Simple Glowing Molex Connectors

[Rankenphile]

I discovered these beauties on ThinkGeek.com (http://thinkgeek.com), a great site for all sorts of fun geek-centric gifts and doo-dads. They are simply an in-line LED set for four-pin molex clips. Click on the images below to go to the website.


http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/front/led-molex.jpg (http://www.thinkgeek.com/pcmods/lighting/6ff4/)

http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/additional/large/led-molex-closeup.jpg (http://www.thinkgeek.com/pcmods/lighting/6ff4/)

You get five sets for $6.99, a pretty good deal IMO, and a neat way to add an extra touch of lighting to your case.

[Malatory]

the have them other places as well.. xoxide.com had them but they are out of stock right now to name one.

[Crimson Sky]

Thats a pretty cool product--very clever, thanks for sharing

[crenn]

Can you imagine if someone put these into HDDs so the cables glows when the HDD is on?

[Guttenaffe]

I don't see why you couldn't put a firefly into a HDD male molex connector. Less the power on the 5V line drawn would be to much for the wires your have or for your PSU which I highly doubt the ~20mA drawn would be to much more.

[jofultner]

These are so cool I ordered 8 for future and present builds.Jo

[tybrenis]

You guys are dumb for ordering them.

http://metku.net/index.html?sect=view&n=1&path=mods/molexlight/index_eng

[SaWBLaDe]

well IMO its much easier to stick one of those nifty pcb's inside a molex than to rewire and fiddle with it. besides its not as if u will break the bank buying them. it costs more to buy plain high intensity LED's than to buy a pack of those PCB's.

[DaveW]

Thank for that link tybrenis, i wasn't going to bother with these, but that made it look so easy i might just do one or two...

[Omega]

well IMO its much easier to stick one of those nifty pcb's inside a molex than to rewire and fiddle with it. besides its not as if u will break the bank buying them. it costs more to buy plain high intensity LED's than to buy a pack of those PCB's.


if you're doing under 5 of them, the LED's are cheaper.

[tybrenis]

well IMO its much easier to stick one of those nifty pcb's inside a molex than to rewire and fiddle with it. besides its not as if u will break the bank buying them. it costs more to buy plain high intensity LED's than to buy a pack of those PCB's.


You're totally wrong. With these prices, it would mean that the LEDs would have to cost 1.20 USD each. My superbright blue LEDs cost me 9 cents each after shipping.

[Omega]

You're totally wrong. With these prices, it would mean that the LEDs would have to cost 1.20 USD each. My superbright blue LEDs cost me 9 cents each after shipping.


where did you get your LED's?

[Rankenphile]

You guys are dumb for ordering them.

http://metku.net/index.html?sect=view&n=1&path=mods/molexlight/index_eng

Nice link, but I don't think people would be dumb for ordering them. Many people don't like or want to have to do the soldering work that it would take to build their own, and these were a quick and relatively cheap alternative to having to make them from scratch.

Lord knows I've already got enough soldering work and other scratchbuilding that needs to get done, if I can find a quick shortcut that does what I need for a reasonable price, then I'm not being "dumb", am I?

[OvRiDe]

if I can find a quick shortcut that does what I need for a reasonable price, then I'm not being "dumb", am I?

Absolutely not.. With jobs and families to support, and little hobbie time already, why waste it soldering LEDs when you can actually work on the fun stuff. You know what they say time is money and for that price its definately still a bargain in my book..

[Crimson13]

and these look better then a resistor sticking out of the back of the plug. I think there worth the price and I will probly get some for my mod I'm working on.

[tybrenis]

You are right, I can understand that they are tedious and take a lot of time, especially for a working man. I am only a kid, and have a decent bit of free time. Financially, making them is better, but if you are talking time it makes sense to buy them, they are a good deal in that sense.

I buy my LEDs off eBay.

[Redundant]

Can they be taken back out of the molex connectors or do they stay in place with friction?

[Rankenphile]

From what I can tell, they should be relatively easy to remove, as they seem to be sort of sandwiched between the molex clips to keep them in place. It might require a bit of wiggling and a pair of tweezers or pliers to get them out, btu I'd be surprised if they were permanent.

[Cevinzol]

You'll probably need a Female Molex Pin Remover (http://www.frozencpu.com/slt-02.html) to do it without damaging the pins.
You get one free when you buy a UV molex sleeving kit for $5
Click "electronics" then "connect right (tm) changeover parts" (bottom of page 1/ top of 2)