board. (Am trying to connect up the rbg from some case fans).

The cable connection is very loose and the cables just fall out. Is this normal for this product? And just to be clear I am referring to the standard size rgb connectors, not the mini ones, the board has two sizes on although the manual only has pictures of the 4 mini connectors, not the additional 4 normal size rgb connectors. Cheers

 

[Cenedd]

Are you using the larger black 4-pin header that has a missing pin ("standard" ARGB connection) or the smaller white 4-pin connection (that I believe is Molex Picoblade)?
The smaller white ones should lock in with a gentle push. They are removable by pulling but don't fall off.
The black ones are very similar to the 4-pin RGB connections that always seem to fall off....but lacking one of the pins really doesn't help things. This isn't Aqua Computer's fault, it seems to be a poor standard that a lot of people are trying to avoid (eg Lian Li's fans with JST-SM connections).
Some of the female plugs fit much better than others - I have some that are very tight and some that are very loose. Could be worth trying an extension to see if it's any better. If you have a loose connection to the extension, you could at least secure it with tape, glue or a 3D printed part to hold them together - I've seen similar by Coolermaster on their AIOs. Basically just half a plastic box that fits tightly to the two plugs with a notch each end for the wire. Just stops them coming apart.

 

[Cenedd]

You might be able to get a bit more staying power by very slightly bending one of the pins outwards. Obviously this carries the risk of breaking the pin or the solder joint breaking so this should be absolutely a last resort, done very carefully and with the knowledge that it could destroy the part and invalidate the warranty. I'm figuring you know this if you're on here but, just saying.

 

[LuckyBenski]

I often find this with RGB stuff. It seems like some things expect round pins and some expect square pins too. As I'm not afraid of soldering and have spare parts I tend to rig something up with what's handy. That said, the connections to my Farbwerk (12V RGB) are quite loose.

 

[alexkyriak]

Ok thanks. Yes the larger connector type. I tried one other connector from the graphics card and it fits really snuggly. Annoying, all my other connectors are not fitting. Hot glue it is then!
Thanks guys

 

[alexkyriak]

Hey, bent pin technique actually kind of works! Liking that. Might back it up with some hot glue still but that’s a nice method. Cheers.

 

[Cenedd]

Just had the pins and shells arrive this morning so I can confirm that the non-standard sockets on the Farbwerk 360 are Molex Picoblade 1.25mm pitch connectors.....should you wish to make life difficult for yourself too! Pic in this thread
They would appear to be the smallest size my Engineer PA-09 crimps will do. Now I just need some eyeballs that'll go that small!

 

[alexkyriak]

Thanks @Cenedd . Yep they look teeny tiny. Good luck with the eyeballs!

Just on hot glue, have read up on this in terms of using hot glue to hold down connectors in electronic applications, apparently no problems. Any additional views here? Going to hot glue the extension cables to the farbwerk 360 to keep them in, in addition to bent pin method. Cheers guys.

 

[Cenedd]

No problem. Pic of finished plug here if you're interested. Works nicely so they're definitely the right shells and pins. Engineer PA-09 crimps one wing at a time. The larger variety of Engineer crimps for ATX pins though - they handle the longer wings much better.

Not aware of any issues using hot glue (in moderation!) for cable/plug retention. It's not the most reliable/resilient - at least in small dabs - but that's sort of the point. Used to use silicone sealant back in the days of AGP graphics cards - only way to get them to survive a courier. That shouldn't be fine as it's acidic (and conductive I shouldn't doubt) whilst wet but we never had any problems with that either. Most (decent) boards will be finished with a conformal coating that should offer some protection.
I plan to replace the standard connectors where they attach to the Farbwerk for the added security....but partly that's just bloody-mindedness!
By the way, I got some 3-packs of CoolerMaster ARGB fans and they came with the plastic half-shells to keep the fan's RGB connector attached to the cable's RGB connector - whether that's an extension or a fan to fan daisy chain.