Cutting PS wires anyone?

If you're indicating that you're thinking of using a nibbler to make
cutouts in the PSU case and put Molex connectors in the PSU case, run
the internal PSU wires to those Molex connectors, and then snip the
wiring harness down to length to go into matching Molex connectors, that
seems a lot more work than just shorting each cable.

A soldering iron, solder (with flux), wire snipper, wire stripper, and
heatshrink tubing are cheaper than getting Molex crimping tools. Cut a
wire, cut it at another point (to short it overall), slide on some
heatshrink tubing that's just bigger than the wire & its insulation so
it's far enough from the solder point, fan out the stranded wires on
each of the cut ends, mesh the wire back together (like your fingers on
your hands mesh together), twist the meshed wires so they're together,
solder them for a permanent connection, slide the heatshrink tubing over
the solder joint (it should extend on each end of the solder joint to
lap over the insulation), heat up the heatshrink tubing (very carefully
with a match, hot blow dryer, or heat gun). Now you've got a shortened
wire that has a solid solder connection covered by heatshrink. Repeat
for the other wires.

Yes, you can shorten the wires if you want. Takes less expertise than
getting a crimping tool and hope you crimp correctly since that's just a
friction junction. You also don't end up with remembering or labelling
the Molex connectors in the PSU case to figure out which pin goes to
which wire in the harness, something that's probably going to bite you
or someone else later when you/they have to service this setup. With
the resolder & cover of shortened wires done one at a time, you won't
get voltage polarities or amplitudes wrong, like finding out later you
had the 12V and 5V lines mixed up and just fried every device that
expected 5V but got 12V instead.

On Nov 20, 9:40*pm, Allen Drake wrote:
*Have any of you people ever thought *about or actually cut away any
of these useless wires that protrude from your power supplies that go
unused because there are just so many? Are there any units that have
just plug in cables like Thermaltake extra wire options?

*http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Produc...C=1264&ID=1830

It's just to crowded in my latest project with a compact case. Even
with a large gaming tower there just isn't enough room for all these
extra wires.

*How about shorter SATA cables and fans that have plugs right at their
cases instead of having to tie up so many wires all the time. Isn't
about time someone made a case that has a built in harness or true
modular components?


I have. For a commercial application some years back in a custom made
enclosure (that had to fit in a small space) I just opened the supply
and undsoldered the unused extra harness wiring from off the PCB and
removed them from the harness. Made a big difference.

Allen Drake wrote:
I do think I will be making my own cables to get
them exactly the right size. I've seen many go to lengths like cutting
holes in cases. I have a new case that has little room to hide any PSU
cables anywhere.

If you ever decide to simply cut off wires, watch out for strands
sticking out beyond the insulation that can cause shorts. You can
pull the insulation over the tip to encase the strands, but start
pulling about 3" from the end so the insulation will extend at least
1/2", and you want at least 1/2" because the insulation slides back.
Better yet, also cover each tip with about 2" of heatshrink.

I'm too cheap to buy connectors and pins, so I just cut the wires at
the circuit board. However some PSUs are built so 2-3 wires go into a
single hole that's too narrow for all the wires because the
manufacturer uses a crimp connector that holds them together, and it
has a pin at the end that goes into the solder hole. I don't know
where to buy those connectors, so I take a piece of 0.025" brass and
cut it into a "T" and clamp the horizontal part of the T around the
insulation.

A pin removal tool can be a big, big help, especially for the power
connectors going to the motherboard and video card, but the method
described here has worked OK for me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5_58o0WaTM

Jeweler's screwdrivers didn't work as well.

OTOH round Molex connector pins are easy to remove with a piece of
thinwall tubing (hobby shops and real hardware stores have them, in a
display from K&N Metals).

If you have trouble making good crimps and you have a no-name tool,
its dies may have been made inaccurately. OTOH the house brand
crimping tools from MCM and Radio Shack seem decent.

On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:57:11 -0600, VanguardLH wrote:

If you're indicating that you're thinking of using a nibbler to make
cutouts in the PSU case and put Molex connectors in the PSU case, run
the internal PSU wires to those Molex connectors, and then snip the
wiring harness down to length to go into matching Molex connectors, that
seems a lot more work than just shorting each cable.

A soldering iron, solder (with flux), wire snipper, wire stripper, and
heatshrink tubing are cheaper than getting Molex crimping tools. Cut a
wire, cut it at another point (to short it overall), slide on some
heatshrink tubing that's just bigger than the wire & its insulation so
it's far enough from the solder point, fan out the stranded wires on
each of the cut ends, mesh the wire back together (like your fingers on
your hands mesh together), twist the meshed wires so they're together,
solder them for a permanent connection, slide the heatshrink tubing over
the solder joint (it should extend on each end of the solder joint to
lap over the insulation), heat up the heatshrink tubing (very carefully
with a match, hot blow dryer, or heat gun). Now you've got a shortened
wire that has a solid solder connection covered by heatshrink. Repeat
for the other wires.

Yes, you can shorten the wires if you want. Takes less expertise than
getting a crimping tool and hope you crimp correctly since that's just a
friction junction. You also don't end up with remembering or labelling
the Molex connectors in the PSU case to figure out which pin goes to
which wire in the harness, something that's probably going to bite you
or someone else later when you/they have to service this setup. With
the resolder & cover of shortened wires done one at a time, you won't
get voltage polarities or amplitudes wrong, like finding out later you
had the 12V and 5V lines mixed up and just fried every device that
expected 5V but got 12V instead.


Actually I had not given any thought to the exact process so I am
very happy to read your reply. Thank you very much for these tips. I
have shortened wires using your method many years ago and had
forgotten about the procedure. This is exactly what I will do. I
probably have the heat shrink tubing and I know I have a good
soldering iron with holder and sponge. I had only planned on
shortening and removing a few power wires to the drives and had not
decided to tackle the cable to the board but who knows where this
could lead.

Thanks again for the reply. You have been very helpful.

Al.

On Tue, 22 Nov 2011 05:40:15 -0800 (PST), "larry moe 'n curly"
wrote:



Allen Drake wrote:
I do think I will be making my own cables to get
them exactly the right size. I've seen many go to lengths like cutting
holes in cases. I have a new case that has little room to hide any PSU
cables anywhere.

If you ever decide to simply cut off wires, watch out for strands
sticking out beyond the insulation that can cause shorts. You can
pull the insulation over the tip to encase the strands, but start
pulling about 3" from the end so the insulation will extend at least
1/2", and you want at least 1/2" because the insulation slides back.
Better yet, also cover each tip with about 2" of heatshrink.

I'm too cheap to buy connectors and pins, so I just cut the wires at
the circuit board. However some PSUs are built so 2-3 wires go into a
single hole that's too narrow for all the wires because the
manufacturer uses a crimp connector that holds them together, and it
has a pin at the end that goes into the solder hole. I don't know
where to buy those connectors, so I take a piece of 0.025" brass and
cut it into a "T" and clamp the horizontal part of the T around the
insulation.

A pin removal tool can be a big, big help, especially for the power
connectors going to the motherboard and video card, but the method
described here has worked OK for me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5_58o0WaTM

Jeweler's screwdrivers didn't work as well.

OTOH round Molex connector pins are easy to remove with a piece of
thinwall tubing (hobby shops and real hardware stores have them, in a
display from K&N Metals).

If you have trouble making good crimps and you have a no-name tool,
its dies may have been made inaccurately. OTOH the house brand
crimping tools from MCM and Radio Shack seem decent.


Thanks L,M & C. I will do it exactly as you describe with the wires I
cut. I enjoyed the clip but I don't think I will be trying to save any
connectors this time. Watching the use of those staples makes me
wonder about making a tool that would do the same job. I work in a
machine shop so I can do quite a bit with metal and tool making.

I think you have created a monster

Al.

On Tue, 22 Nov 2011 04:52:45 -0800 (PST), KR
wrote:

On Nov 20, 9:40*pm, Allen Drake wrote:
*Have any of you people ever thought *about or actually cut away any
of these useless wires that protrude from your power supplies that go
unused because there are just so many? Are there any units that have
just plug in cables like Thermaltake extra wire options?

*http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Produc...C=1264&ID=1830

It's just to crowded in my latest project with a compact case. Even
with a large gaming tower there just isn't enough room for all these
extra wires.

*How about shorter SATA cables and fans that have plugs right at their
cases instead of having to tie up so many wires all the time. Isn't
about time someone made a case that has a built in harness or true
modular components?


I have. For a commercial application some years back in a custom made
enclosure (that had to fit in a small space) I just opened the supply
and undsoldered the unused extra harness wiring from off the PCB and
removed them from the harness. Made a big difference.



Now that sounds like a project I could enjoy undertaking. I need
something to do so I won't be tempted to put together one more system
I have no use for.


Al.

"Allen Drake" wrote in message ...
On Tue, 22 Nov 2011 05:40:15 -0800 (PST), "larry moe 'n curly"
wrote:



Allen Drake wrote:
I do think I will be making my own cables to get
them exactly the right size. I've seen many go to lengths like cutting
holes in cases. I have a new case that has little room to hide any PSU
cables anywhere.

If you ever decide to simply cut off wires, watch out for strands
sticking out beyond the insulation that can cause shorts. You can
pull the insulation over the tip to encase the strands, but start
pulling about 3" from the end so the insulation will extend at least
1/2", and you want at least 1/2" because the insulation slides back.
Better yet, also cover each tip with about 2" of heatshrink.

I'm too cheap to buy connectors and pins, so I just cut the wires at
the circuit board. However some PSUs are built so 2-3 wires go into a
single hole that's too narrow for all the wires because the
manufacturer uses a crimp connector that holds them together, and it
has a pin at the end that goes into the solder hole. I don't know
where to buy those connectors, so I take a piece of 0.025" brass and
cut it into a "T" and clamp the horizontal part of the T around the
insulation.

A pin removal tool can be a big, big help, especially for the power
connectors going to the motherboard and video card, but the method
described here has worked OK for me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5_58o0WaTM

Jeweler's screwdrivers didn't work as well.

OTOH round Molex connector pins are easy to remove with a piece of
thinwall tubing (hobby shops and real hardware stores have them, in a
display from K&N Metals).

If you have trouble making good crimps and you have a no-name tool,
its dies may have been made inaccurately. OTOH the house brand
crimping tools from MCM and Radio Shack seem decent.


Thanks L,M & C. I will do it exactly as you describe with the wires I
cut. I enjoyed the clip but I don't think I will be trying to save any
connectors this time. Watching the use of those staples makes me
wonder about making a tool that would do the same job. I work in a
machine shop so I can do quite a bit with metal and tool making.

I think you have created a monster

Al.

If you have two of the female Molex connectors (the metal inserts, not the whole assembly), you can use one of them to
remove the male pins by pushing it down over each one and then pulling the male out.
Using a small screwdriver, widen the other female out until it fits over the other female pin tightly. Then you can use
that one to remove the other female pins from within the assembly. Works better than the POS tool I have for that
purpose :-)
--
SC Tom

On Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:56:59 -0500, "SC Tom" wrote:


"Allen Drake" wrote in message ...
On Tue, 22 Nov 2011 05:40:15 -0800 (PST), "larry moe 'n curly"
wrote:



Allen Drake wrote:
I do think I will be making my own cables to get
them exactly the right size. I've seen many go to lengths like cutting
holes in cases. I have a new case that has little room to hide any PSU
cables anywhere.

If you ever decide to simply cut off wires, watch out for strands
sticking out beyond the insulation that can cause shorts. You can
pull the insulation over the tip to encase the strands, but start
pulling about 3" from the end so the insulation will extend at least
1/2", and you want at least 1/2" because the insulation slides back.
Better yet, also cover each tip with about 2" of heatshrink.

I'm too cheap to buy connectors and pins, so I just cut the wires at
the circuit board. However some PSUs are built so 2-3 wires go into a
single hole that's too narrow for all the wires because the
manufacturer uses a crimp connector that holds them together, and it
has a pin at the end that goes into the solder hole. I don't know
where to buy those connectors, so I take a piece of 0.025" brass and
cut it into a "T" and clamp the horizontal part of the T around the
insulation.

A pin removal tool can be a big, big help, especially for the power
connectors going to the motherboard and video card, but the method
described here has worked OK for me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5_58o0WaTM

Jeweler's screwdrivers didn't work as well.

OTOH round Molex connector pins are easy to remove with a piece of
thinwall tubing (hobby shops and real hardware stores have them, in a
display from K&N Metals).

If you have trouble making good crimps and you have a no-name tool,
its dies may have been made inaccurately. OTOH the house brand
crimping tools from MCM and Radio Shack seem decent.


Thanks L,M & C. I will do it exactly as you describe with the wires I
cut. I enjoyed the clip but I don't think I will be trying to save any
connectors this time. Watching the use of those staples makes me
wonder about making a tool that would do the same job. I work in a
machine shop so I can do quite a bit with metal and tool making.

I think you have created a monster

Al.

If you have two of the female Molex connectors (the metal inserts, not the whole assembly), you can use one of them to
remove the male pins by pushing it down over each one and then pulling the male out.
Using a small screwdriver, widen the other female out until it fits over the other female pin tightly. Then you can use
that one to remove the other female pins from within the assembly. Works better than the POS tool I have for that
purpose :-)

Excellent. Thanks again.

On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 06:40:52 -0500, Allen Drake
wrote:


Have any of you people ever thought about or actually cut away any
of these useless wires that protrude from your power supplies that go
unused because there are just so many? Are there any units that have
just plug in cables like Thermaltake extra wire options?

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Produc...C=1264&ID=1830

It's just to crowded in my latest project with a compact case. Even
with a large gaming tower there just isn't enough room for all these
extra wires.

How about shorter SATA cables and fans that have plugs right at their
cases instead of having to tie up so many wires all the time. Isn't
about time someone made a case that has a built in harness or true
modular components?

Get one with modular wires so you can plug in only what you need.

Loren Pechtel wrote:

Allen Drake wrote:

Have any of you people ever thought about or actually cut away any
of these useless wires that protrude from your power supplies that go
unused because there are just so many? Are there any units that have
just plug in cables like Thermaltake extra wire options?

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Produc...C=1264&ID=1830

It's just to crowded in my latest project with a compact case. Even
with a large gaming tower there just isn't enough room for all these
extra wires.

How about shorter SATA cables and fans that have plugs right at their
cases instead of having to tie up so many wires all the time. Isn't
about time someone made a case that has a built in harness or true
modular components?

Get one with modular wires so you can plug in only what you need.

Same suggestion made a month ago.