Zalman MFC1 Fan Controller - LEDs Flickering

xxkrnxstylezxx · Post by **xxkrnxstylezxx** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 6:47 pm

I have my two Globe 120mm fans connected to this. When I turn the speed down, both of the LEDs flicker. It barely flickers when I turn it all the way up.

I remember when I first installed it, it worked fine, but after a few hours, one of the LED was off and the fan stopped moving. So I touched the fan to move it, and both the LEDs started flicker. But I also have my Zalman 7000b-cu connected to the first spot, this one doesn't flicker at all.

Does anyone know what's wrong? The LEDs flickered on my first one too, so this is the one I exchanged for it. And it still does it....

Thanks

geforce1 · Post by **geforce1** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 7:51 pm

Same thing here, the LEDs seem to respond to the RPM monitoring pulses coming from the fans. That's normal. Also, the LED does not go on when a fan without RPM monitoring is attached.

Interitus · Post by **Interitus** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 11:26 pm

Same here. The LED's flicker more at lower intensity at around 7v and below as opposed to 7v and up. It's normal.

As mentioned, the LED's don't glow unless an RPM wire is connected to the controller.

One other thing to consider...

I had 2 Globes on my MFC-1 for testing purposes. One thing to note is that fans that barely start at 5v or can't start with much less than 5v should be carefully used with this controller, especially when you're using fan extension cables or adapters. Every plug you add will decrease your power a tad going to your fan. In my case, I had one of the Zalman's fan extensions coupled with a 4 pin molex to 3 pin adapter. The decrease in power from adding these adapters caused one of my Globes to occaisionally refuse to start, or stutter frequently when the knob on the controller was turned all the way down. Removing the extensions remedied the problem. Simple fix is to turn the knob up a tad if you're using adapters.

Just a head's up.

xxkrnxstylezxx · Post by **xxkrnxstylezxx** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 2:46 pm

ah thanks.

It almost always starts up at the lowest level, but I noticed once or twice it didn't

Interitus · Post by **Interitus** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 12:02 am

Yep, just bump up the knob a tad. Your fan will still be seeing only ~5v but you just need a lil more juice for the degradation effect of using multiple plugs