Xbox 360 12v fan mod

Step 5

picture 1 is an image of the DVD-drive power connector from the xbox 360. i have circled the ground and 12v connections on it.

now i couldn't get any pictures of the next steps as my camera died so i will do my best to explain...

take the dvd-drive power connector, take the two wires that would connect to these two points on the motherboard and strip them half way down, it is important that the original connections remain intact so when stripping try not to break the cable.

from these bare pieces of wire attach a short length of wire to each then wrap the bare wire in insulation tape to prevent any shorts.

you should now have two pieces of wire coming from your dvd drive cable. these need to be attached to the fan inside the xbox, the fan wiring is like this.

red + brown need to be attached to +12v
blue and black need to be attached to Ground

picture 2 showsd how my wiring looked afterwards.

Comments

[MaDsCiEntist724]

What's the effect of stupidly using the case as ground?

[Outdoorguy236]

Answer, it's not the it's using the case as a ground but it supplies the unit with an EMF shield so as not to distrub other electronics such as a wireless connection to a device.

[gyetman23]

I understand the stripping the wires half way down on the dvd drive but do I need to the same on the wires coming from the fan

[zack247]

no, the fan wires get stripped and they are spliced into the dvd rom's power, they have no plug anymore, but its worth it.

[ryguy425425]

Plus you ccould always add a few LEDs to the 5v fan plugs.

[zack247]

but of course not too many, the dvd drive still needs it power too. perhaps a 5v external power supply for all of the accesories?

[fyn3zt]

what resistance potentiometer may i use?

[DannyboyINXS]

Hey mate, something has happened to my rear 5v source, and was wondering how i would get it working again, or if you could give me a hand getting another 5v source, because i got the whisper max fans and want to switch from 5v and 12v. Cheers

[CoryBoyo]

Hi, i had the same problem so i wired my fans up to a dc adapter. Yes you can still wire your fans up and use the 5-12v switch :) Cory :)

[DannyboyINXS]

thanks for the reply! but i managed to repair the problem. I found an alternative 5v source other than a dc adapter... and guess what it was? the rear USB port. I made a converter for the 3 pin fan plug to USB. It was pretty straight forward. 2 of the 4 wires in a USB cable are power - active and ground, so i just connected them to the active and neutral of the 3 pin fan connector (the 3rd pin was the RPM detector. After making the converter, i fed the cable out through one of the ventilation holes at the back and into the rear usb port - and there was my 5v source! Feeding it out was the hardest part! I had to strip half the adapter so it could fit in between the back fans and the case without cutting the cable or making it hard for the fans to click in place. But it was the only place that leads out of the case. It was either that or drill a hole through the "manufacture details sticker" area, and i didn't have a drill on hand

[daiatlus79]

i guess i will have to do the same thing tonite.. i already rechambered the airflow with cardboard and tape like many have done, as well as cut away most of that back hole-shaped grating.  airflow is improved quite a bit, cause i was tired of it being the third time i had to fix the red ring (right in the middle of playing Dead Sector, to boot!) (i rechambered the airflow afterwards and its blowing good.. but i may have to also cut into the top of the case i think (i lay mine on its side) and put another fan on that hole and put an intake fan in there with 12 volts to make sure it draws in enough air

[DannyboyINXS]

yeah! i mean, if you've mutilated (sorry, lol) the back ventilation holes, you'll find it much easier to work with! with extra air flow!

However, the xbox i did that to red ringed believe it or not! So i took my mods out, used the dvd data cable's 5v wire to keep everything INSIDE the box, shoved the warranty sticker back on, and sent it back into the store! hahaha and i traded it in for one of the new jasper chip xbox's. I think i'm going to leave it be this time and hope it was revised PROPERLY so i don't have to touch it! I even bought the store's extended warranty, so after a year of it being microsoft's responsibility - if it red rings next year, all i have to do is send it back to the store, and i get a new one! (Figure that one out!). But if it red rings this year, off to microsoft!

[daiatlus79]

are the jaspers the ones with the epoxy on the corners? thats what i have.  mine was red ringed when i got it (50 bucks second hand off my cousin.. then did the heatgun treatment and some now thermal paste)  and then did the air reflow.  i think the other fan may go on tonite

[DannyboyINXS]

I would have no idea about the insides of the new jasper revision, as i've never dared to open it up - i think the american's have a saying for that: if it ain't broke, don't fix it! haha.

Anyway, the only way i could tell a jasper is from the outsides - i don't know what the new motherboard looks like and how they've re-arranged things (I do know the specs though).  One easy way of telling is my power brick is half the original size!

[Dirtie Hippie]

That's a brilliant idea!

Interested in making an instructable about it? :)

[DannyboyINXS]

Thanks! I'm sorry, but i've been pretty busy of late, and it seems like a pretty small thing for an entire instructable. However, if you need help, i am more than happy to give you a hand!

I might make a "USB - 3 pin fan connector adapter" instructable if a few people ask for it.

Thanks for the comment though! i really appreciate it!

[aliendo1]

what's the green wire for?

[pooley182]

The two yellow wires are connected to the +12v pin, and tyhe green is the common ground,