CPU fan mobo connection dead

Last night I discovered the 4 pin cpu fan connection on my mobo (ASUS M3A79-T MB) was no longer putting out juice. I initially thought my new fan of only 2 weeks had crapped out on me, but upon installing my old fan, I found that it didn't work either. I then used a 4 pin to 3 pin adapter from my psu and my old fan worked. I connected the new fan to that and it worked also, but it burned up right away. I have two questions. 1) Was it a bad idea to connect my new fan up to a hot lead, and is that why it burned up?, and 2) is there a way to get my mobo's cpu fan power port to work again? And and after thought, is this a warning sign that my mobo is nearing the end of it's life? It's only 4 yrs old.

 

Most likely your new fan developed a short(or sucked from the start) and killed your 4-pin mobo connection. I'm pretty sure using a 3-pin will be fine on your mobo, except for the extra noise. See if you can RMA that fan without paying too much in postage.

 

Well, the only problem is that I don't have any extra 3 pin mobo connections, but I can use the 4 pin to 3 pin adapter that I'm currently using from my psu. If it's true that the fan killed my mobo's 4 pin power connector, that just sucks as now I can't use the built in bios feature to automatically adjust the fan speed anymore.

Thanks for replying.

 

Ya, keep using your PSU connection, that's what I meant.:-o At least that 'new' fan didn't take your whole mobo down and just burnt a trace out on your mobo connector. I wonder how much current that would take?

Ya on fan speed but you don't have to buy a new mobo either. Crap happens man! You should hear my machines!:-D

 

Just a quick side question here, not trying to steal this thread or anything. What does RMA mean?

 

Return Merchandise Authorization.

It's a guarantee that the company is going to replace/refund the item.

 

I see. Thank you for the explanation.