# Fan LED Mod



## MKmods (Jan 16, 2010)

Recently Greasemonkey sent me a couple fans and asked if I would mod them to be red instead of blue. I sent one back to him already but I figured you may want to see what it takes to do it  so I will show the second one here

Here is a shot of the front of it (before modding begins)







*Useful LED info*

*Different color LEDs run at different voltages*

Link for LED info
http://www.theledlight.com/ledcircuits.html

Metku.net guide(thanks)
http://metku.net/index.html?sect=view&n=1&path=mods/ledcalc/index_eng


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## pantherx12 (Jan 16, 2010)

Might wanna post the pics Mark


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## MKmods (Jan 16, 2010)

Dont forget im old (and feeble)

 this is the fan removed from the mount(backside)


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## pantherx12 (Jan 16, 2010)

Nice looking forward to seeing it done, always better to see someone else do this even if you know how to do it yourself : ]


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## MKmods (Jan 16, 2010)

At first I just wanted to switch the SMD led for a blue one
http://www.lc-led.com/View/itemNumber/124

But I found that the blue ones ran at 3V and the red ones ran at 2V. 1Volt dosent seem like a lot but its enough to burn out the LED within a second. So I had to mount a different LED, and It had to put out enough light to be seen as well.

I picked up quite a selection to play with




On the first one I went with a pair of 5mm red 12V LEDs(have resistors built in each LED)

For those that havent seen SMD (surface mount device) LEDs they are VERY small


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## t77snapshot (Jan 16, 2010)

I was going to change my Zalman cooler from bue to orange leds, but then I discovered SMD leds are a pain in the a** to deal with. So I decided to mod the leds of my A.C Ryan's from uv to orange leds. It was my first attempt with a soldering gun. I used 5mm capsules and I'm glad the resistor's were already built into the board.


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## DirectorC (Jan 16, 2010)

WOW.  Who would go out of their way to get a fan's LED color changed as opposed to just getting a new fan with that color?  That guy must REALLY like these fans!


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## GREASEMONKEY (Jan 16, 2010)

DirectorC said:


> WOW.  Who would go out of their way to get a fan's LED color changed as opposed to just getting a new fan with that color?  That guy must REALLY like these fans!



 That would be me,I wanted them changed from blue to the red so it would fit the all red light theme of my case.And if it was as easy as changing fans i would have been all over it.But the fact that these fans are a special fit for the Nirvana cooler,normal fans are not an option.So i sent them to the MASTER of MODDING.
 THANKS again MK.


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## MKmods (Jan 16, 2010)

Ur welcome GM
It was a fun experience for me. I usually build cases just to be efficient and not so much bling.

So I wanted to mess around with LEDs for a change.

And thanks t77 for that. This thread can show how to mod all types of fan LEDs


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## DirectorC (Jan 16, 2010)

GREASEMONKEY said:


> That would be me,I wanted them changed from blue to the red so it would fit the all red light theme of my case.And if it was as easy as changing fans i would have been all over it.But the fact that these fans are a special fit for the Nirvana cooler,normal fans are not an option.So i sent them to the MASTER of MODDING.
> THANKS again MK.



Now I get it.  In that case this rocks.  I wanna see the end result!


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## MKmods (Jan 16, 2010)

Here is a closer shot of the LEDs

3mm,5mm, rect and a pack of SMD LEDs




those suckers are tiny

To remove the fan blads from the motor assembly its usually pretty easy

First remove the sticker





Remove the cap





Than remove the small plastic clip and voila





But these fans are weird and the center has to be drilled out




be really careful not to destroy the motor assembly if you drill out the center. Also there is no plastic clip, instead the drive axle end is mushroomed and needs to be removed with a Dremel

I think I will do something different to this one and complete remove the plastic back plate (glued to the motor) and make a new one.


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## t77snapshot (Jan 16, 2010)

DirectorC said:


> WOW.  Who would go out of their way to get a fan's LED color changed as opposed to just getting a new fan with that color?  That guy must REALLY like these fans!



That would be me as well It seems orange led case fans don't exist, so I had to make own. Itls the same reason why GM is doing it.


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## MKmods (Jan 16, 2010)

I forget who but I modded a fan a while ago orange for someone here at TPU...

Ok Im doing this different, I carefully removed the rear mount





Here it cleaned up a bit





Now I can get to the circuit board, notice the LEDs and resistors


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## t77snapshot (Jan 16, 2010)

MKmods said:


> Ok Im doing this different, I carefully removed the rear mount
> http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo142/Partspicts/007-6.jpg
> 
> Here it cleaned up a bit
> ...



Do you think this would be the same process as a Zalman 9500A cooler?


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## MKmods (Jan 17, 2010)

Im thinking the basic process should be very similar


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## pantherx12 (Jan 17, 2010)

DirectorC said:


> WOW.  Who would go out of their way to get a fan's LED color changed as opposed to just getting a new fan with that color?  That guy must REALLY like these fans!




A pack of 100 leds costs 10 quid or so 

a single decent fan can cost that much sometimes.

Its cheaper 

people are cheap!


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## Cold Storm (Jan 17, 2010)

Thanks MK! Now, I just need your PCI E power mod..


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## MKmods (Jan 17, 2010)

DirectorC said:


> WOW.  Who would go out of their way to get a fan's LED color changed as opposed to just getting a new fan with that color?  That guy must REALLY like these fans!





pantherx12 said:


> A pack of 100 leds costs 10 quid or so
> 
> a single decent fan can cost that much sometimes.
> 
> ...



As I was growing up we didnt have so many options. There was no internet/PCs, and we had to make due with what we had so we learned to tinker. I was blessed to have a grandfather that showed me many things (even straightening/re-using old nails, lol)

As a teenager I built cars, my favorite thing was big engines in small cars(big block chevy in a VW bug, small block Chevy in a Triumph spitfire etc..) The laws were such that it was possible then. Than in the 80's the laws changed making it not worth all the hassle...

So bla bla bla now its comps...

Honestly the cost is in no way worth it to switch LEDs, this mod could cost a few hundred dollars(mostly labor) Im doing it because I LOVE this stuff (and as a favor to Greasemonkey) and I thought I would show it to all of you so if you wanted to mess with it you could. Another reason for these threads is I enjoy your input, its amazing how many good ideas all of you have come up with.

So get modding, its not rocket science



Cold Storm said:


> Thanks MK! Now, I just need your PCI E power mod..


Im just finishing up stuff so whenever ur ready. I picked up one of these so I can try to make a 1U PS (cross ur fingers)
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=112802


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## pantherx12 (Jan 17, 2010)

Wow I've been undercharging for my services, I once changed some leds for someone to make me a dinner lol


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## MKmods (Jan 17, 2010)

Careful mentioning that, lol...You will have a bunch of people expecting you mod for food..

Ok on the first fan I modded I used 5mm 12V leds that I just wired into the fans 12V input. I wanted to try something different for this one so here is a close up of me removing the resistor and blue led

Here is where the LED goes





And here is me removing the resistor





Here is a shot of the red LED mounted and the 330 Ohm resistor mounted. 




I could have ordered a surface mount resistor but it would take more time and $ so I just used one I had laying around.

*Thanks again t77snapshot for this camera it kicks ass..*


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## MKmods (Jan 19, 2010)

I sent this off to GM and forgot to post the finish picts..

Here is the back modded and running





And here it is mounted on its bracket





It turned out cool, I cant believe how many coolers I had that had LEDs that I didnt like. I wish I had done this sooner.

Thank you very much Greasemonkey for bearing with me on this and I hope you enjoy the new fan..


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## GREASEMONKEY (Jan 19, 2010)

I look very forward to recieving and seeing,Looks like it turned out supurb.
Thanks again for your very valuable time MK.


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## MKmods (Jan 19, 2010)

LOL, valuable time? (I am so unorganized its hard to imagine ever being able to put a price on it)

This was probably more fun for me than you, I really learned a lot about LEDs.


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## AsRock (Jan 19, 2010)

MKmods said:


> Recently Greasemonkey sent me a couple fans and asked if I would mod them to be red instead of blue. I sent one back to him already but I figured you may want to see what it takes to do it  so I will show the second one here
> 
> Here is a shot of the front of it (before modding begins)
> http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo142/Partspicts/007-5.jpg
> ...



Is that a Zalman fan ?.  I did the same thing to one for a member on here some time ago although it was a pain to take apart the fan on the ones i had although was still possible .


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## MKmods (Jan 19, 2010)

nope they are from a nirvana cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835887011


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## AsRock (Jan 19, 2010)

MKmods said:


> nope they are from a nirvana cooler
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835887011



aah ok,  as i had to dremel  it so i could  change the led as there is a plastic cap fixed over the circuit board. Used warn down dremel disks so i could make as small as hole as possible lol.

I had to cut holes in to the plastic so i could get to the solder so the leds could be removed






Just searched around for the working pic don't have it any more ..

In the end i'd do it again for some on as long as they payed the shipping and supplied the leds ( not willing to pay RS prices and not to fond of ebay  )


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## MKmods (Jan 19, 2010)

Thanks for the picts, looks like the Nirvana fan was a lot easier to do.

Yes you have to have a REALLY steady hand to do any cutting..

One other point thats important is heat, Especially while soldering the SMD Leds you really have to solder them really fast (I try not to touch the soldering iron to the solder points for more than 1 or 2 seconds)

And having a fine point on ur soldering iron helps too.
Doing all the crazy mobo mods really prepared me for the quick soldering. (if the tip is in contact for excess time its gonna overheat the device and anything else close by)


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## GREASEMONKEY (Feb 7, 2010)

Finally got this thing mounted up and was so happy with how it turned out,just thought i would share. My bad picture taking ability does'nt do it justice at all though.Probably the only red Nirvana in existence and i'm loving it how it looks.
 Thanks again MK,you da man!


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## MKmods (Feb 7, 2010)

I really like the first pict, I have to make one of those for me now.

Thanks again GREASEMONKEY


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## pantherx12 (Feb 7, 2010)

Looks great!


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## t77snapshot (Feb 7, 2010)

GREASEMONKEY said:


> Finally got this thing mounted up and was so happy with how it turned out,just thought i would share. My bad picture taking ability does'nt do it justice at all though.Probably the only red Nirvana in existence and i'm loving it how it looks.
> Thanks again MK,you da man!
> http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w265/Monkeyboy2U/N1.jpg
> http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w265/Monkeyboy2U/N2.jpg
> http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w265/Monkeyboy2U/N3.jpg



Your work paid off MKmods It looks awesome now that they all match and I also like the first pic the best.


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## platinumyahoo (Feb 8, 2010)

I once sent AsRock my zalman cnps 9700 blue fan and another fan with red LED and he modded the blue one to become red then sent it back. Wont forget him for that


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## AsRock (Feb 8, 2010)

platinumyahoo said:


> I once sent AsRock my zalman cnps 9700 blue fan and another fan with red LED and he modded the blue one to become red then sent it back. Wont forget him for that



Anytime . It was fun to do with it's own set of chalanges due to how they sealed the casing and like MK would do it again for some one as i believe i can speak for him to get a buzz of it.


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