Modular PSU Cables

Roady · 5 Dec 2013 at 15:38

Long story short...

I have a Corsair AX1200, lots of modular cables. I've swapped it with a PC Power & Cooling 600W, very few modular cables. Simple to swap Corsair modular cable to PC P & C, no.

The basic 'modular' ends are the same (8 pin) but on the Corsair a couple of the 'sloped' edge connections are 'square' on the PC P & C, 2 of them are even 'bridged' together (with plastic).

I've gotta repair one of the modular cables anyway:

The supplied PCI-E modular cable had a dodgy connection, through my troubleshooting I found a short on one of the cables, when isolating which it was - the cable came out from the plug!

I looked at getting some from PC Power's webshop... $9 each (not bad), $32.50 international shipping (ouch!) = $50.70 for 2 cables... No thanks!

Best solution I think is me sourcing some of the modular ends used and fitting to the AX1200 cable... (As I'm sleeving cables its not a huge headache).

The PCI-E power cable ends are easy to source, but how do I identify which particular end (model number?) the modular end is so I order the right one...?

Tealc · 5 Dec 2013 at 15:51

What do the modular ends look like?

You could also extract the affected terminal in the connector shown and solder the bare wire to it. Even if the terminal has been crimped this shouldn't be an issue. If it is too mangled then you could buy a small quantity of the Minifit Junior 39-00-0077 or 39-00-0078 and attempt crimping them yourself with a pair of pointy nose pliers and finishing with a dab of solder.

Roady · 5 Dec 2013 at 20:51

The modular connectors are the same as the PCI-E 8-pin types, but the male edges are different... I'll take some pictures side by side with the Corsair so you can see the difference

Roady · 6 Dec 2013 at 09:41

Tealc · 6 Dec 2013 at 12:22

You can shave the material on the Corsair to make them angled. The Angled one that needs to be square will fit regardless.

I can't remember what I used to do my PCI-e cable but it worked fine, although the connector was a little on the tight side.

Roady · 6 Dec 2013 at 17:04

So by that diagnosis, if I trim the top right connector (looking from here) on the corsair, that does not contain a connection, it'll fit... I'll doublecheck the pin layouts to be sure first

Quite easy - as from what I've read these connectors only carry 12V or Ground (Yellow & Black).

Roady · 9 Dec 2013 at 13:50

I used the flattened staple 'trick' to start with... Worked ok but tricky.

Used thicker staples (staple gun ones) and worked better, thicker and stronger.

I then flattened the staples (hammer) more so I could fit two in... Didn't work as easy as intended (no easier than above).

I slightly bent an old tiny flat screwdriver, loads more strength than the staples but harder to press the tags... Lost a little patience and was more brutal - worked even better!

I've not broken one yet, but had to do some 'reconstruction & reshape' on a couple that were particularly stubborn!

Tealc's suggestion of trimming the PCI-E 'square' to 'angle' worked a treat! Thanks

I'm gonna need loads more braid... lol