Which Wire?

PC-M Vip3r · 2 May 2007 at 18:37

Hey guys

I want to lenghen the Wire on one of my Molex connectors for an hout of case mod. Just wondering what sort of wire I should look for weather it is just plain steel wire, i know its not copper.

I think I posted in the right forum. Also is it possible to get a 12v plug to some sort of molex conversion or would I have to strip the 12v wire and connect it with a bit of solder?

Cheers

KotFM · 2 May 2007 at 21:19

Actually the wire is copper, the only difference is that it has been tinned (a thin coating of solder).

I would probably use 1.0mm^2 wire (18 AWG), although that is most likely overrated for what you need. Anything 0.5mm^2 or greater should be fine, depending on how much current is required for your mod.

It is possible to buy the Molex housings and pins, but I can't link the sites as they are classed as competitors. The proper Molex crimp tools are very expensive too, although you can probably buy cheaper copies that will do the job.

The cheapest method would be to cut and solder the wire, making sure you put some insulation over the solder joints, eg. heatshrink. If you don't want to cut your PSU cables (probably a good idea from a warranty point of view), you could just modify one of these.

PC-M Vip3r · 2 May 2007 at 22:52

Cheers for the info. My plan is to make a external control box for my cathodes, so not that much current., I was thinking I could buy a 12v plug and then strip the end and soilder it to the molex wire then heatshrink the soilder joints like you said, would this work? or could I wire the 12V plug straight into a molex connector?

Cheers

DataVampire · 3 May 2007 at 00:30

well i know what you are doing, as i have done this, i bought this....

only cost a few pounds, then all you need is a 3-1 molex for the insiade of the case, all very cheap ect of the bay

PC-M Vip3r · 3 May 2007 at 00:46

I want to make my own control box as im having a few lights plugged into it and don't want to run it out of my main rig. i thought about doing it but didnt want all the cables trailing from my rig. cheers anyway.

DataVampire · 3 May 2007 at 03:06

PC-M Vip3r said:
I want to make my own control box as im having a few lights plugged into it and don't want to run it out of my main rig. i thought about doing it but didnt want all the cables trailing from my rig. cheers anyway.

you dont have to have all of the wires trailing from your rig, you can use that in a mod box, and jsut have one set from your rig to the box, the box could be big enough to incorperate the inverters to, bare in mind the inverters need a certain amount of air.
iether way its a safer option thatn your planning

KotFM · 3 May 2007 at 19:47

The box sounds like a good idea to me.

If it's going to run independently from your PC, why not use a separate 12V power supply? Then all you have to mod is one molex extension cable and one cheap PSU. Plus as a bonus if anything goes drastically wrong with the cathodes you still have a working computer.

Bear in mind that these cathodes aren't meant to be used in an external environment and that there are hazardous voltages involved, so make sure the cables and inverters aren't likely to be accidentally damaged </legal disclaimer>

PC-M Vip3r · 4 May 2007 at 02:20

I see what your saying, I looked into a Cheap Power supply, just thought i could make the box smaller by just running a 12V wire into it. I wanted it so that i didnt have to have my PC on, but no you mention it and the more thought i put into it it becomes more sense to have that groovy Molex slot thing instead then just make a small mod for the switch. Cheers for the input, off to B&Q soon to get *** Wire i need to make the cathode reach. I'll post piccies