LL RGB Series Fan do not light up

Hello everyone,

 

Context:

I've built my own computer 2,5 years ago. I decided a year ago to replace/upgrade the computer case and the fans to make the computer look more clean.

I decided to buy the Corsair Obsidian Series 500D RGB case which included the Commander Pro, three LL RGB Series Fans and a RGB HUB.

I installed everything like on the screenshot Below:

 

(I'm also using RGB Led Strips which are not shown on the picture above)

 

Issue:

Everything was running as supposed to: the Leds and Fans were controlled by the ICUE software and every (color/pattern) change I made in the software was immediately visible.

Until a month ago only one of the fans lights up.. Its only the LED-color functionality of the fans that is not working properly.

 

 

After I tried to replug/replace some cables I came to the conclusion that only the frist port of the Corsair RGB-Hub works (see image below).

 

 

Things I tried to fix the issue:

1. I replaced the RGB-hub by a new one (shown on the image above).
   
2. I replaced the Corsair RGB Cable by a new one. I also noticed in this video: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWnuvJ8tPU8&t=22s"
   that they are using a 3-pin connector on the LED-Hub.
   Corsair send me a 2-pin connector with the fans. (see image above)
   
3. Switched the LED-ports on the Corsair Pro Commander and also set the right settings in the ICUE when I changed the ports.
   
4. Re-installed the whole ICUE software, made new profiles and tested a lot of different settings etc.
   

 

Not Tested:

1. See paragraph "Things I tried to fix the issue" Number "2.": replaced the 2-pin connector with a 3-pin connector. Does anybody know what the difference is?
   

Ps: the RGB functionality of the fans are not broken because I put every RBG connector to the first port of the RGB-Hub and they are all working.

 

I hope someone can help me. :biggrin:

Edited February 27, 2020 by MrRoboo

Hi buddy.. have you got a screen capture of the Commander Pro's Lighting setup page buddy?.. is it still set as 6 fans still?

Hi buddy.. have you got a screen capture of the Commander Pro's Lighting setup page buddy?.. is it still set as 6 fans still?

 

Hi Zotty,

 

Yes I have.

 

see screenshot: http://prntscr.com/r901l4

Could be that one fan is faulty and blocks RGB of all other fans?

Did you tried to test i single fan per time?

 

Baio

Could be that one fan is faulty and blocks RGB of all other fans?

Did you tried to test i single fan per time?

 

Baio

 

Yes I did try every single fan as I meantion in my post (above the third screenshot). The weird thing is that only the first port in the RBG-Hub works. every single fan lights up when I plug in the RGB-connector in the first port of the RGB-Hub. I hope you understand what I'm talking about, otherwise I'll make a video of what I mean.

 

EDIT:

When I dissconnect the first port and connect the third, nothing happens so only the first port works for some reason...

Edited February 28, 2020 by MrRoboo

So, if all the fans are ok the problem is in the RGB Hub.

Try - if not done yet - to plug a fan on RGB Hub port n. 1 and then another one in the port n. 2.

If it lights up, go ahead with port n. 3. If not, to me it's faulty hub.

 

Do you use any SATA power splitter to feed the RGB Hub? If so, try to connect it directly to a SATA header of the PSU.

 

Can't really think of anything else...

 

Baio

When you put the fans all back in the hub, is it the same fan in port 1?

Here's the thing ... the fans operate in series. Testing them individually only tells 1/2 of the tale. Because a fan can light up but not pass signal down. So you need to not only test them individually in port 1 but in combination with a fan in port 2. But if you keep putting the same fan back into port 1 ... and that fan is bad ... then testing them individually isn't telling you anything.

 

And ... regarding the cable ... a fan hub cable should have 2 wires. That is correct. Adding the 3rd wire won't do anything at all.

So, if all the fans are ok the problem is in the RGB Hub.

Try - if not done yet - to plug a fan on RGB Hub port n. 1 and then another one in the port n. 2.

If it lights up, go ahead with port n. 3. If not, to me it's faulty hub.

 

Do you use any SATA power splitter to feed the RGB Hub? If so, try to connect it directly to a SATA header of the PSU.

 

Can't really think of anything else...

 

Baio

 

When you put the fans all back in the hub, is it the same fan in port 1?

Here's the thing ... the fans operate in series. Testing them individually only tells 1/2 of the tale. Because a fan can light up but not pass signal down. So you need to not only test them individually in port 1 but in combination with a fan in port 2. But if you keep putting the same fan back into port 1 ... and that fan is bad ... then testing them individually isn't telling you anything.

 

And ... regarding the cable ... a fan hub cable should have 2 wires. That is correct. Adding the 3rd wire won't do anything at all.

 

 

Hello guys, thank you for your reply. Just to make my problem as clear as possible I made this video: [ame]

[/ame]

 

- I havn't tried to connect the SATA header directly to the Motherboard.

- I also tried more combinations with the fans in different ports and different fan combinations.

As Devbiker wrote, you must test your fans in a specific way, not just each fan into port 1, as with this method you are not able to state if you have a RGB Hub faulty port or a faulty fan (in the second case a fan can light up correctly but be unable to pass the RGB signal to the next one).

 

Let's see if I can pu it down the clearer I can:

 

- unplug all fans from RGB Hub

- connect fan 1 to port 1

- if it lights up, connect fan 2 to port 2

- if also the second fan lights up correctly, go for fan 3 into port 3

- if you find a fan not lightning up correctly, try another fan into that RGB Hub port

 

I'm not sure it's a good idea to switch cables with the pc powered on, I'd do this with power off for sure (but I am a maniac person).

 

Finally, about SATA connections... the video is not so clear but I suppose you have some SATA splitter to plug SATA cables from CoPro and RGB Hub. Try to connect the SATA cables directly to you PSU (not motherboard) and get rid of the splitter... frequently this stuff can be of poor quality and not deliver enough power.

 

Baio

As Devbiker wrote, you must test your fans in a specific way, not just each fan into port 1, as with this method you are not able to state if you have a RGB Hub faulty port or a faulty fan (in the second case a fan can light up correctly but be unable to pass the RGB signal to the next one).

 

Let's see if I can pu it down the clearer I can:

 

- unplug all fans from RGB Hub

- connect fan 1 to port 1

- if it lights up, connect fan 2 to port 2

- if also the second fan lights up correctly, go for fan 3 into port 3

- if you find a fan not lightning up correctly, try another fan into that RGB Hub port

 

I'm not sure it's a good idea to switch cables with the pc powered on, I'd do this with power off for sure (but I am a maniac person).

 

Finally, about SATA connections... the video is not so clear but I suppose you have some SATA splitter to plug SATA cables from CoPro and RGB Hub. Try to connect the SATA cables directly to you PSU (not motherboard) and get rid of the splitter... frequently this stuff can be of poor quality and not deliver enough power.

 

Baio

 

Great Post!

 

and the other thing about sata splitters is that each extra plug they add potentially adds another 4.5 Amps to the load on the original plug its plugged into... which has a limit of?.. yep you guessed it.. 4.5 amps! as a result you get Magic Blue Smoke or worse

 

http://i.imgur.com/MI2qqIgl.jpg

A couple of things.

 

First, your video pretty much confirms that it's a bad fan - as I suggested previously. The fans operate in series - one fan passes data to the next and to the next. You take one out, nothing past that port will light up. So when you took fan #1 out of the port ... the expected behavior is that nothing will light up. Then ... you swapped fans. The new fan 1 lit up and the old fan 1, now in port 2, lit up partially. This confirms that the fan is bad. What's happening is the signal is dying on one of the LEDs on the bad fan. It's not passing signal to any other fan. If you put this in port 1, it'll take out the entire hub. That's what needs to be replaced. Take that fan completely out. Put the rest in ports 1-5 (they must be in order, no skipping).

 

Also, as others have said, you should not be using splitters for these. A full hub of LL fans will use about 4.2A. The SATA connection is limited to 4.5A. So the source of the split (where its going into your PSU cable) will easily draw more than the max 4.5A. This can cause connectors to melt (at best) or a fire (at worst). When your best case scenario is melting connectors, that's a clear sign that you shouldn't do it. So ... before you do anything, you need to get rid of that splitter.

A couple of things.

 

First, your video pretty much confirms that it's a bad fan - as I suggested previously. The fans operate in series - one fan passes data to the next and to the next. You take one out, nothing past that port will light up. So when you took fan #1 out of the port ... the expected behavior is that nothing will light up. Then ... you swapped fans. The new fan 1 lit up and the old fan 1, now in port 2, lit up partially. This confirms that the fan is bad. What's happening is the signal is dying on one of the LEDs on the bad fan. It's not passing signal to any other fan. If you put this in port 1, it'll take out the entire hub. That's what needs to be replaced. Take that fan completely out. Put the rest in ports 1-5 (they must be in order, no skipping).

 

Also, as others have said, you should not be using splitters for these. A full hub of LL fans will use about 4.2A. The SATA connection is limited to 4.5A. So the source of the split (where its going into your PSU cable) will easily draw more than the max 4.5A. This can cause connectors to melt (at best) or a fire (at worst). When your best case scenario is melting connectors, that's a clear sign that you shouldn't do it. So ... before you do anything, you need to get rid of that splitter.

 

Great Post!

 

and the other thing about sata splitters is that each extra plug they add potentially adds another 4.5 Amps to the load on the original plug its plugged into... which has a limit of?.. yep you guessed it.. 4.5 amps! as a result you get Magic Blue Smoke or worse

 

http://i.imgur.com/MI2qqIgl.jpg

 

As Devbiker wrote, you must test your fans in a specific way, not just each fan into port 1, as with this method you are not able to state if you have a RGB Hub faulty port or a faulty fan (in the second case a fan can light up correctly but be unable to pass the RGB signal to the next one).

 

Let's see if I can pu it down the clearer I can:

 

- unplug all fans from RGB Hub

- connect fan 1 to port 1

- if it lights up, connect fan 2 to port 2

- if also the second fan lights up correctly, go for fan 3 into port 3

- if you find a fan not lightning up correctly, try another fan into that RGB Hub port

 

I'm not sure it's a good idea to switch cables with the pc powered on, I'd do this with power off for sure (but I am a maniac person).

 

Finally, about SATA connections... the video is not so clear but I suppose you have some SATA splitter to plug SATA cables from CoPro and RGB Hub. Try to connect the SATA cables directly to you PSU (not motherboard) and get rid of the splitter... frequently this stuff can be of poor quality and not deliver enough power.

 

Baio

 

Thank you everyone for your help you were all right, the second fan is not passing the data correctly to the next. For now I wont be able to replace tis fan because Im using a custom water loop in my computer and it would take a lot of time to replace the fan.

 

Finally, about the SATA connection, I'll replace the splitter next week and keep an eye on the splitter

You should be able to put the bad fan on port 6. Your lighting effects may be out of sequence but then they'd work.

Hey i had a qeustion. In you icue software by lighting setup channel 2 you set 4 led strips? Dont you need to use only 2?

Hey i had a qeustion. In you icue software by lighting setup channel 2 you set 4 led strips? Dont you need to use only 2?

 

Hi buddy.

the limit is 6 strips for normal Pro Lighting Strips. but you can have 2 if you like.

Hey man, I got the same problem and I solved it this way, first I putted on the iCUE, the LL GRB Series Fan with 2 fans, I have the RGB HUB connected to the main led master that only has 1 or 2 connector, so I have the RGB HUB connected in the 1, I disconnected it and connected to the 2, then to the 1 again, and then in the RGB HUB changed the fan 2 to the 1 and the 1 to the 2, and thats it! that is how my RGB started work!