Powering 5v fan from internal sata port ? (Or other port/connector) P751zm

Are there any possible extra power ports available in any of the Clevos ?
I am installing a micro - fan to my hdd bay, to cool my new SM951 nvme. Please no discussion on that topic...
I'd rather not use a Y -split for my CPU fan 3-pin connector, as I guess that would limit the effect of the cpu - cooling.
So what are the options ? I guess there could be some potential BIOS/software problems with such a solution, but desktop users have been doing this for a while! I mean, the ports are powered, so why couldn't you use a SATA power -> 3-pin fan connector e.g ?(except nobody makes them...)
Power - saving schemes may also f... things up I guess, but most of us turn those schemes of anyway.
Anybody have any suggestions, something besides ripping the whole motherboard apart and putting it back together ?

 

It would.

You could, only it'd be 2-pin; tachyo is useless.

But sata pins are tiny and hard to solder to. Not to mention it'd sacrifice the slot.

Would solder to a usb port (from the inside). Both easy, due to the large/crude solder blobs of the socket and there's plenty of ports to spare. Also, it wouldn't even lose the slot; a micro is, what, 1 Watt? If that; laptop fan is max. 2.5W (3W exist, but these are non-spec). Anyway, 1W/5V=200mA, leaving 900-200=700mA available for any device you may still want to hook up (data is unaffected). Does need a ~20Ω@1.25-2W resistor, otherwise the current would kill the micro. This'd be 250mA, but a little OC is no problem.

Hmm ... actually ... there's an even better option with this model; touchpad and keyboard backlights are both 5V. Being leds, either is unlikely to overload the fan, so no need for resistor. Best of all; can be switched on/off with the Fn or Hotkey driver. Of course, it'd require ditching one of the two (unplug that cable).

 

Aha! Touchpad is something i loathe, so I would gladly sacrifice that. In my case it has been turned off from the get go. Those ports have ffc's right ? Any chance on finding a converter you think ? The fan is 5v 0,38w. 25x25x6mm.

 

I don't have a clue where to begin with finding an adapter for that flat flexible cable connector.... Could you maybe lead me in the right direction?

 

very interesting thread, bookmarked

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

I've found the Touchpad connector on the mainboard, so it's all about revealing the specifications of the connectors, port and the flat flexible cable used.
Update:
FFC Click-TP 6pin - That's the cable.
FFC/FPC Connector 6Pin pitch 1.0mm Flip Type Bottom Contact - and that's the socket.

 

All those flex cable are alike, just needs to match pin count. And 0.38W is fine.

But you misunderstood; no need to sacrifice touchpad (unless you want to), only the backlight. Well, if it was even there ... think they haven't used an accurate description of the connector; it says J_TPLED1, which you'd think makes for Touchpad LED 1:



Really, it's more like 'landing guidance lights' ... or something. Anyway, search for J_TPLED1 and you have your 5V (and ground). Hmmm ... further on it's call GGJ_TPLED1; Ground-Guidance Touchpad LED ?



Whatever, just search for either, might be the same thing, too. No need to solder here; splice the 9-pin cable at its mb-end. Use box cutter and split it lengthwise; only need the two outermost wires. Strip the ends of the four wires and do the same with the voltage and ground wire of the microfan. Twine them together and you're good.

Hopefully those landing lights can be controlled separately from the keyboard backlight? If not, then use a simple switch in-between either voltage or ground wire.

This thread is good reminder, btw; my W230SS has an unpopulated J_LED1:



Took me a while to figure it out what it was for; it's power for an optional lighted logo in the display lid. Only there weren't many takers for that, so it seems only the development board had a connector there. Doesn't matter; it's powered alright (no control, though). Had the same idea; power two microfans for both mSATA drives. It's doing double duty for the regular fan atm, but have a different idea for that. When that mod is finished, I'll add the micros (+ heatsinks).

 

Thankx a lot for helping me out. I'm going to be looking at it tomorrow. My fan has arrived so I can get going. I am wondering though, this 9 - pin cable, its connected to the underside of the 6 pin ffc connecter ? On the bottom side of the MB ? So it is basically taking off the wires from the J_LED1 and twining them with the microfan's wires ?
Can i do this same thing for the touchpad ? I don't want the pad, so let it be sooo...
That switch thing went straight over my head right now( I'm going to sleep), but if I use the TP board I don't have to worry about it, right ? I found out where the TP board is on top, so I just go in from MB bottom and use the service manual for locating correctly. Should that work ?
Thanx again man! I will have to position the fan and test it out with the external usb plug first though, because if it doesn't give much effect on temps, I will have to get one more Micro fan...

 

Hi!
I tested the fan with usb, and it is a feisty little thing.
Finding any cables for the touchpad or the led lights eludes me though... If I have to repaste the gpu or cpu every time I have to adjust something though, this is not going to work. I am going to take off the keyboard tomorrow to see if I can find the power cable for the touchpad or led there. Were you actually using the p751zm mb, or were you illustrating via the w230s ?

 

Yes, but if you haven't used a resistor of some sort then you're OC'ing it to kingdom come . Don't make that a habit; the little critter will overheat and die.

Most are right under the keyboard, remember that you're not just checking actual connectors; solder blobs are of interest, too. Download the service manual for easy reference (and fun):

Spoiler: P75xZM - Mainboard top view

Pat yourself on the back for getting a Clevo, btw; with their manuals readily available, it makes things soooo much easier. With 'manual', of course, meaning something other than the ' have-you-tried-turning-it-off-and-on-again' type:

Only the last photo was the SS, others the P75*ZM.

 

Ok! I was looking on the bottom part. Yeah , I looked at the service manual and found the touchpad connector, so I'll be looking at that tomorrow
The USB plug & cable I twined with today was a free-standing fan for a notepal u2, a 5v so I guess it must have a resistor already ? Anyway the fan is 10 000 rpm. The airflow was quite noticable actually. I hope I can get my fan cable through to the top of the MB... It's long enough but I will have to find a hole somewhere....

Update: I removed the keyboard and tried to locate the wires, but they are concealed beneath the metal frame separating the keyboard and the mainboard. I can remove this as well, but only after (per the explanation of the service manual) :
Turn off the computer, remove the battery (page 2 - 5), HDD (page 2 - 6), M.2 SSD (page 2 - 9), RAM (page 2 -
10), CPU (page 2 - 14),WLAN (page 2 - 17), M.2 SATA (page 2 - 19), and keyboard (page 2 - 12).
This just becomes unpractical.... For every time going in I would have to remove all that + the CPU ?
The only ordinary power cable I can get to here is the Nr. 4 in the image beneath, and that one is not described AT ALL as far as I can see in the manual.

I don't think I'm the right man for this mission... Just too much hassle.

 

Update: If you see the image at the bottom of my last post, I pulled the plug from nr. 4 there to test what that would change. It changed nothing. Absolutely nothing. It has 4 pins( red,black + black,white). I have ordered some male + female connectors(picoblade) for connecting the fan. I have really tried to pinpoint what the powersocket is for but it seems I can't... If I can connect the fan and run it I am happy. Will know tomorrow or Tuesday. Thank you for your assistance, I will post pictures and results.

 

No, a repair person will not even bother glancing at that list.

They do this to mainly for the vendor; they want the customer to remove everything of importance (=value) first. That saves on the repair bill if something untoward happens (warranty). Besides, no need to change anything; hook up fan and turn on/of with the Fn key. Remember that the fan itself is easily accessible, if you'd want to clean that once in a while.

Does it have a label on the pcb?

 

No label on the pcb.... It is weird that I cannot pinpoint any change in system devices or performance when I pull that power cable.. Hopefully tomorrow I am getting the right picoblade connectors so that I don't have to cut any system wires.

 

I got my connectors, sockets and crimps today. Managed to get the power and ground cable from the hdd bay to the top of the MB. As I have no idea if the power was in the socket or in the connector i tried both( with male and female connector). Fan didn't start up either way. Frustrating. I don't have good tools or expertise for crimping and such so it may just be I'm falling just short of the mark here.
Anyways.... I'm calling it a day. At least for now. Maybe it would just be easier to get a notebook cooler like U2 or U3 to blow straight at the drive. I don't know.