- Molex connector
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PC power supply with several connectors. From left to right: Molex Mini-fit Jr 20 and 4 pin, Molex KK, SATA connector, Molex 8981 and Molex mini-spox.
Molex connector is the vernacular term for a two-piece pin and socket interconnection, most frequently disk drive connectors. Pioneered by Molex Connector Company, the two-piece design became an early electronic standard. Molex developed and patented the first examples of this connector style in the late 1950s and early 1960s.[1][2] First used in home appliances, other industries soon began designing it into their products from automobiles to vending machines to mini-computers.
In such a connector, cylindrical spring-metal pins fit into cylindrical spring-metal sockets. The pins and sockets are held in a rectangular matrix in a nylon shell. The connector typically has two to 24 contacts and is polarized or keyed to ensure correct orientation. Pins and sockets can be arranged in any combination in a single housing, and each housing can be either male or female.
There are three typical pin sizes: 1.57 mm (0.062 in), 2.36 mm (0.093 in), and 2.13 mm (0.084 in). The 1.57 mm pin can carry 5 A of current, while the 2.36 mm can carry 8.5 A. Because the pins have a large contact surface area and fit tightly, these connectors are typically used for power.
This style of connector was first used as a computer disk drive connector in the late 1970s, initially on the Shugart floppy disk drive as well as Atari (1979) on its path to becoming a de facto standard. It is in this role that the vernacular term molex connector is most frequently used. AMP (now a division of Tyco International) developed the MATE-N-LOK 2.13 mm pin connector that is the same as the Molex 8981 power connector. This Molex and Amp connector configuration was the established standard for disk drive power connectors until the introduction of SATA disk drives.
Contents
Desktop PC use
Several connector types have become established for connecting power in desktop PCs, because of the simplicity, reliability, flexibility, and low cost of the Molex design. Certain Molex connectors are used for providing power to the motherboard, fans, hard disk drive, floppy disk drive, CD/DVD drive, video card, and others.
In practice, compatible connectors are available from a many manufacturers, not just Molex and AMP.
Motherboard power connector (Molex Mini-fit Jr.)
In 20/24 pin configurations, the Mini-Fit Jr. connector may be used on ATX motherboards as the main power connector. 4, 6 and 8 pin configurations of the same style of connector are used for additional CPU power and graphics card power. This is changing as power, signal and speed requirements increase in sophistication and electronic requirements. More commonly, the Mini-Fit, Jr. can be found in consumer applications, such as white goods, requiring high density and high current.
These connectors are polarized so that they usually cannot be inserted incorrectly, and lock into position using a latch.
Standard pinout:
24-pin ATX12V 2.x power supply connector
(20-pin omits the last four: 11, 12, 23 and 24)Color Signal Pin Pin Signal Color Orange +3.3 V 1 13 +3.3 V Orange +3.3 V sense Brown Orange +3.3 V 2 14 −12 V Blue Black Ground 3 15 Ground Black Red +5 V 4 16 Power on Green Black Ground 5 17 Ground Black Red +5 V 6 18 Ground Black Black Ground 7 19 Ground Black Grey Power good 8 20 Reserved N/C Purple +5 V standby 9 21 +5 V Red Yellow +12 V 10 22 +5 V Red Yellow +12 V 11 23 +5 V Red Orange +3.3 V 12 24 Ground Black - Pins 8, and 16 (shaded) are control signals, not power:
- Power on is pulled up to +5 V by the PSU, and must be driven low to turn on the PSU.
- Power good is low when other outputs have not yet reached, or are about to leave, correct voltages.
- Pin 13 supplies +3.3 V power and also has a second thinner wire for remote sensing.[3]
- Pin 20 (formerly −5 V, white wire) is absent in current power supplies; it was optional in ATX and ATX12V ver. 1.2, and deleted as of ver. 1.3.
- The right-hand pins are numbered 11–20 in the 20-pin version.
Molex 8981 Series 
Molex 8981 Power connector (female)Type Electrical power connector Production history Designer Molex General specifications Width 21 mm Height 6 mm Pins 4 Electrical Signal Yes Max. voltage 12 V Max. current 11 A/pin (30 °C rise) Pin out Pin Color Type Pin 1 Yellow +12 V Pin 2 Black Ground Pin 3 Black Ground Pin 4 Red +5 V 18 AWG wire is typically used. Power good goes high to indicate that voltages are stabilised and ready for use. Power on is internally driven high, and shorting this pin to ground will turn on the power supply.
Disk drive connector (Molex 8981 Series Power Connector)
The desktop computer hard-drive connector is pictured here. It has 4 conductors, with the standard pinout as follows:
Pin # Color Function 1 Yellow +12 V 2 Black Ground 3 Black Ground 4 Red +5 V Sometimes, especially in older computers, the colors differ. The pins are 0.200 in (5.08 mm) apart (center to center). The connector housing has chamfered corners on one side to prevent the user from plugging it in incorrectly. The connector that provides power (e.g., on a power supply) has female pins and a male housing; the connector that receives power (e.g., on a peripheral) has male pins and a female housing.
The connector is standard on all PATA disk drives and low-end SCSI disk drives; however, newer disk drives will employ a more advanced integrated serial interconnection. These new, advanced connection systems are being developed by Molex and other connector companies, often working together to develop interconnection standards.
Despite its widespread adoption, the connector has problems as a 30-year-old product. It is cumbersome and difficult to remove because it is held in place by friction instead of a latch, and some poorly constructed connectors may have one or more pins become unattached from the connector when plugged in.
See also
References
- Wire-to-Board 5.08mm (.200") Disk Drive Power Connection System Connector - Male IDT
- Commercial MATE-N-LOK Product Line Information
- Commercial MATE-N-LOK connector specification
- ^ Krehbiel, John H., "Wire Connector" US 3178673, issued April 1965
- ^ Krehbiel, John H., "Electrical Connector Having Resilient Accurately Bendable Locking Means", US 3409858, issued November 1968
- ^ "ATX Specification Version 2.1". http://www.formfactors.org/developer/specs/atx2_1.pdf.
- Instruction sheets
Categories:- Electrical power connectors
- DC power connectors
- Pins 8, and 16 (shaded) are control signals, not power:
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